Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

—Around 11 months Ago—

He sees the walkie talkie on the ground.
Swiftly, quietly, he walks towards it and reaches out to pick it up, hearing the slight static hush from it.
He flinches as a walker grabs his arm and yanks him forward, his body weight shifting him onto his knees towards it.
He pushes it back with his arms and tussles with it. With force, using both arms, he shoves it towards the sharp edges of the wood base near the bins and smacks its head against it, making it fall to the ground.
Groaning to itself helplessly, Lee moves forward with a blank sense of anger.
And shoves the heel of his shoe into its face, blood squishing around its features.
Lee breathes for a moment, before spotting Clementine's hat.
He picks it up slowly, eyebrows arched as he looks at it and thinks of her.
Feeling a slight sting on his arm, he looks at his wrist…and sees gruesome, blooded teeth marks.

A walker bite.

He shakes his head slightly, Grabbing it with his other hand gently to not cause more pain.
"No…No No No…No! Fuck…Fuck!" He hisses, nearly into a sob.
"Lee…Lee?" He hears Christa's voice call out,
"Lee, are you out here?"
He looks back to the bite mark, staring at it thinking on what to do.
He closes his eyes tight before opening them again, feeling another little sting.
"Are you crazy? What are you doin' out here? It ain't safe!" Kenny stubbornly states, Lee looking over to see the whole group walking up to him, slightly concerned.
"Lee, Where's Clementine?" Omid brings up,
"She's not in a room…"
"Vernon ain't in the house either, what the hell is goin' on?" Kenny presses.
They all crowd behind him, his back still turned and holding Clementine's hat, staring at the bite.
Christa grows more worried.
"...Who's blood is that?"
He deeply sighs and turns around.

"It's mine…" he utters, letting the walker bite show to them.
All of their eyes widen.
Christa slightly covers her mouth, Kenny's eyebrows scrunch.
He shakes his head.
"N.No way…No fuckin' Way!!"
"There's no time to worry about me. Clementine's gone."
They all look at each other.
"Th.There's no way she could've just gone away on her own?" Omid questions.
Lee shakes his head.
"No…"
"Then who the hell took her?!" Kenny crosses his arms.
"…Vernon did come up to me and said somethin' about Clem…offered maybe taking her and going along with him. Sayin' she'd be better off-"
"Son of a bitch…I KNEW we couldn't trust that fucker!"
Lee lowers his head.
"Wherever she is, I HAVE to find her."
They all look at him with worry.
Christa nods.
"Alright…what do you need from us?" She finally asks.
He breathes deeply.
"First…I need to stop this from happenin'..." He looks down at his arm.
All 3 look at it.
Omid flicks between him and his arm.
"Wh-What you're just gonna…you're just gonna get rid of it? How?"
"The only way I can…cutting it off."
Kenny places his hand on his shoulder, wide eyed.
"You…Lee you can't be serious…that's possibly fucking suicide man!"
Lee looks at Kenny.
"I am. If I wanna save Clementine, it's the only way."
They all look at Christa, waiting for her response.
She sighs.
"Let's do it then…"
Omid stares at her, very concerned.
"I'm sorry what??"
"Look, are you both gonna stand there while Lee slowly dies right now? Or are you going to help him like he has with us?"
They both shrug their shoulders as they vault it past the metal fencing of the house they have stayed in for a few days, and Christa grabs the shovel Lee used earlier.
She dusts off some of the dirt, but knowing it won't do much good.
Omid backs away not liking the idea of the shovel.
"Are…you sure you wanna get it cut off with a shovel?" He squeaks,
"Could get some nasty shit from that thing…"
"No kiddin'..." Kenny Mumbles.
Lee shrugs.
"If you guys wanna see me turn…then I suggest you use that damn shovel on me right now" Lee sassily states back.
Christa nervously smiles, it quickly drops as Lee gets his arm into position on a thick tree log and looks away.

"Do it as quick as you can…" He instructs.

Christa nods firmly.
All Lee heard were the sounds of his own scream, Omid and Kenny Freaking out and the sound of the Shovel whacking against the wood as it sawed through his skin and eventually through his bone too, slowly feeling it grow from immense stinging pain to going numb into nothing.
White noise filled his ears as his vision swirls around like a confusing blurry motion picture.

His vision fades to black as his body becomes heavier.

…

…

…

"...Lee? Lee, stay with us" a distant sounding voice Mumbles.
"Is he alive?"
"I don't know…" "I think so, he's still breathin'."
"I managed to stop the bleeding with what little we have…so…Hopefully he.."
As Lee slowly gets up, his head pounding like absolute shit, the colour of the world comes back into his vision.
And so does Christa, Omid and Kenny, and eventually Ben too when he decides to come out of the house after hearing the commotion.
"I…Is it over?" Ben meekly murmurs.
"The blood is still here, just wait inside a few more moments Ben" Christa instructs.
Ben immediately nods and shuts the door.
Kenny stares off after him as he does so.
Unamused.
"Wh…What?" He manages to blurt out.
Christa slowly helps him up.
"You're okay Lee. We've done it. It's done."
"Are you alright?" Omid questions with a slight hopeful smile.
Lee looks down at where his arm used to be, to see it is now a stub, covered up with a very blooded over layered bandage and cloth and who knows what else.
It felt weird to him to have a stub that he can control instead of just his hand but he is willing to get used to it if means he can save Clementine this way.
"Thank you…"
Christa nods.
"Now what do you wanna do now? Clementine could be who the fuck knows where" Kenny puts his hands to the sides tiredly.
Lee looks at all of them, including Ben who peers through the door again.
"...We save her together. If we do it together we have better chances of reaching her that way. You in?"

They all look at each other.

A lot of things happened after that moment…
Including getting Clem back, a happy moment for all of them.
But of course she was worried about his arm and where it had gone.
Ben got impaled by a shard of metal whilst trying to jump over to another building, being the last one to do so.
Kenny was determined to help him, despite the shit he gives him.
Lee tried to get him to leave him, but there was no use.

Together: Lee, Christa, Omid and Clem ran off. Far away from where they were, in search of refuge like every other day. Back to the train.

—2 months ago—

They walk through the trail of trees, the clouds hanging over them gloomily.
Christa and Omid hang in the front, Christa holding a gun.
Lee and Clem still had their supplies, Lee now obtaining a bag at some point that now lies on his back.
They all hide behind a long thick trunk that has fallen from its roots and lost its top, spotting a small building-like structure.
Christa sighs.
"Omid, you can't be serious…"
"I am" He chuckles.
"We are NOT calling our baby Omid."
"Why not?"
"One of you is enough."
Christa sighs and looks at Lee.
"Lee…a little help here."
He chuckles.
"What if it's a girl?" He questions.
Omid grins.
"Then we name her Christa."
Christa stares at him and stands still.
"But I'm Christa. I'm not naming my baby Christa that's just- Confusing…Clementine your opinion?" She questions.
Omid looks at Clementine, so does Lee.
She fiddles with her hands.
"I don't know…I think both names are good," she meekly smiles.
Christa chuckles and shakes her head.
"You're not taking this seriously…"
"I take EVERYTHING seriously. I care very much about, ESPECIALLY, lil' Omid's Future" He smiles warmly.
Christa folds her arms.
"Keep talking and you'll be sleeping in the rain tonight."
"Come now Christa, this ain't no way to treat the man who wants to treat his new child good" Lee states.
Omid pat's him on the shoulder and stands by him.
"Exactly. Thank you Lee."
Christa walks into the men's room rolling her eyes with a smile, the door shutting behind her.
Lee and Omid look at Clementine, who is examining an empty can.
Lee crouches down to her.
"Hey, Sweet pea, how about you go get cleaned up in the girl's room? Omid, Christa and I will be right next door if you need anything" He gently smiles.
Clementine nods.
"Okay…I hope the sink works in there" her eyes sparkle with hope.
Omid sighs gently.
"I wouldn't count on it Clem. Make sure to keep a hang of your stuff" He reminds, then proceeding to walk into the men's room.
Clem nods.
"Okay."
Lee stands up straight and Clementine walks into the girl's room.
He proceeds to walk into the men's room after Omid.

A bunch of urinals and sinks line the walls with some dirted up, slightly broken mirrors.
There are 2 stalls, one of them locked from the inside.
Christa is staring into the mirror looking at herself.
"I just hope we can make it with them on the way…" Christa sighs.
Omid hugs her from the side gently.
"Hey, You know we can work this out. Omid Jr. Is gonna grow up big and strong-"
"Oh please. We are not naming the baby Omid!" She gently shoves him off her.
Omid chuckles.
"Fine, Fine, what do you suggest then?" Omid crosses his arms with a smile.
Christa looks at herself again, Lee just observing the situation as he also walks to a sink beside her.
Omid turns to face the wall.
"I'm…gonna check on Clementine real quick" He nods, before swiftly walking out.
Christa sighs.
Lee tries the faucet, only small drops of water come out.
Still he uses it, putting his hand under and wiping his face off some of the dirt scraped on it.
"Lee…"
…
"Yeah?"
"Do you think we'll be able to make it…with this baby on the way?" Christa utters.
Lee looks at her, she is still staring at the mirror.
"Because I don't know…whether I'll be able to do this-"

They hear a gunshot, snapping both of their attention.
Christa immediately grabs the gun and Lee rakes out the pistol from his pocket and they bolt it out to the girl's room.
As Christa kicks open the door, they are both greeted with Omid lying on the floor, a woman with a pistol, wide eyed and Clementine tearing up.
Both of their eyes widen.
The woman immediately puts her hands up, dropping the gun to the floor.
Another shot rings through the sky as Christa shoots a bullet into her chest and she stumbles backwards into the wall.
Slowly, she falls down the wall losing consciousness.
Clementine flinches, her little tears dripping down her face.
Christa drops her gun and reaches down for Omid's body, starting to sob.
Lee runs to Clementine and hugs her.
"Are you okay Sweet pea? Did that woman hurt you?" He utters.
All Clementine could do was shake her head.
"N…No…No she didn't hurt me. But…she…she threatened me and took m.my gun. She took my hat as well…" she sobs.
Lee looks to the sink where her hat lay, he grabs it and slowly places it back on her head, giving her gun back to her as well.
They both look to Christa who is sobbing quietly over Omid's body.
She looks up to Clem, devastated.

—Present Day—

They all sit around the slow dying fire, the wet wood refusing to burn into flames.
The clouds grow ever more gloomy as the cold wind rushes past them, making Clem shiver.
All spirits were low after Christa's miscarriage…and Omid's death.
After they had to deal with a massive hoard drawn to them by the gunshots.
They all ran out of ammo, having no choice, they left their guns.
Christa pokes at the dying flames with a stick with a deep sigh. Lee and Clem huddle together, Lee wrapping his arm around her closely.
Clem wanted Christa to talk to her again, she hardly said a word to her after Omid's death, which made her worry.
"C.Christa…talk to me" Clem states.
They both look at her, she stares off at the dying fire.
She gets up and pokes it again.
"This…is pathetic. The wood's too wet to burn, it's more smoke than flame.
At this rate we won't be able to eat this thing…" she mumbles.
"What else can we do?" Clem lowers her head.
Christa looks to her.
"Find some more wood maybe, I don't know. It won't be easy in the dark and in the rain."
Lee leans forward.
"I'm sure we can make it through this.
We made it this far."
Christa sighs and stares at Lee.
"We have made it this far, but you need to stop cuddling Clem so much.
She should be doing this, not us. She needs to know how to tend a fire, how to find food and stay warm. It's something she needs to be able to do, otherwise…"
She trails off, looking away.
"And I'll teach her. I can assure you that" Lee smiles with hope.
"Good."
"I'll go and get some wood" He states.
Christa nods as he gets up and walks off a short distance from where they were.
Leaving Christa and Clem alone.

Clem shivers as the wind blows harder.
"I'm freezing…"
Christa Scoffs.
"You think this is bad? Wait till we get up to Wellington, THEN talk to me about the cold."
Clem sighs, her shoulders lowering with her breath.
"We've got a rough few months ahead of us…this rain will change to sleet. Then ice. Then snow…it won't be easy" she explains, still poking around the fire to get the flame up.
"...Will it be safe there?" Clem questions, lifting up her head slightly in hope.
Christa looks into her eyes, wanting to give her a solid answer.
"It's safer than here because of the cold. Or…so they say."
Clem nods.
Silence takes over, the small crackles of the fire spitting out some of it.
Lee comes back with 2 small logs of wood in his one hand.
"This is all I could get" Lee sighs, grunting as he places them onto the floor by the fire.
Christa sighs and gets up.
"Thank you Lee. Sit down and have a rest. Must be hard with one arm" she mumbles.
Lee nods.
"It's no trouble."
He sits down next to Clem, he sees her shaking still from the breeze.
He wraps her arm around her again, hoping some of his warmth may help her.
"Are you-?"
"I miss Omid…"
They both look at her, then look at each other, eyebrows arched and heavy chests.
Christa closes her eyes.
"I'm…sure you do. I miss him too…"
…
…
The silence continues.
Eventually, Christa starts to walk off.
"I'm gonna go look for more wood. Keep the fire lit" she instructs.
They both nod as she walks away.
Lee looks at Clementine as she grabs her bag and zips it open.
He chuckles Softly.
"Do you still have that lighter honey?"
Clem nods.
She rummaged around for the lighter, finding the picture of Lee and also the drawing of Kenny's family.
Lee stares at it for a moment.
Clem grabs a small piece of cloth.
Clem leaves the drawing in her bag, frowning and hanging her head, as she zips the bag closed.
"It's okay Sweet pea…It's okay" He tries to soothe.
Clem nods and gets up.
Lighting up the cloth she chucks it into the middle of the nearly died out fire.
Lee sits down next to her on his knees and grabs one of the logs he brought, and slowly puts it down to the side of where the fire starts catching.
He hands over the poking stick that Christa left and lets her poke the fire.
"That's good. You're doing good Clem."
She doesn't respond.
She leaves it to burn up for a moment, watching it intently.
"Lee…?"
"Yes Clem?"
"Does Christa still hate me…because I'm the reason Omid is dead?" She questions.
Lee's eyes widen slightly before he turns her to face him.
"N.No no honey, Christa doesn't hate you at all. And you are not the reason Omid is dead. Nothin' could've been done."
"But…he was killed with my gun" Clem sadly looks up at him.
Lee's chest aches seeing her expression.
"I…I know…but you were stolen from Honey. That's the stranger's fault he's dead…not you. Don't be so hard on yourself Clem."
Another silence.
He takes the poker and pokes around the fire again, Whilst Clem grabs the other log Lee brought over and pushes it on the flames that start to grow slightly more now.
"Sometimes you need to remember that you, Clem, are just a child.
People need to be less harsh on you.
You're still growing. And you will learn in time, and make your own decisions. You've done well to make it far, and I'm sure most are impressed on how such a tough little girl has made it to where you are now" He goes on.
Clem looks at him and slightly smiles with what slight happiness she could muster.
They let the slow growing crackles of the fire break the coolness of the breeze, as they sit together.

"...Are you fucking me?!"
"You're lying!" "I'm not, I swear-!"

Both Lee and Clem look to the direction of the distant voices, Lee swiftly grabs his bag and pulls Clem close.
"That doesn't sound good…" He whispers.
Clem shakes her head.
"What if Christa's in trouble?" Clem questions,
"We need to help her!"
Lee nods.
"If she is, then we'll distract them okay honey. Stay close to me."
They slowly drift away from the fire and towards the distant voices who consistently yell, louder and louder, more and more pissed off.
They hide behind some trees and bushes to see Christa surrounded by 3 people in camouflage and hoods.
"Stop lying to us, lady."
"Answed our fucking question- WHERE IS YOUR GROUP?!"
Christa puts her hands up, backing away slightly, shaking.
"I…I'm by myself" she utters.
One of them groans.
"BULLSHIT!!" "We're not gonna ask again."
"Lee…we need to do something!" Clem hisses.
Lee nods and hands her a stone.
He gestures a throwing motion and Clem nods in understanding.
She throws the rock hitting one of the guys in the eye, he jolts back, dropping his gun.
"CHRISTA, RUN!!" Clem shouts.
Lee picks up Clem so she stands and starts running, Clem gets the gist. They both bolt it, hearing the bandit's loud growls of anger.
"Don't let her get away!!" One of the guys shouts back, as they bolt it to chase after Lee and Clementine.
Clem hides behind a tree, and Lee hides behind a boulder.
The guy stops and looks around, anger taking him over.
He deeply sighs, his raspy voice taking over.
"Where are those stupid fucks…?"
As he turns around to look where they could've gone, Lee signals Clem to run, which she does, bolting it past him.
He quickly follows.
They hear his angered groan and his boots swiftly catching to them.
"Clem! Walker!!" Lee shouts, Clem turns to face forward and sees a walker looming over her.
Unable to move out the way in time, Lee swiftly shoves it away into another boulder and they both start bolting again.
They stop to a halt as a long rushing, gushing river greets them, sharp rocks and boulders looking like swords.
Lee stares at the fall.
"Ah Shit…"
Clem's scream made his head turn, the guy had got her from behind and started dragging her away.
"CLEM!!"
"Stop squirming little shit!!-" "Get off of me!!"
Lee kicks his leg from under him, tripping him over.
Clem is free and she swiftly wriggles away with the assistance of Lee.
She tries to get away near some boulders near the corners of the river but the bandit is insistent, Grabbing her again this time, with his arms wrapped near her neck and starts dragging her back the way they ran.
Lee rushes to him again, ready to beat his ass, but he elbows Lee in the eye, whacking him to the floor.
"Get off of me!!-"
"Goddammit STOP SQUIRMING!!"
As Lee regains the sense of where he is, he sees Clem open her mouth and bite down on the guy's thumb, blood slowly starting to spit out from where her teeth sank in through his skin.
Lee uses all the force he can muster in his legs and kicks as hard as he could at the knees, sending the bandit to the floor and his thumb being ripped almost entirely off.
As Clem and Lee get away slightly again, Lee has time to examine the river.
He sees a form of pattern in the rocks that they can possibly go across, if they set their footing right.
"L.Lee…" Clementine mutters.
"It's okay Sweet pea, he can't hurt you now-"
"Lee. Look" she tugs on his jacket.
He finally turns around.
The gurgled sounds of walkers slowly rise behind them, as more of them slowly but swiftly pop into view.
As the bandit regains his sense of consciousness, he gets demolished by walker bites, them crawling over him and feeding off of his body.
Lee holds his stub in front of Clem in protection, as Clem grabs a stone and flings it at one of the walkers.
It didn't do anything, except make her panic more.
"L.Lee-!"
"C.CLEM!!" He shouts.

It felt like it went in slow motion, as he turns his head to see Clementine rolling down the sharp side of the rocks and splashing into the river.
He swiftly heads to the rocks he observed as a pattern and carefully but hurriedly passes over to the other side of the river, some of the walkers trying to follow but falling into the river instead.
As he makes it to the other side, he breathes deeply as he tries to bolt it the way Clementine was pulled away.
"CLEMENTINE!!" He shouts again.
Knowing he wouldn't be able to catch up to the river's speed of the waves, he worriedly looks at the other side, filling to the brim with walkers, to the river, then to the forestry on his own side.

With nothing to lose, he starts running.
Nowhere in particular.
Just running.
Running and running.
All with hope that Clementine is safe.

Chapter Text

He runs for at least an hour or so before he starts to slow down, out of breath.
Letting himself have a break, he looks around him.
He couldn't really see anything out of the ordinary, just the trees with their leaves clinging on for dear life and the grey clouds still gloomily hanging over the sky.
He sighs.
"Ah Fuck…I hope I can find Clementine soon…" he Mumbles to himself.
He makes sure he has his bag and it's still intact, which luckily for him, it was.
He starts to slowly move again, kind of just praying for a miracle.
After all…he's lost everyone he was with, including Clementine now.
But he hopes that she is still alive.

He knows she is still alive, he can just feel it!

Not long after walking through the forestry, an opening Clears to a big looking bridge.
A bridge that winds up to a small shed and also a nice looking cabin, that at some point in the past was used as a ski resort.
"Well…Its better than nothin'," shrugs.
He walks out and sees a small screwdriver near a dead walker. He picks it up, being his only choice of weapon, and puts it in his pocket.
Staring at the walker, he makes sure that it isn't alive, slightly pushing it with his foot.
It doesn't move.
He checks the pockets it has on them, but nothing comes out of it, he sighs.
A small groan makes his head turn, to see one lone walker stumbling towards him.
He grips his newly found screwdriver, and gives it a moment to get closer.
Without hesitation he stabs it in the top of its head, and wiggles out the sharp part of the screwdriver, slightly getting stuck.
Its groan slowly grows quiet, but still alive.
Lee stabs its forehead, and stabs into its empty eye socket just to be sure.
Blood spills onto the floor and all around its head.
He sighs and crouches down near it to see if it had anything on it.
He had a chocolate bar on him, but that's all.
He shrugs and takes it, wanting to maybe give it to Clementine when he finds her.

Cautiously, Lee then approaches the bridge, doubting the stability of it.
Despite it looking quite unstable, he manages to walk across it quite fine, with only a few creaks of the supposedly old metal holding it up.
He reaches the other side, still cautious and looking around him.
He didn't want to get surrounded by walkers again.
He starts to walk up the hill that led to the cabin.

"Hey. Put your hands up and stay where you are" a voice instructs.
Lee stops, and does as they say, raising up his one hand and his stub.
They see this and slightly lower their gun.
After a moment they bring it back up though, pointing it at Lee's back.
"I'm not here to cause any trouble" Lee lowers his head slightly,
"I just want to survive."
"Doesn't everyone?" the guy responds.
A moment of silence.
"What's your name?" He questions.
"Lee." "That's a nice name. I'm Matthew."
Lee stays silent.
"Are you alone?"
"...Yes."
Matthew eyes him, as Lee turns around with a saddened frown. He turns around to look over at the bridge before turning to Lee again.
"...I doubt you made it this far on your own" he eyes him, especially his nub,
"Where is your group?"
Lee sighs deeply.
"They're all dead. I still have a little girl…but we got separated by walkers. She fell into a river a mile or so from here, and I couldn't reach her."
Matthew's eyes arch slightly.
"I'm…sorry to hear that. And you're trying to find her again?"
Lee nods.
Matthew sighs and looks up at the cabin.
"I…I'll walk you up to the cabin. I have a group there with me and we have food and other supplies to keep ourselves alive. It's usually up to Walter but you seem like a chill dude.
Stick around as long as you want, you're good in my books, okay?"
Lee smiles slightly as they start walking.
"Thank you."
"No problem."
As they walk up, Matthew eyes him.
"So…how did you meet this little girl? Are you her dad?"
Lee looks down to the floor in thought.
"I found her hiding in her tree house. Her parents were on vacation in Savannah, she was left with a babysitter. She was a walker when I got there…and I knew I couldn't just leave her there.
I took care of her and promised to find her parents…but of course we were too late" he explains.
Matthew nods.
"Must be a lot taking care of a little girl."
Lee nods.
"She's a tough kid. And I would give anything to see her again and make sure she's alright.
I taught her how to survive."
Matthew smiles.
"You really like this kid huh…?"
Lee nods again.
"She's been through a lot."
"I honestly wouldn't think kids would last this long. But it sounds like you took care of this kid well. Good on you."

They finally make it to the cabin's entrance, double doors greeting him, completely see-through.
Matthew opens the door and let's Lee look around.
Light shone dimly throughout the place, Fairy lights covering pillars and rims around near the ceiling, crackling of a nice warm fire can heard from his right, and a massive open space takes his vision.
"If you please, put any weapons and belongings to the side here" Matthew smiles, also putting his gun down to the side,
"We like to keep things organised, and help everyone feel safe here.
At least, that's what Walter wants anyway."
Lee tilts his head at first, but doesn't want to lose trust in him. So he follows, putting his screwdriver down and also his bag.
"This is a nice place you guys got here" Lee states. Matthew chuckles.
"Yeah, when was the last time you got electricity huh?"
Lee chuckles.
Another chuckle joins them, catching Lee slightly off-guard.
"Back already Matthew?" A man beams, walking up to him,
"Who's this, a guest?"
Matthew nods.
"Found him walking across the bridge, he's friendly, doesn't seem to want anything other than some refuge. And I'm sure you'd provide that more than anything Walter."
Walter smiles.
"Of course. Nice to meet you…?"
"Lee."
Walter nods, and shakes his hand.
"I'm Walter, I assume you already know Matthew, and we have 2 others here but one is currently collecting wood and the other is finding a box of decorations to put on that tree there" he points.
A massive tree stands up on top of a surface near a staircase, it looms over them.
"Are they friendly?" Lee crosses his arms.
Walter nods.
"Yes, quite friendly. Ken may be a bit…forceful at times, a bit brash, but he's a good man. His heart is in the right place."
Lee chuckles.
"Reminds me of someone I once knew."
Walter and Matthew look at each other before Walter Leads Lee to the kitchen area.
Matthew sits down near the fireplace.
"So, Lee, what are you doing trekking out all the way out here?" He questions.
Lee sits down and sighs.
"I was travelling with some people. One died and then we got attacked by bandits.
We lost the other, don't know whether she's dead or alive.
And that left me and a little girl, Clementine. We got swarmed by walkers and she fell into a river that trapped us, I couldn't reach her so…I crossed the river and kept running to safety.
Then I stumbled upon this place and the bridge."
Walter nods intently, listening to every word.
"Sounds like you've been through quite a bit then" He sighs,
"And…if you don't mind me asking…what happened to your arm?"
Lee looks down at the counter.
"I got bitten…so I chopped it off."
Walter's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh…S.Sorry for asking."
"It's alright. Luckily, it worked."
Walter silently nods as he puts out some bowls.
"Hey Matthew! Did you get those boxes I needed?" He calls out to him, Making Matthew turn to face him.
He then gets up in panic and swiftly starts heading out the door.
"Oh shoot…sorry Walter! Thanks for reminding me!"
He then grabs his gun and bolts outside, Walter chuckling at him as he does.
He shakes his head.
"Such a good man. He's like a brother to me" Walter smiles warmly.
Lee smiles as well.
"I can see that. How long have you stayed here?"
As Walter takes out a can, he thinks.
"I'd say around a few months at least, this place has got everything we need so we decided to stay here a while."
Lee nods.
"That's a long time to stay in one place."
Walter chuckles.
"Yes, but we don't need to deal with many walkers here. We've got 2 men who know how to handle guns!" He chuckles,
"So usually most of them are shot if they wander around here. It's quite effective!"

"Alright! I'm back Walt!" A guy huffs.
Hearing a thump of the floorboards, it made them both think it would be a pile of bricks dropped on them, but no, it was mass amounts of logs.
"Ah! That's a lot of logs Ken, here let me help you-"
"Nah Nah I got it don't worry" he insists.
"I can't just watch you carry all those!"
"Walt. Seriously. I got it. If I can heave it up here, I sure can damn well get it up a small flight of stairs and to a fireplace" He stubbornly states back.
Walter chuckles.
"Alright, Alright."
As he goes up the small stairs to reach the fireplace, and puts down some of the logs.
He turns around and faces Lee.

They both stare at each other.

His eyes widened.

"L…Lee?" He utters,
"K.Kenny?" Lee utters back.

Walter looks between them.
"You two know each other?"

Lee and Kenny walk towards each other and stare.
Kenny brings him into a hug. A tight hug.
"I…Holy shit man. I can't say how much I'm glad to see your face again Lee."
"I..I'm glad you're alive too Kenny" Lee stutters.
He breaks from the embrace.
"How did you survive? I thought you were dead!"
Kenny smiles.
"I thought I was dead too, but by some miracle I made it out alive. A dead man walkin' one would say."
Lee and Kenny together both heave up the last few bits of wood together and take it to the fireplace.
Lee struggles slightly, having only one arm to do it with, but slowly he gains control of his nub and figures out how to handle more logs with it.
"Where's Christa, Omid and Clem?" Kenny Questions, putting down the hunk of logs.
Lee goes quiet.
Kenny's eyebrows arched slightly.
"D.Don't tell me they…they…" He utters.
"Christa and Omid…didn't make it" Lee sighs.
Kenny breathes and sits down on the couch.
"Oh fuck…fuck man…"
He takes a moment as Lee huffs into a chair.
"A.And Clementine? Please tell me Clem's okay!" He pleads.
Lee looks away.
"N.Not gonna lie I really expected you to be walking beside with her. Heh…you guys were 2 peas in a pod."
…More silence.
"We…We got separated. A group of walkers ganged up on us after we got attacked by bandits, I still believe she's alive but…there's no way to know for certain."
Kenny frowns and stares at the fire.
"Jesus…I.Im sorry I didn't mean to bring it up. It's just hard not to…you know?
But you're here now. And that's all I can ask for right now. I'm glad to see you again Lee."
Kenny looks up at him and smiles, Lee shares it back.

"I've found some!" A Woman's voice cheers.
A woman with black hair and a pastel blue-ish hoodie walks in with a big box.
Kenny looks over and smiles.
"Hey! Honey, let me help you out there!" Kenny swiftly rushes to her.
She chuckles.
"I can handle it Kenny-"
"N.No I insist-"
"Kenny…"
"I said I got it!" He slightly snaps, taking the box out of her hands and starts to bring it up to the tree.
She chuckles slightly and shakes her head, then looks over at Lee.
"Oh. H.Hello. Walter, who is this?"
Walter looks over at them.
"This is Lee, Matthew found him near the shed. He's gonna stay here for the night."
The woman looks at him and smiles slightly.
"Nice to meet you Lee."
Lee awkwardly shakes hands with her.
Kenny comes back down the staircase and hugs her tight, kissing her cheek.
"Lee, meet my girl Sarita, she's the reason I survived!"
Sarita chuckles.
"Barely. He was in such bad shape when I saw him. But then I fixed him right up and now he can't get enough of me!"
Kenny chuckles and grabs her waist playfully.
They chuckle together.
Walter comes over and smiles at the sight.
"Dinner will be ready soon. Lee, I hope you enjoy it" he nods at him.
"Been a while since I've had a proper meal. This is gonna be good," Lee slightly grins.
Sarita giggles.
"Walter is the best with food. I don't know what he does to it, but it always tastes good when he makes it."
"Yeah, he really makes a mean can of beans!" Kenny beams.
"I've got the boxes!" Matthew shouts, catching Walter's attention.
"Oh, thank you Matthew, here let me help you there."
All 3 watch as Matthew and Walter, together, heave the heavy looking boxes to the kitchen area and start a conversation they couldn't hear from where they stand.
After a moment or 2, Matthew goes back out again.
Kenny shakes his head.
"Matthew is always goin' out for somethin'. Really hope he handles himself properly" Kenny folds his arms.
"I got to experience it first hand. He does a decent job" Lee states.
"Did he aim at the head?"
"Yeah." "Ask if you're alone?"
"Yep." "Ask to drop your weapons?"
"..."
Kenny stares at him and sighs.
"He really should do that. Ah well. Sit at the table Lee, I don't know about you but I am STARVIN'!"
Sarita pat's Kenny on the shoulder.
"Yes, please have a Seat."
Kenny nods.

They all take a seat and stay there a few moments ,all of them staring in multitudes of directions.
After a few minutes, Walter comes over with bowls filled with some form of soup with beans. He smiles as he places his own bowl beside Sarita and sits down with them.
He also placed another bowl at the table…though the spot was empty.
Lee looks at Walter.
"...He'll come back in a minute or 2" He assures,
"Gosh I don't know what I'd do without him."
Kenny chuckles.
"Yeah, bein' your rodeo you 2 are attached at the hip!"
Sarita and Lee take amusement out of it.
Walter smiles and shakes his head.
"You know he shouldn't be out at dinner, but he insists on making sure nobody crosses the bridge. I fear one day he may fall into trouble…"
He deeply sighs, before looking across the table at Lee.
"So, Lee, how do you know Kenny? You 2 seem to have…quite the history together from the sounds of it" he asks, curious.
They all proceed to tuck in to their meals as Lee thinks.

Remembering all the way back from where this all began.
Most of it…he didn't want to think back on.

"We met at a farm. I helped these guys move their truck and they offered me and Clem a lift. Kenny and his family were there before us and we stuck together from there."
Kenny nods.
"Yeah, he had my back everytime.
Someone's in danger? Lee was there to help 'em out.
Group's fallin' to shit? Lee took charge and led us to greater decisions long-term.
And when he was bitten…he immediately told us and got rid of it straight away to help protect a lil' girl.
He is one hell of a guy!"
Lee smiles, whilst taking another few spoonfuls of his meal.
"You two have been through a lot together" Sarita nods,
"I bet it's nice to finally see each other again."
Lee nods.
"Oh you betcha ass it is!" Kenny beams,
"It'll be easier with Lee around."
Walter shakes his head while laughing slightly to himself.
Matthew comes back through the doors and huffs out of breath.
"Sorry…Sorry…has dinner been made already?"
Walter chuckles.
"Yes it has, Come on Matt."
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Matthew jogs over and sits down beside Lee where his bowl sat. It still kept some of its heat.
Walter looks at him.
"I'm glad you're back. I still question why you go out there everyday, it's very dangerous you know?"
Matthew sighs.
"Yeah Yeah I know Walt…but it's my duty to not let said "Dangerous people" pass the bridge and to here! I wouldn't live with myself if something happened to you guys. Plus, I wouldn't really trust Kenny to do my job-"
"Hey! Sneaky Bitch!"
They share a laugh.
As Matthew starts eating, Walter looks at his food for a moment, his eyebrows arched.
"So, How's everyone doing?" Matthew asks, as he starts to tuck in.
Walter nods and shakes off the frown, trying to tell himself Matthew does what he does purely for safety.
"Everyone is doing great. Or…as great as we can."
A moment of silence as everyone eats.
"Hey, Lee?"
He looks at Walter.
"...Yeah?"
"We'll help find Clementine overtime. Because I'm not willing to leave a little girl out there, if she's alive."
Kenny nods.
"Yeah, we'll help you find her Lee. We promise."
Lee looks around at them and smiles.
"Thank you…"
"Walt, do we have dessert after this?" Kenny Questions, making all of them chuckle.

Time passes on, until they have all finished eating and the sun slowly sets down past the endless numbers of trees.
After they finish eating, Walter, Sarita and Matthew collect the bowls and help out washing them with what water they had.
Meanwhile, Kenny looks at Lee, still smiling.
"Hey. Come outside with me a minute" He gets up, slowly starting to walk to the doors.
Lee gets up and follows him.
Kenny and Lee walk to the wooden bannisters, in which Kenny leans on them and stares off at the sunset, pretty with its Amber glow.
Lee also takes it in.
Kenny lowers his head slightly, looking down at the sight of the bridge.
"...I never thought I'd see you again Lee" he utters,
"That day just felt like a fever dream…and that kid's screams still haunt me to this day."
Lee looks at his slight pained expression.
"I'm…guessing' Ben Didn't…?"
Kenny shakes his head.
"He was too far gone…with that amount of walkers around us and all the racket he was makin'. There was no helpin' him.
His last words were…"Thank you for tryin' Kenny, I don't wanna die" ."
Lee lowers his head slightly from the tone of Kenny's voice alone.
"Damn…"
"After I met Sarita things changed for the better. Took care of me better than I could myself. I love her more than…more than anythin'."
Lee nods.
Kenny sighs.
"I can't believe Clem has gotten lost from you again…"
Lee closes his eyes.
"I know…all I can do is hope she is safe."
Kenny nods.
"Leave her in God's hands for a few days at least. I know she can take care of herself just fine" Ken pat's his shoulder,
"After all, you taught her everythin' she needs to know about this shit world."
"Damn right."
Kenny heaves himself up off the bannister and stretches his body out, before turning to Lee again and grinning.
"Time to get some shut-eye.
Tomorrow is gonna be another day, Lee."
Lee nods as Sarita signals both of them to come inside.
They follow.

Chapter Text

He looks around the vast empty void.
Nothing caught his eye, just the pure blackness of the space. He stares, slightly shaken.
"Hey Lee" a female voice calls out to him.
He stands up immediately and looks around.
"Ch.Christa?" He utters.
As he turns around again, he sees Christa standing there, folded arms and a small smile.
"Hello Lee."
Lee stares with wide eyes, before lowering his head.
"Christa I'm…I'm sorry for running away from the bandits. I should've helped you-"
"Don't…Beat yourself up over it Lee…there was nothing you could do. You protected Clementine, and that's all that matters" she soothes, sitting down on the empty floor.
Lee shakes his head.
"I just wanna know if you're safe…"
Christa chuckles slightly and looks off.
"Maybe I'm out there…somewhere.
If you find me, say hi.
Clementine is waiting, Lee.
Wake up."

"Wake up…Lee!" Kenny shakes his shoulders.
Lee jolts up and looks around him, he is on a bed with a flannel-styled cover he was sleeping over.
Kenny looks at him slightly confused.
"Come on Man, we got work to do" he states,
"Walt wants us to go see if we can find any supplies around."
Lee slowly gets up and shuffles himself off the bed, Kenny eyes him as they both leave the beds and down the staircase to the big, open area.
Walter is happily cleaning up some of the ash from the died out fireplace.
He turns around and smiles.
"Lee! Did you have a good rest?"
Lee nods slightly, not wanting to say what he dreamt about.
"Good, Good. I hope you don't mind helping around here a bit, we could use an extra hand."
Kenny chuckles.
"Yeah, he could also use an extra one- now let's go."
Lee sighs and shakes his head at the terrible joke, and starts to go out the doors with Kenny, after of course grabbing his stuff.
Kenny also grabs his gun.
They start heading towards the trees surrounding near the back of the cabin.

They walk for a good few minutes before they even look at each other.
"So" Lee begins,
"How exactly did you meet Matthew and Walter?"
Kenny grins.
"Well, uh, they were at that cabin a month or 2 before me and Sarita stumbled upon it.
Those 2 guys are friendly as Teddy bears, let us in right away.
Walt says Matt's too kind-hearted for his own good, which I can fucking say for certain it's true" he chuckles.
Lee nods.
"Stayed with 'em since?"
He nods.
"They're great people Lee, I'm just afraid them trusting strangers may lead to some BAD shit. Which is why I wanna protect em myself. Keep some force around 'em, 'cause they need it."
Lee nods in agreement.
As they converse, the trees slowly degrade in numbers as they spot a small, run-down gas station completely surrounded by chain link fencing.
And dead walkers as well.
Kenny looks at the sight, before walking up towards some of the walkers.
Lee follows.
Kenny takes a closer look before the walker springs up to life, nearly grabbing at his arm.
Stumbling backwards, he tightens the grip of gun and shoots it down, the shot ringing through the trees for at least a mile.
Lee goes beside him.
"Are you good?" "Yeah, Yeah I'm fine! Scared the shit outta Me…but it's good now."
Lee looks at the deep blooded bullet hole in the walker's head, before slowly walking around the perimeter to find any way of getting through.
He spots a chain link gate with a padlock.
"Kenny! Get over here, I've found a way through" he shouts.
He jogs over and smacks Lee's back slightly.
"Good to have ya back Lee."
He smiles as he looks at the lock.
"Do you think one of the walkers might have the keys?" He questions.
Kenny looks at them sprawled along the fence, all of them laying either on it or on the ground beside it.
He shrugs.
"Guess there's only one way to find out."

Kenny then proceeds to check walkers one by one for the key. Slowly but surely getting through all of them and nothing comes of it.
He grunts slightly.
"No, none of 'em. Now how the hell are we gettin' in there?"
Lee looks at it and looks at his screwdriver.
He then crouches down and sticks it inside the lock and twiddles it around a bit.
Kenny perks up a brow.
"What are you doin'?"
"What the hell does it look like I'm doing?"
"..."
"I'm trynna pick it open Kenny."
"Ah, Right. Forgot you knew how to pick locks."
Lee stops and stares at him.
Knowing exactly what he was talking about.
"...What? I'm from Florida and I know nobody there knew damn well how to pick a lock. Most can't fucking shoot a gun properly let alone how to gather brain cells to do that."
Lee sighs and shakes his head, going back to what he was doing.
Eventually, he gets it open, congratulating him with a click and the chains start to drop from the lightness of weight.
He screeches open the gate and let's both of them through.
Only 2 walkers are jammed between the gas pumps and beaten up cars.
They were alive, but couldn't move anywhere.
They walk past, and open up the door to the small building.

It was dark in there, the lights trashed and sparking, just barely hanging onto the ceiling.
The shelves looked as if they had been knocked over and thrown around, most of the boxes and bottles spilled around on the floor.
The counter was still intact at least.
"Alright, I'll check the counter, you check the floors" Kenny instructs,
"There must be somethin' here."
Lee nods.
As Kenny hops over the countertop, Lee crouches down and checks the boxes one by one.
Most cans and boxes he checked were empty or out of date by a LONG time.
However, He finds a few cans of beans and a few boxes filled with food.
He then proceeds to check the bottles, which he only finds 2 half bottles.
The others, completely empty or crushed.
With the few things he found, he individually puts them in his bag for safekeeping and then closes it up.
He gets up, heaving the bag on his back, and walks to Kenny.
He has laid out some things, mostly crushed papers and empty cans he has found.
He pops his head back up with a can of Peaches in one hand and a small chocolate bar in the other.
"Oh! Hey Lee, what'd you find? Anything?"
Lee smiles and shows him the inside of his bag.
Kenny's eyes widen.
"Holy shit…hell yeah!!"
"Put the stuff you found in here, it'll be safe."
"Before I do, heh, don't this look like Clem?" He chuckles, showing the peach can to Lee.
It had a little girl on it sticking her tongue out.
The only thing Lee saw in it that looked remotely like Clem was the girl's brown hair in the style she keeps.
Lee shakes his head with a confused chuckle.
"It has been so long since you've seen Clem you've forgotten what she looks like."
Kenny laughs.
"Strikin' resemblance if you ask me!"
Kenny then loads up the things into his bag:
The Peaches, the chocolate bar, 2 bottles of water and a bottle of alcohol.
He zips up the bag and chuckles.
"That Chocolate bar can be for Clem when we see her again" he smiles, grabbing his gun off the table.
Lee smirks.
"Funnily enough, I found a bar of chocolate from a walker near the bridge."
Kenny nods slowly.
"Ah, well, she can have 2. Even better."
He opens the door again and sees a few walkers stumbling around, emerging out of the trees.
"Ah shit…we need to run before more walkers pile up here" Kenny Mumbles.
At that, they both start running, the walkers gargling at them as they rush past and continue to run back into the forest the way they came.

They open the doors and Walter snaps his attention to them.
He greets them with a smile.
"Heyyy! You're back! How'd it go?"
Kenny grins.
"Walt, we have found a good pile of shit! Check it out. Lee, if you would."
He holds his hand out to get Lee's bag, of course, he hands it to him.
Kenny then rushes up the small steps and to the kitchen area, both Lee and Walter catching up with him.
He zips it open to take everything out, as more and more comes out of the bag, Walter's face lights up and he smiles a lot more.
Once Kenny's done, he lifts up his arms.
"We've got food for ages baby! Along with our current supply we'll be here for a good long while!" He beams.
Walter chuckles and brings Kenny in for a hug.
"Oh Kenny, this is great! Thank you both for doing this. Now Please, take a rest while I put all this away!"
They both nod as they walk off near the fireplace, Lee brings his bag back to the entrance and places it there.
Kenny, forgetting to put his gun back, swiftly joins him.
Sarita comes jogging to the entrance and beams at seeing Kenny again.
"Kenny!"
"Sarita, my darlin'!"
"How was it out there? Not too bad I hope."
"Oh it was nothin'. Only a few walkers lurkin' round. Nothin' me and Lee couldn't handle.
Right Lee?"
Lee chuckles and nods.
Sarita smiles sweetly.
"That's wonderful. I was just cleaning up the place, I found some more boxes of decorations! Who knew this place could have so many" she goes on.
Kenny and Lee listen as she rants about just how many she found, including boxes and labels.
"That's a lot of stuff," Lee Mumbles,
Sarita nods.
"Oh yes, it's a lot. But it'll be good for the tree!"
"It'll look Great Sarita" Kenny warmly smiles, wrapping his arms around her.
She giggles.
"Kenny stop it you sweet man."
"I'm sorry I can't help it, just the way I am!" He chuckles.
Lee chuckles at the sight.
Sarita looks at him star-eyed.
"Lee, would you be willing to help set up some of the decorations with me? You too Kenny!"
Lee nods with a Solemn smile.
"Yeah, why not. Lil' decorating won't hurt nobody."
Kenny nods.
"Yeah, I haven't decorated anythin' since 9th grade art class. Let's see if I can harness my skills!"
They all walk up the staircase and to the boxes that both Kenny and Sarita have moved, and they open them up to show many Christmas decorations and ornaments.
They all start to grab random ornaments and start placing them on the tree, like a loving family at Christmas time. Sarita gave some pointers on where some ornaments should go, and what ornament it should be paired up with.
After a few minutes they have nearly filled the tree. Using up one and a half of the boxes.
Kenny uses the ladder and stretches up to hook the leaves with the ornaments hook.
He sighs in relief, reaching it.
Meanwhile Lee is crouched down near the bottom, letting the ornament he was holding, a cute set of bells, hang on to the leaves near the floorboards.
He gets up off his knees and stretches out his arm.
Sarita backs away and looks at it with sparkles in her eyes and a loving smile.
She looked as if she could cry.
"It looks so beautiful! Thank you boys for helping me. Hehe, look at you two" she smiles.
They both look at each other.
"Two grown men, still internally their inner child at Christmas."
Kenny gets down from the ladder, eyebrow raised.
"Look…I don't know what the hell you're on about, but I don't want that to be brought up again."
"Take it as a compliment Ken. Shows you still have life inside you."
"The life inside me died years ago with civilization" he blankly states, slightly lowering his head before smiling at Sarita again.
"I think everyone lost themselves with civilization," Lee shrugs.
Kenny nods and points at him.

"Hey Lee, Kenny!" Walter calls over.
They both look over and then look at each other. Kenny swiftly gives Sarita a peck on the cheek before they both walk over to Walter.
"What's up Walt?" Kenny Questions.
"Can you go onto the deck and look through the binoculars? If we're planning on looking for this little girl Lee, then we need to start soon. You never know."
Kenny Scoffs a little with a grin.
"Oh Walt, I'm sure we'll be fine for now!-"
"Please…just to ease my worry Ken. That poor little girl is out there somewhere."
Kenny looks at his expression, slight worry in his eyes.
He sighs.
"Alright, come on Lee."
"Right."
They, together again, walk out of the doors, Kenny grabbing his gun on the way out.
As they reach the deck, Lee looks at his gun.
"We're…only checking the binoculars for Clem, Kenny. What's the gun for?"
Ken stares out over the bridge.
"For safety that's what. Walkers are still a thing ya know."

They hear footsteps, making Kenny immediately lift his gun up in the direction they heard it.
Lee slightly backs up behind him.
"Who's there?" Kenny snaps,
"Show yourselves!"

A group slowly emerges up from the hill to the deck, all their faces slowly realising what is happening, with Kenny pointing the gun at them.
"What the hell do you want?" Kenny presses.
"Well that's a great greeting now isn't it?" One Of the guys move forward, another stops him.
"Nick…stop."
"What? He started it. No need to be aggressive-"
"I've plenty reason! Who the hell are you?!" He shouts.
Lee places his hand on his arm.
"Kenny. Calm it man."
Kenny looks at him for a moment.
"Lee…unless you can tell me you know these people, then I'm not puttin' this gun down" he sharply grits.
One of the guys puts his hands up and slowly goes in front of the group.
"Hey…Hey…we don't mean any trouble. We thought this place was abandoned is all" They explain, shaking.
Kenny eyes them.
"And, we have kids. And a pregnant woman, we don't wanna get into a mess here."
"Yeah, and I can't take chances on you either. What if you're thieves? I'll never know" he bluntly responds.
"Do we look like fucking thieves to you bitch?"
"Yeah you do actually!"
One of the guys from the back huffs whilst holding a little girl close to him.
"Oh please stop it, you're scaring my daughter!"
"I'm not gonna stop till you TELL ME WHO YOU ARE-!!"
"K.Kenny??" Sarita's voice meekly murmurs.
Lee turns his head to see her come out of the cabin alongside Walter.
"Yeah…what's going on?" Walter questions.
They turn and see the group, the one supposedly named Nick handling a gun, and many others behind him.
"Sarita, Walter, Lee stay behind me. I don't trust these people-"
"Excuse me?!" "We can hear!!"
"Stay away from us!!" Kenny shouts.
"What are you on about?? What do you want from us?" Sarita questions.
"Everyone just chill the fuck out!" Lee bluntly raises his voice.
"Well said Lee. Now tell us what you want here.." Kenny grits his teeth.
"Listen everyone, Just stay calm-"
"Who are you? Are you trying to Rob us?" Sarita presses, getting more and more beside Kenny.
Lee pulls her away slightly in caution.
"Exscuse me honey but do I look like a FUCKIN' THEIF?!" The pregnant woman sharply responds.
"Everyone calm down," Walter sighs.
"No. You calm the fuck down!" Another shouts back.
"Sarah get behind me…"
"Just tell us who you are!" Walter pleads.
"All we need are your names and we can talk this out!" Lee suggests,
Blatantly getting ignored, as Nick keeps a good grip of his gun, pointing at Kenny, and Kenny points his at Nick.
Both as pissed off as each other.
"We ain't here to Rob nobody. Now just put the gun down" he puts his hands in his pockets.
"Fuck that!" Kenny takes a step forward, more anger filling him.
Lee pulls his shoulders back slightly.
"Kenny I swear to god…Chill the fuck out man!!" Lee sharply states, making Kenny stare at him before looking at the group again.
"Please just do what he says!" Sarita meekly chokes.

As Lee stares at Kenny, slight anger and annoyance combined filling him,
He watches his face change.
From anger to a sort of shocked but peaceful bliss.
He slowly puts the gun down, making everyone slightly shaken.
"Kenny what are you-"

He turns his head to see Clementine emerging from the group, wide eyed and slightly scared.
Growing into shock as she stares at Kenny and Lee, looking between them.
"Kenny?...Lee?" She utters.
All her group look at her.
"Wait…you know these guys?"
She swiftly runs to them and hugs them both, very tightly.
"Oh I've missed you so much sweet pea…" Lee smiles, closing his eyes.
As Kenny lets go of his hug, Lee remains hugging her.
"I'll take that as a yes," Walter chuckles.
As Lee lets go and kneels down, Kenny kneels down to her as well.
"These people with you?"
She nods with a smile.
A smile that Lee has most missed very dearly.
Kenny pat's her shoulder and gets back up, taking in a deep breath.
"We can talk inside."
Walter's face lights up.
"Great! I've just started on dinner."
Lee nods and keeps Clementine by his side.
"Yeah, let's go get you guys some rest, you look tired" he smiles at them.
They all look back with slight caution, especially since the situation was life threatening just a few seconds ago.
"Are you sure you don't mind?" The guy beside the girl questions.
Walter chuckles.
"Not at all."
He looks up at the clouds rolling over, more grey than he remembers them.
"It's going to storm soon, please come in."

Cautious or not, they all start to pile through to the entrance of the cabin.

Chapter Text

As they walk inside, Kenny and Lee by Clementine's side, Walter Leads them on and let's them marvel at the sight they first see.
It made him smile to see their slight amazement on it.
"Kenny and Sarita have been staying with us for a few weeks. Lee showed up yesterday, but still has been a great help here."
Walter walks up the steps and looks around with a proud smile.
"We even have a wind turbine out front that produces some power. Though we usually turn off the lights at night to avoid drawing attention."
As Walter speaks on and on, Kenny and Lee turn to Clementine.
Both smiling, Clementine is beaming back.
Kenny mocks Walter, using his hand and making a talking gesture.
Clementine giggles, Lee chuckles with her, just seeing her smile and laugh.
Walter turns around.
"What's funny?"
Kenny gets up again and rolls his eyes with amusement.
"Oh nothin' Walt."
Lee comes up beside Walter and places his hand on his shoulder.
"Walter is a very nice man. And as Kenny puts it, "He makes a mean can of beans."
"He does! He's one smart son of a bitch too!"
"Think Clem gathered that Kenny…"
"Ya never know!" He smirks.
Lee shakes his head, also with a smile.
Clem grins.
As the others come in, Walter gently smiles.
"Please make yourselves at home, feel free to put your things over there."
Walter gestures to the small benches of wood where Lee's bag and screwdriver lie.
The pregnant woman stares at him blankly and folds her arms.
"Like hell we will…"
"Yeah I'm holding onto my rifle. Thanks" Nick blankly adds.
Walter looks between all of them, all of them giving him suspicious looks.
"Y.You're our guests here. There's no need to worry-"
"Tell him to put his gun down then" Nick sharply requests.
All of his group nod.
Walter, Clem and Lee look at him expectantly.
"Kenny.." Walter began.
Kenny looks between all of them.
"..."
"Come on Kenny. This is the group Clem has been with, show them that they can trust us" he gently pushes.
"And what if I can't trust them?" He slightly hisses,
Then looking at Clementine.
"If you can vouch for these people Clem…and say they're good. They're good for me."
Clementine nods.
"They're good."
Kenny nods and goes down the steps, putting his gun beside Lee's bag.
He then looks at the group and folds his arms.
"There ya go."
The girl, Sarita and the other guy come in last.
The girl looks around and starts jumping slightly out of excitement.
She gasps.
"Dad, Look! A Christmas tree-!"
"Not now Sarah…" he Mumbles.
Lee watches as her face slightly drops to a slight sad frown.
Sarita looks at her and then at the tree, smiling.
"Isn't it great? We found it all in storage!"
"It's amazing," Sarah beams.
The group all then proceed to put down their stuff, wherever they felt like it fits.
One of the guys holds out his hand to Lee.

"I'm Luke. Nice to meet you."
Lee looks at him a moment before taking his hand and shaking it.
"I'm Lee. And who's the rest of your group if you don't mind me asking?"
Luke chuckles.
"Of course I don't mind. I forgot we haven't been properly introduced.
That guy that slightly looks like your guy there, that's Nick. He's…a little trigger happy, but he's a good guy.
Those 2 there are Alvin and Rebecca.
Yet to have a baby soon.
That is Carlos, he's a doctor, and his daughter Sarah. She's shy. Carlos is…slightly protective of her so, don't try to upset her I guess."
He nods slightly, letting the silence take its form.

"If you'd like to follow me, I can show you where you can sleep," Sarita sweetly smiles.
As the group follows Sarita, Kenny and Clem stay behind near the fire, having a small talk to themselves, whilst Luke and Lee sit down in the corner on one of the dinner tables.
"So um…who's your group? We know Clementine. And I know you now, But…"
Lee nods.
"That over there with Clem, is Kenny. He's been with us from day one of this awful ride…very protective of family, and of Sarita.
Then we have Walter, who is very generous.
Makes the best meals."
Luke chuckles.
"Better than bland cereal?"
"Better than bland cereal."
Lee then looks out the front doors.
"Then Matthew. He isn't here at the moment but he is also really generous. Great with his aim too and negotiation."
Luke nods along.
"Got a solid thing going on then huh..?"
Lee nods.
"Hopefully your group can trust us…we don't mean to be so overprotective. Especially Kenny."
Luke shakes his head.
"No No it's all good. I'm sorry Nick is being such an ass too. I think they may butt heads quite a bit but…we can make it work somehow."
"Somehow…yeah."
Luke sighs with a smile.
"It's…really refreshing to meet some friendly people for once. In a world with hostility and times are tough it…it's nice to see" he goes on, looking over at Kenny as he gives Clementine a small hug and is talking to her.
Lee nods.
"It's easy to get lost in things like that…but it seems you've taken good care of Clementine. Thank you."
Luke smiles.
"No problem."
As Lee gets up, he walks over to Kenny and Clementine, whilst Luke wanders off somewhere else in the cabin.
Clementine is hugging Kenny, looking like she is on the verge of tears.
Kenny is gently consulting her as Lee sits down and watches.
"It's okay Clem…Lee told me everything…I'm so sorry Darlin'. Sounds like it's been real rough on you."
They let the silence linger.
Clem let's go and looks down at the floor.
"How did you get out of there?" She utters, looking up at him.
"For some reason I tried to save that fuckin' shitbird Ben…it was a damn cluster.
But luckily I got out.
Long story short: I got lucky. Real lucky."
Clem nods and smiles slightly at him.
"Where have you been?"
Kenny sucks in through his teeth and looks at the fire, sparking with its embers.
"Ah Hell, all over ever since Savannah.
You wouldn't believe it."
Lee chuckles slightly, catching their attention.
"Yeah but you're here now Kenny. And that's what counts right?"
Kenny nods.
"Right."
Sarita comes over and Kenny immediately smiles.
"Clem, Meet Sarita. Ain't she just beautiful?"
Sarita chuckles quietly.
"Nice to meet you Clementine. Are you two catching up?"
Clementine quietly nods.
"I hope you feel at home here."
"It'll come with time" she meekly responds.
Sarita nods in understanding.
She hugs Kenny before going back to the tree.
"Hey Walt! Where's Matthew? Still rootin' around?" Kenny Questions.
Walter sighs.
"Isn't he always…? I'm nearly done making dinner!"

"Carlos right? Mind if I steal your daughter for a secret mission?"
Carlos eyes Sarita.
Sarah looks at him with a goofy smile.
He sighs.
"Stay in sight sweetie."
She nods and looks at Sarita with a calm smile.
Luke and Nick come down the staircase.
"Anything we can do to help?"
Kenny gets up.
"Yeah, there's quite a bit of supplies we need to move inside before that storm hits."
Luke nods.
"You got it."
They quickly start hurrying outside.
Kenny turns to Lee and Clementine.
"How about you guys help Walt with Dinner?"
Lee smiles.
"Sure. Call me if you need a hand with anything-"
"I got it Lee."
He chuckles in return as Clementine looks at Lee with a smile.
Lee gets up.
"Come on, Sweet Pea, let's go help Walter out."
"Okay."

They both walk to the kitchen area, to smell some slight spice in the air from the aroma of the soup like meal.
"Ah, so you're Clementine. The girl I've been hearing so much about!" Walter beams, putting down the spoon in his hands,
"I've heard so much about you."
Clementine looks to Lee, he nods and puts his hand on her shoulder.
"Have you been settling in well enough?" He gently asks.
Clementine nods.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Excellent. Want to help prepare a little dinner?"
They both nod, as she looks at what is in the pot that stays on the hob, steaming.
Clementine's expression scrunched slightly.
Walter hands her a small shaker of salt.
"Here. Just lightly tap some of that in for me."
She takes the shaker and tips it over slightly, nothing coming out of it due to her not tipping it over enough.
Lee chuckles and takes her hand, making her tilt it slightly more, then she proceeds to tap it slightly. Letting the small grains of salt fall out.
"There you go" Lee encourages,
"That's it Clem."
Clementine smiles as she puts it back down, giving Walter a high five.
"Gosh you remind me of my students. I…can't imagine having to grow up throughout all this" he sighs.
Lee grabs a can from one of the small cupboards near the floor and hands it to Walter.
"It hasn't been easy…" Clem lowers her slightly.
"I can imagine. It's not the prime environment for a kid, or any of us. It's hard enough as an adult."
"Damn right it is" Lee Mumbles.
A moment of silence falls between them as Walter continues stirring the pot.
He then takes a slight bit of the mixture and sips it into his parted lips.
He tilts his head side to side.
"Almost done. Would you give me the honour of taste testing the first course madam?" He grins.
Clem looks at it again.
"It looks…great."
"It looks like mush."
Lee nods in agreement.
"It…probably tastes better than it looks" Clementine tries to smile.
Lee nods.
"Oh, it will be Clem. Go on, test it out."
Walter hands her the spoon and she takes a small amount of mixture from the pot and sips it into her lips like Walter did.
A small hint of spiciness hits her throat, making her eyes widen.
She hasn't eaten anything tasting like this in a long time. She smiles and hands the spoon back.
"Famous Review madam?" Walter asks with a hopeful grin.
"It's good!"
Walter and Lee chuckle.
"I want some as well Walt-!"
"Oh Lee, you can wait. A 5 star meal doesn't happen in 10 minutes!"
Lee chuckles as Walter pat's his back.
"Anyway you two, I can take this from here" he states, picking up the pot and taking it off the hob that still burns with a brightening heat.
They both nod and Lee turns to Clementine as Walter walks to another counter space.

Lee looks down at Clem's arm, spotting slight bandaging.
"What happened here…?" He quietly asks,
"Did you hurt yourself?"
Clem looks at it and sighs as Lee rolls up her sleeve to see it more thoroughly.
"I got bitten by a dog…Luke and Pete found me and took care of me. At first they thought it was a walker bite, but after waiting, they believed me."
Lee sighs and shakes his head.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there Clem."
"It's okay…it's not your fault Lee."
Lee looks at her slightly confused.
"...Who's Pete?"
Clementine goes quiet.
"...He's dead. He was a nice man.
He had my back."
"..Oh…"
Another silence.
Lee takes a breath.
"Hey Clem, how about you go over and see what Sarah and Sarita are up to? I'm gonna go and see if some of your other friends are alright" he suggests.
Clem looks over at Sarita and Sarah, Sarah was stringing up some beautiful, small bulbed lights, hanging it around the tree.
They both were smiling and talking with each other.
She turns to Lee and nods sweetly.
"Okay."
"That's my girl."
Clem and Lee then walk towards the staircase, Clem stopping as Sarita looks at her with a gentle smile.
Lee walks up the stairs to see Carlos, Rebecca and Alvin, Rebecca sitting down.
"We cannot be so sure…"
"Come on Man. We've been on the road for a week. We need to get outta the forest, surely they wouldn't follow us this far."
"You cannot know for certain. They are insistent. We leave at dawn."
"What is happening? Everything alright?" Lee questions, making all 3 of them look at him, then at each other.
Carlos folds his arms.
"This is none of your concern."
"If it involves your safety then it damn well is my concern."
Carlos and Alvin stare at him.
"Either way, We are leaving in the morning."
"...We'll be safe here for tonight though, right?" Rebecca questions.
Lee nods.
"Don't worry, this place is safe."
Rebecca slightly nods.
"Good enough for me."
"You never know, they could be tracking us!"
"Tracking us? Who do you think they are…Ninjas?" Alvin bluntly responds.
"Who?" Lee questions.
They go silent.
Carlos sighs.
"I hear that you spoke with Luke. What exactly did you say to him?"
Lee looks at him, Carlos giving him a shifty glance.
"We talked about your names. And my group's names, that's all. So we both can get familiar with the groups."
Carlos Mumbles.
Alvin sighs and shakes his head.
"Whatever they talked about, we are stayin' here tonight."
Carlos rolls his eyes slightly and starts to walk off.
Lee goes beside him and he stops.
"Hey, can I talk to you, Carlos?"
He stares at him for a moment and sighs.
They both drift off to the side.
Carlos folds his arms.
"What do you want?"
"I just wanna know…how is your daughter?"
He eyes him.
"Why do you want to know about my daughter's wellbeing?"
"I'm just curious. She is quite…I don't know. Happy. I see kids…rarely, but they aren't happy like she is."
Carlos leans over the bannister slightly.
"Yeah well…there's one thing you should know, and that is my daughter is different when compared to little girls like Clementine. She…didn't know about the horrible world we live in until we moved out of the cabin we stayed in. I just…couldn't bring myself to tell her."
As Carlos explains, Lee Drifts his gaze to Sarah, she watches as Clem puts an angel on top of the tree in amazement. Her smile, beaming.
Lee looks at him.
"Does…she know how to defend herself?"
"No…because I am here to protect her. I want to hide her from the horribleness of this world.
If she knew, she would cease to function…" he Mumbles.
Lee sighs.
"I think if the time is right, she should learn how to use a weapon, a gun. I think it'd be a-"
"You do NOT KNOW what she needs!!" He snaps.
Lee backs off a little bit.
"Calm down man…I was just going to say I think it'd be a nice starting step to help your daughter come to terms with the world. If you wanna teach her then I think that may make her comfortable…you know?"
Carlos' pissed off expression greets him.
Lee sighs.
"I'm sorry to offend you. Just speaking…from a parent's perspective.
I taught Clementine everything she knows, taught her how to use a gun when she was only 10."
Carlos breathes in and out trying to calm himself, he paces slightly as Lee talks on.
Eventually, Lee sees he hasn't really gotten through to him.
"I'll…leave you to it. Sorry…" Lee nods, starting to walk off to Rebecca, who is now alone.
"I…! I'll think about it…but for now I'm going to go and find Luke" he Mumbles, swiftly walking past him.

Lee walks over to Rebecca, seeing she is slightly struggling.
"Hey…You okay?"
"I'm fine. Just slightly dizzy…" she sighs,
"I can't even take care of myself…how on earth am I meant to raise a child?"
Lee looks around awkwardly and then looks back at her.
"I believe it can be possible."
She looks up to him.
"You think so?"
"I know so."
"How?"
Lee chuckles.
"Because I raised Clementine. And she is still alive."
They go quiet for a few minutes.
"I know it's gonna be hard…but at the same I already feel a little less lonely."
She gently puts her hand on her stomach.
Alvin comes back with a bottle of water.
"Here you are Baby, you okay?"
"I'm fine you big dope" she smiles, slightly getting up.
"I'll leave you to it" Lee nods and walks back down the stairs.
Before he disappears from view, Alvin looks to him.
"Thank you for looking after Rebecca for a minute, Lee was it?"
Lee nods.
Alvin smiles.
"Thank you."

"Dinner's ready everyone!" Walter calls, making everyone turn their heads.
Walter smiles at Lee as he takes the last bowl to their usual table.
Lee walks over and sits down with Kenny, Sarita and Walter.
Luke, Nick, Carlos, Sarah, Alvin and Rebecca sit down at the other table where the bowls are already laid out for them.
Clem looks between them, and eventually comes over to Lee's table.
"Hey Clem, What's the deal With what's his name…Luke? Is he the leader? You trust him?"
Lee sighs.
"Kenny…"
"What? Just askin'."
He looks back to Clementine.
"They seem nice" Sarita smiles.
"Yeah well gators seem nice till they bite your damn arm off!" Kenny stubbornly responds back.
"I like him. He's a good guy" Clem grins, starting to tuck into her food.
Lee smiles.
"I agree. If Clem likes him, I like him too."
Kenny sighs and Mumbles to himself as everyone else eats.
"You know big Al? They said they were on the run."
"I heard that too from Carlos. They didn't explain to me anything though" Lee Mumbles.
"Some people are after them" Clem states.
Kenny Scoffs.
"Well, you don't need to worry about that no more. They're going in the morning and you can stay with us, and Lee!"
Lee looks at him.
"Kenny-"
"They said it themselves Lee!"
"I've heard enough of this…" Walter Mumbles,
"These are our guests Kenny. You need to treat them as such."
Walter then gets up and moves with his bowl in hand, Sarita does the same.
Kenny sighs and continues eating, Clementine and Lee awkwardly doing the same.
Luke and Nick nod at something that is said by Walter and Sarita, and they come over to sit with Clementine.
Kenny takes a moment before looking at Luke.
"Hey."
"H.Hey" Luke greets back.
"Hope you like the food" Kenny slightly smiles.
"Yeah, it uh, it's great. Thank you."
"Peaches and beans. Great for nutrition. Not too great on the way out I can tell you that much" he openly laughs.
They awkwardly nod, Lee chuckling slightly with him.
"Hope this place isn't too overwhelming either for you guys" Lee states.
Nick awkwardly tucks in more to his food, before looking at Lee.
"It's…It's fine. I guess…"
"Luke and Nick, right? Luke and Nick. Man…you two are such a match!"
Nick's head perks up.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Kenny puts his hands up slightly.
"I'm just sayin' you two look like great friends. That's all."

Luke sighs.
"So, what is your plan here? Camp out here for the winter?" He questions.
Kenny shakes his head.
"Nah, we actually were plannin' on movin' on. Heading up north. Clem, Lee, heard of a place called Wellington?"
Lee and Clem look at each other.
"We were gonna go there with Christa," Lee explains.
Kenny grins.
"I heard there's a big camp up near Michigan."
"Michigan?"
Kenny leans towards Nick.
"Ya got a hearin' problem kid? Yeah Michigan. Think about it: Fresh water, lots of land, and cold ass winters so the walkers get slow!" He gushes excitedly.
Nick folds his arms, and eats another bite of his meal.
"...Sounds like bullshit-" he mutters.
Kenny glares at him.
"Listen Vanilla ice, you're more than welcome to TAKE OFF IN THE MORNING!!" He snaps.
Luke shoots him a disgusted glare.
"That is just fine by me!!" Nick shouts.
The other table looks over slightly.
"Lee back me up here!!"
"Don't get Lee involved in this, he hasn't done anything!"
"I can address him however I damn want to! I've known him since all this fuckin' started!!"
"Hey fuck you Buddy!" Nick snaps.
"It's alright Nick…we ain't stayin'-"
"Yeah, Clem's stayin'!"
Both of them look at Kenny, anger filling both of them.
Luke tries to tone it down slightly, deeply breathing in.
"E…Excuse me?"
"She is stayin' with us!!"
"Kenny, stop" Lee states.
Kenny stares at Lee.
Lee does the same.
"Stop it. Kenny."
As Walter walks over and puts a can of Peaches on the table, he sighs.
"Gentlemen, Gentlemen please…there's no need for this. Stop this nonsense and please…eat."
After Walter shakes his head at them, and leaves, they all look between each other.
Annoyance still fills the air.
Kenny looks at the can with dreary annoyed eyes and holds out his hand.
"Pass me that can Duck…" he Mumbles, before his eyes widen and he heaves, lowering his head.
Clementine and Lee's eyebrows arch slightly, also lowering their head.
Nick and Luke stare at each other in confusion.
Nick slightly chuckles, thinking Duck is a weird thing to be upset about.
"...Duck? Wh.Who's Duck?" Luke asks.
He looks at Kenny, then at Lee, then at Clementine.
"...Duck was his son" Clementine utters.
Nick stops chuckling, and Luke lowers his head slightly, feeling slightly awkward.
"Oh…"
The whole cabin goes silent for a good few minutes, As Kenny's head lowers so you couldn't see his face anymore.
Lee reaches over to the can and puts it beside him.
"Uh, Clementine, is it alright if you give me a hand outside for a moment?" Walter asks.
Clementine nods.
"Sure."
As she gets up and goes with Walter, Kenny tries not to shed a tear.
Nick, with his empty bowl, gets out of his seat and moves away.
Luke looks to Kenny.
"I…I'm so sorry…we didn't know" he manages to utter.
Kenny doesn't respond.
Luke nods in understanding and leaves the table as well.
Lee puts his arm on Kenny's shoulder.
Sarita comes over and sees how sad Kenny looks.
"Oh Kenny…come here. Everything will be fine. You hear me? Everything will be fine…"
She wraps her arms around Kenny and closes her eyes, leaning her head on top of his.
Kenny opens his eyes and lifts his head slightly.
"I…I'm fine Sarita. Don't worry about it. Thank you, both of you. Sorry, I'm back! I'm back" he bursts back, raising his voice to his usual tone.
Sarita bounces back and examines his face, leaning on the table.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am Hon. I'm as sure as a politician making dumb ass decisions for a country."
They both chuckle.
"Alright then. Please come to me if you need anything. You know you can-"
"I know Hon, I know!"
They share another hug, before she goes back to sit beside Sarah who is having a conversation with Carlos.
She looks like she is listening very carefully.
"Hey Kenny, just gonna leave your side for a second. Just finish up eating" Lee gets out of his seat.
Kenny continues eating, slightly confused.
"Sure thing Captain instructor."

Lee sits down by Carlos.
"I know it will be hard to do sweetheart, but for the sake of your safety I feel it is time…for you to learn how to shoot a gun."
Sarah looks between Lee and Carlos.
"A gun? Like a…a proper one?" Her voice perks up.
Carlos nods, hesitant.
"Now that we need to move a lot more in this…vast open world, Sarah, it'll do you good to learn to defend yourself."
Carlos looks at Lee, he nods.
He breathes.
"You can use this one I found" Lee grins,
"It's not too heavy and it'll be good enough for you to keep."
Sarita's eyes widen.
"Matthew's pistol?"
Lee nods.
"He said I could use his guns when the time came to it. And I feel this is a good time."
"A.Are you sure?" Carlos questions,
"Will…Will this Matthew really mind?"
Sarita shakes her head.
"Not at all. He is a really sweet man. Too kind for his own good" she chuckles.
Lee nods.
"So what do you say Sarah? Wanna practice holding it first?"
Sarah smiles.
"Oh my gosh! I'm going to have a gun of my own? Like you dad? And the others?"
Carlos stands up out of his seat and goes around to Sarah, her also standing up in excitement.
"Now…Now slow down Sarah. You need to know everything first."
Lee quickly goes to one of the storage units beside the kitchen area, and pulls out a drawer. Spotting the pistol that Matthew keeps there, he grabs it and hands it to Carlos.
"Call me if you need anything. I'll be with Kenny."
Carlos nods as Sarah beams, but still is slightly shaking despite her excitement.
"Thank you Lee."

Chapter Text

Kenny has gotten up and already put his bowl near the kitchen area, and starts heading for the doors.
Lee swiftly catches up to him, as Kenny grabs his gun. Lee grabs his screwdriver, just in case.
"Where you goin' Kenny?" He simply asks.
Kenny opens the doors, letting Lee through after him.
"I'm seein' Walt and Clem. Gettin' some fresh air."
Lee nods, sort of understanding why.
"Plus, I need to check the perimeter near the windows."
Lee nods again.
It doesn't take long for them to find Clementine and Walter, chatting to each other.

"Hey kids, what are you two talkin' about?" Kenny chuckles.
Walter gets up from his crouched position.
"Oh, Politics."
"The hell?"
Lee chuckles in confusion..
"Being from Florida, Kenny, I'd imagine you know all about Politics" Walter folds his arms.
Kenny Scoffs.
"Man, I know one advantage of livin' in the apocalypse: I don't have to deal with that shit no more. I was just gonna check these windows 'round back before the storm hits. Wanna give me and Lee a hand?"
Clem smiles at Lee and nods silently.
Walter cheerfully agrees.
With that, all 4 of them walk along the side, until they reach the corner.

They turn to see a red-headed lady, pressing up her face against the window, looking in.
Kenny grips his gun and attempts to move forward, but Walter grips his shoulder and gestures to tone it down.
He slowly walks towards her, a concerned but friendly expression.
"Miss?" He starts.
She sharply turns her head to see all of them, she backs away from the window and puts her hands up, seeing that Kenny has the gun and Lee has a screwdriver in his hand.
Her expression remains terrified.
She is slightly shaken.
"..D.Do you have any food?"
"A.Are you okay?"
"I…I just saw the house and…I have a family. We're starving" she meekly explains, a pleading face regretful of her words,
"We live down there a few miles back."
"O.Of course. Why don't you come in miss…?"
"Bonnie."
Kenny scrunches his face.
"Walt…you're just gonna let her in like that?"
"It's fine Kenny."
"We don't know this girl."
"Then we'll have to get to know her. Right Clem? Lee?"
"Walt" Kenny insists.
"How much damage can this woman do?" Walter looks at him with a slight hopeful expression.
"Quite a lot if we don't know her Walt…plus I have a bad feeling.." Lee Mumbles.
"Check her for weapons" Clem suggests.
Walter's eyes widen.
Kenny nods.
"Yeah."
Bonnie backs away slightly.
"I…That storm will be on us soon a.and I really need to get back to my family" she stutters.
Walter sighs.
"I'll just bring the food to you then" He smiles.
"Y.You don't have to do that" Bonnie lowers her head.
"It's not a problem."
"What about your people?"
"We have plenty! The least I can do is spare some of it to you" He insists.
Kenny sighs, as Walter leaves for a moment.
Bonnie eyes Clementine.
She smiles warmly.
"I…have a little girl like you."
She crouches down slightly, looking into Clementine's eyes.
"How old are you Sweetie?"
Clem folds her arms slightly, not buying the sweet act.
"I'm…Eleven."
"Oh, I would've thought older than that" she slightly chuckles.
Clem is unfazed, same with Kenny and Lee.
"How old is your girl?" Lee questions, straight faced.
Bonnie sighs.
Before she can answer, Walter is back with a box.
All the jars clink against each other inside as he hands it to her, her eyes wide.
"Th.This is too much."
Walter smiles sweetly.
"It's no problem at all!"
She eyes him with a weak smile.
"I…don't know how to thank you."
"Just help someone down the line" Walter nods.
Bonnie nods her head and starts to walk off.
"Stay safe," Walter calls out to her.
"You too!" She calls back.
They watch as Bonnie walks away into the distance, all of them fold their arms except for Lee.
Kenny stares at Walter.
"Clem…Lee…get inside. Me and Walt need to have a little talk for a second.."
"Come on Clem…it's gonna storm very soon…" Lee says, putting his hand on Clem's shoulder.
She nods as they both start to walk away, hearing Kenny start to shout
"Are you outta your fuckin' mind?!"

As they walk back inside, Lee breathes and puts his screwdriver back in its place.
He then completely remembers again that he has the chocolate bar.
"H.Hey Clementine, I forgot about this but, here" he smiles, getting the chocolate bar out of his bag and handing it out to her.
She looks at it and smiles.
"Where did you get it?"
"I found it near one of the walkers near the bridge. I immediately thought to give it to you when I found you again" he smiles, looking at the bar in her hands.
She gives Lee a nice gentle hug.
He places his arm around her and lets his nub rest on her back.
"Go and Enjoy it sweet pea."
"I will!"
They both go up the stairs, the cabin surprisingly quite quiet.
The lights being turned off, Lee assumed that most of them had gone to bed already. The gun Sarah had practised with is nowhere in sight, assuming that Carlos had taken it with him to keep it safe.

"Psst, Clem. Clementine" a voice whispers.
Clementine looks over near one of the pillars, to see Luke.
Lee looks over as well, raising an eyebrow.
Luke notices Lee and hides behind the pillar, hearing a small "Oh Shoot…" along with it.
They both walk to him.
"Hey Luke…what's goin' on? Somethin' wrong?" Lee questions.
Luke looked nervous, him not being able to look Lee in the eye.
"I…"
"If you've got somethin' to tell me that I should know, say it to me. You know if you can trust Clementine, you can trust me too."
Clementine nods.
"I trust Lee more than anyone, Luke.
Whatever it is, tell us both."
Luke sighs.
"Alright but…you're not gonna like this. Please don't kill us…" he Mumbles.
He hands Clementine a framed picture.
It shows a picture of Walter and Matthew together happily.
"Matthew and Walter…?" Lee mutters.
"That guy next to Walter…that's his friend."
Lee looks at him confused, but Clementine slowly grows concerned, knowing supposedly what he is on about.
"Oh no…"
"God Dammit…Damn it…Damn it Nick…" he repeats, slightly starting to pace.
Lee crouches down to Clementine.
"Clem…can you tell me what's goin' on? I need to know. Come on, speak to me honey," Lee expresses, worry in his voice.
Clementine lowers her head to look at the picture.
"That's Matthew right?" She points at the picture.
Lee nods.
"Well…we were at the bridge and we met Matthew. Me and Luke were talking to him, but…Nick shot him thinking he was going to shoot us" she meekly explains.
Lee's eyes widen slightly.
"...S.So that means…?"
"Yeah…Nick shot Walter's friend and now he's dead…" Luke folds his arms.
Lee sits there in position a moment, taking that in.
"I knew something was off, so I asked Sarita about their friend. They started to worry about how he isn't back yet…"
"Well…he usually goes out a lot. But I did find it strange he was out longer than dinner…" Lee mumbles, looking at the picture Clementine held again.
"I…I don't think Walter knows yet.
So both of you keep this quiet. I mean, who knows what he'll do to Nick if he finds out that he's the one responsible for killing his friend!" Luke hisses.
"Walter isn't like that" Lee stands up.
"Oh really? His best friend is killed by one of our people and what…he'll just magically forgive him? I don't think so, Lee" Luke interrupts him.
"We need to tell him…" Clementine sighs.
Luke stares at her.
"Are you crazy? He's gonna ask who did it…and you're gonna tell him?"
"It's the right thing to do!"
"Is it the right thing to get Nick killed? Cause that's what's gonna happen!"
"He isn't gonna kill him. And Walter will find out one way or another" Lee states, glaring at Luke.

"What are you guys doing?" Nick asks, walking up to them.
"Oh! H.Hey Nick, was just gonna come find you and see if you were doing alright" Luke scratches at his neck nervously chuckling.
Nick Scoffs.
"What…you gonna go read me a bedtime story?"
Luke chuckles.
"Y.Yeah somethin' like that!" He amuses him.
"Tuck me in too?" Nick eyes him with a grin.
Luke shakes his head.
"Now that, no Nick. Just no."
"We have to tell you somethin' " Lee brings up.
Clementine grins at Lee.
Nick's face changes slightly.
"If…If there's something going on, I wanna know" he states.
"It's fine, just go back to bed Nick, okay?" Luke presses, glaring very heavily at Lee and Clementine.
"No, I'm serious. You guys can talk to me, you trust me right?"
Luke stutters over his own words.
"Clem" Lee gestures.
Everyone looks at her, as she slowly lets Nick see the picture.
He looks at it, and in a moment…his face changes to absolute horror.
"Oh Jesus…Oh..Oh god…"
"H.Hey Nick, shut the fuck up" Luke hisses.
Nick shakes his head as he hands the picture back to Clementine.
"I..I can't man. I can't."
Luke points at him.
"Do not fucking blow it."
"B.Blow it?! It's already over Luke, I have to tell him!"
"N.Nick you cannot do that, are you fuckin' nuts?!"
Nick lowers his head, his breathing slightly picking up.
"I have to man…I can't live with that on my shoulders…"
Lee nods and pat's his shoulder.
"It's okay Nick…you're doing the right thing" he assures him.
Luke shakes his head.
"No- Dude. You don't know what he's gonna do!"
"I'll live with it."
Luke covers his face and deeply tries to take a breath.
"Oh Jesus…"
Nick slowly paces, Luke walks with Nick still trying to convince him of doing anything other than coming out clean.
Lee looks to Clementine.
Her little frown says it all.
"...Was this the right thing to do? Nick will get in trouble…" Clementine Mumbles.
Lee crouches down to her with a gentle sigh.
"Hey…You did what you thought was best in the situation. Walter will find out soon enough, and your friend will have to come clean.
After all, he said it was an accident, right?"
Clementine eventually nods.
"Walter is an understanding man. He'll be able to tell that Nick feels remorse. He'll know what to do from there."
Clementine nods quietly and walks to the entrance. Lee follows her.
He spots Walter outside, holding something that looks like a knife, Clementine shakes more.
"That's Matthew's knife…I found it in the shed near the bridge" she utters.
Lee looks at Walter with worry before slowly approaching him, opening the doors.

His head lowers as he looks at the knife in the small outlet, covering the blade.
Walter messes with the handle.
"...Walter?" Clementine utters.

He doesn't turn around.

"I've always liked this knife…" he began,
"I gave it to Matthew at the beginning of all of this."
He takes the knife out of the outlet, showing its sharp metal, slightly blunted on its edge.
"...I know he's dead…" He finally utters.
Lee lowers his head slightly, Clementine does the same.
"Please…just tell me who did it..was it that.that kid? What's his name…Nick?" He presses, still not turning around,
"I heard him talking about shooting a man."
Lee and Clementine look at each other, both sharing the same expression.
"Walter…"

"Did he shoot Matthew? …I want to know. I could see it on his face…the look of guilt" he interrupts,
"So just say it. Please…who did it…?"

Lee sighs and looks to Clementine.
She nods sadly.
She coups up her arm.

"It was us. It was our fault…Nick shot him" She quietly mutters.
Walter perks his head up before resting his tensed muscles again.
He breathes.
"...Is…Is Nick a good man?" He turns around, his expression both pained and angered at the same time.
"Or is he one of those guys that don't give a shit about anyone but themselves?!"
Lee puts a hand on Clementine's shoulder.
And smiles slightly, before dropping it to look at Walter.
"...He is a good guy. He's a good guy Walter" Lee states, Clementine Nodding.

The door opens beside them, Nick looking around behind him before spotting Walter, Clem and Lee.

He froze.
And starts shaking.

The wind turbine slowly picks up, making swooshing noises in their ears.

Luckily, Walter had already turned back around.
"I always told him that something like this would happen but he wouldn't listen…Matt always knew best…" he goes on.
Nick leans to Clementine.
"What's going on?" He whispers.
"You need to tell him."
"Tell him what?"
"What happened on the bridge."
Nick gulps and continues to shake slightly, as Walter turns around with a heavy sigh.
He eyes him.
In a few seconds, Walter starts tearing up, gripping the knife.

"Just tell me…tell me son…just tell me what happened" he chokes.
Nick stutters.
"F.From a distance it looked like anyone! W.With the gun I thought he was going to shoot Clem and Luke a.and…I shot Matthew…but it happened so fast I didn't realise it hit him!
I…I didn't mean to" he rambles, slowly putting his hands up.
Walter looks at his own hands, still gripping the knife. One tear streaks down his face.
"D..Do you have any idea what you've done to me? Do you have any idea?" He sobs.
Nick lowers his head.
"I…I didn't mean to and I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry Walter."

Walter looks at the knife, then at Nick.
He kept looking between them, knowing he wanted to…but he couldn't bring himself to hurt someone like that, despite what he had done.
He didn't mean to…He didn't mean to repeats in his mind.
"Walt…put the knife down, please…" Lee soothes,
"Nick didn't mean to hurt Matthew…he shows remorse for what he did. I know you don't wanna hurt anyone."
Nick nods and smiles slightly at Lee for backing him up.
Walter sighs and chucks away the knife.
He looks away from them.

The wind turbine was so loud they couldn't hear themselves think, and with that, Kenny, Carlos and Luke came outside to see the bizarre situation.
Kenny looks at all of them.
"Walt? What's goin' on?" He questions.
He looks at Walter, then Lee, then Nick.
The wind turbine starts picking up the speed a LOT more.
Kenny's eyes widen, as everyone grows concerned. Sarita also comes out, worried about the noise.
"That thing's too loud, spinnin' outta control!
We have to shut it down now!"
"Nick, get the guns with me" Carlos states, Nick Nodding and following behind him.
Sarita looks at them with worry.
"G.Guns??"
"That thing is a damn dinner bell!"
Carlos and Nick come out with Clementine and Kenny's gun, Luke's machete, Nick's rifle, Carlos' gun(that he hardly ever uses), a rifle for Sarita, and Lee's screwdriver.

Swiftly, they all run towards the turbine, determined to stop it from drawing attention.
As they make it to the turbine, what sounds like a gunshot comes from a distance in the trees.
Kenny shakes his head.
"I'll need someone to go with me-"
"I'll come with you," Luke nods.
Sarita nods.
"I'll come too-"
"No it's too dangerous" he immediately snaps back.
"The rest of you get this thing shut down!" He instructs as he and Luke run off.
Sarita opens the base of the turbine and they are greeted with…pitch black.
They couldn't even see the mechanics of it.
They all stare.
"D.Does anyone know how to do this?" Carlos Questions.
"I can do it," Lee states.
They all slightly nod at him, Carlos slightly trusting him more since Sarah has been getting used to gun training.
"Nick, Clementine, Check the trees with me.
Sarita, stay with Lee."
"We're on it," Sarita smiles.
"Clem, can I borrow your lighter?" Lee questions.
Without hesitation, Clementine hands over her lighter and Lee smiles in return.
Carlos, Nick and Clementine leave their view as Lee sparks up the lighter, a crackling small flame blazing.
Lifting it up to the mechanics of the turbine he sees complications everywhere…he didn't really know what he was doing, but either way he wanted to help out.
He grabs the small key hanging on the side and looks at a red circle with a keyhole.
Pushing it into it, the key sinks in. The turbine slowly stops itself to a halt.
As he turns around he sees Carlos, Nick and Clementine again.
Looking around.
"...Somethin' doesn't feel right…" Nick whispers.

They all go silent as they hear the growing sound of groans, walkers slowly stumbling into view.

More, and more of them.

Groaning, and hungry for flesh.

"We don't have much ammunition!" Carlos shakes,
Nick nods.
"We need to get back to the lodge."
As they start to walk to the cabin, Clem turns around, gasping.
"They're behind us too!" She shouts, starting to shoot some of them.
Lee swiftly moves out of the way of one of them lunging at him and stabs it in the back of its head.
Carlos, Sarita and Nick also start shooting, making them start falling and dying like flies.
As they all start to progressively move towards the cabin, more walkers greet them and stumble towards them.
They continue to shoot and kill them, slowly but surely.
Lee gets tangled in between 3 walkers near the trees. Swiftly, he kicks one of the walkers in the knees and smacks it down to the ground, stabbing the second in the eye, then the throat.
He then stabs the third one in the top of the head and then the chest as it falls.
The one that had its knees kicked in, grabs at his nub. In instinct, he shoves it off him and stabs it in the head.
All 3 of them do not get up. Lee sighs in relief.

As he looks around at everyone fighting for their lives, he spots Clementine by a tree stump.
She wasn't shooting.
She looked scared, backing away.
She did try the gun, but nothing came out of it.
"Clementine!!" Lee shouts, running towards her.
The walkers too close comfort on Lee's part, he stabs them immediately and shoves them away from Clementine, as Carlos assists and shoots the others around them.
He smiles and nods at Lee and Clementine.
"Run! Go!" Carlos raises his voice,
"Get to the lodge!"
"Go, go, go!"
They all proceed to rush straight in the cabin's direction, blasting and stabbing walkers as they go.
As Lee looks back, he sees Clementine backing away again, a walker nearly on top of her.
A walker they must have missed.
Lee runs towards her, but a shot from behind him hits it in the back of the head.
The walker falls to the side of Clementine, to show Clementine's wide eyes.
He turns to see Sarah, wide eyed and shaken.
Gun in hand.
"S…Sarah?" Lee utters,
"What are you doing out here?"
She looks at Lee and puts the gun down.
"I…I heard the gunshots…and I.. I thought I could help."
Lee smiles at her as Clementine rushes to them both.
"Sarah?" Clementine utters, slightly shocked herself.
Lee pat's her shoulder.
"Do you know what you just did?" He questions.
Sarah blinks.
"You saved my life Sarah" Clementine smiles happily.
Sarah blinks again and looks between them.
"I…I did?"
Clementine nods and brings her in for a hug.
"Thank you."
Sarah slowly wraps her arms around her as well and giggles gently.
"A pinky swear is forever."

"What the fuck are you doing? Get inside!!" Nick shouts, shooting off some walkers before he stops again.
He mutters to himself and whacks another walker with the base of the rifle.
Lee swiftly turns to Sarah.
"Get inside Sarah. Be safe with Rebecca and Alvin okay?"
With Lee's words, she nods and runs off back inside.
The walker grabs Nick's arm and he starts tussling with it, trying to get it far away from him as possible.
"HELP!!" Nick shouts.
Before Lee starts to run to him though, he sees Walter raise a gun.
He didn't know whether it was pointed at the walker…or Nick.
As the gunshot fires, the walker drops dead, and Nick looks to Walter.
He had a blank expression on his face, as he jogs off to help Carlos.
Lee looks to Clementine.
"Listen to me sweet pea, we need to get inside. Now" He instructs.
Clementine's eyebrows arch.
"No. We're not leaving them out here!" She stands firm.
Lee shakes his head.
"I need to keep you safe. They can handle the rest, Kenny and Luke will be back any moment to help them pick them off. For now, we need to go back inside and see Sarah and Rebecca, okay?"
She stares at Lee.
"You understand?" Lee asks firmly.
She sighs and nods, as they both rush into the cabin.

As they both enter, breath slightly shaking, Rebecca and Sarah look at them.
"Clementine! Lee! You're okay!" Rebecca sighs in relief.
Sarah hugs Clementine.
"I was so worried about Sarah because she ran off outside without telling me…" Rebecca sighs.
Lee smiles.
"She saved Clementine."
Her eyes slightly widen.
"...For real?"
Lee nods.
"One clean shot.
And only a few hours of practice too. If Sarah had not come outside, Clementine Would be bitten."
Sarah grins as Rebecca looks at her in amazement.
"Oh honey, your father will be so proud of you. Because I damn well know I am."
Sarah giggles.
"Where's the rest of them?" Rebecca questions.
Lee sighs.
"They're still out there. There's only a few groups of walkers left wandering around.
They should be fine."
Rebecca breathes.
"That's a relief."

They all stay and relish in the silence, whilst they hear the slight gunshots from outside.
Sarah and Clementine look at each other happily.
"So…Clementine…you know about fighting right?"
Clem raises an eyebrow.
"I guess…why?"
She looks down at her gun.
"D..Do you maybe have any advice to help me get better? I want to help the group, like you and my dad. He says that doing this stuff comes with great responsibility and…I just want to be prepared!"
Clementine sighs and looks at Lee for a moment, before looking back at her.
"I would say to take control of your emotions. When times get tough, you musn't rely on them for what hard choice you have to make.
That's how Lee taught me."
Sarah nods as she goes on.
"O.Okay. Right. Thanks Clementine!" She beams.

All of them get caught off guard by many more gunshots.
…a lot more gunshots than their group's ammunition.
"...What in the hell was that?" Lee utters.
Rebecca and Lee jog up to the window, to see a group emerge from the trees with guns.
"Hey becc, what's wrong?" Alvin calls from the bannisters.

Chapter Text

Rebecca gasps and swiftly goes up the staircase towards where Alvin is.
"Sarah, Clem, Lee get up here!" She hisses.
They all follow.
"Why, what's happening?" Lee questions,
"Who are those people?"
Sarah nods.
"It's…It's Carver…he's found us" she utters.
Lee looks confused but Sarah, Alvin, Clementine and Rebecca look mortified.
"...Is he the one after you guys?"
They nod.
Lee keeps his screwdriver in his pocket.
They wait in silence, crouched by the bannisters.

Waiting.

…
"Where's Rebecca?" A deep voice Mumbles.
…
A small thud is heard in the distance.
…
"Inside."
…
…
…
The sound of the doors opening, led to grunts of the group getting pushed over and shoved around.
Nick, Walter, Carlos and Sarita. But still,
no Kenny or Luke to be found.
Lee watches through the cracks of the bannister, seeing all of them get tied up with some form of rope.
They wander and marvel at the space.
"Look at this place" a familiar voice beams.
…Bonnie.
The one that Walter helped.
Lee frowns at her.
"Man, how the fuck are we supposed to find them? This place is so big- they could be anywhere!" One of the guys exclaims.
"Yeah especially with keeping these shits at bay too…" Another Mumbles.
"Troy, get it together" Bonnie bluntly spat.
He shrugs it off.
They look at the one that Lee assumes to be Carver.

A greying, bearded man, with a navy fleshed out overcoat with a fluffy hood.
His eyes looked piercing…like needles.

He scans the top deck and the open space around him.
All of them tried not to breathe too much.
Sarah was shaking rapidly, knowing her dad was out there. Helpless.
Carver marches towards Carlos and grabs him up, and shoves him to the centre of the open space.
He then proceeds to grip his fist and punch him in the face, and then the gut.
Sarah was so tempted to yell, but Clementine covers her mouth and puts her finger up to her own lips to keep her quiet.
Lee nods at Clementine, knowing she did the right thing.
"I'm only gonna ask you once…where is Rebecca?" He asks firmly.
Carlos breathes.
"Sarah, if you can hear me" He calls out,
"Everything will be okay-!"
Carver shakes his head and grips Carlos' hand, tightening his grip on his index finger and letting a snap of his bone crack throughout the cabin.
Everyone was able to hear his ear wrenching scream of agony.
Sarah starts silently sobbing, shaking more and more.
Clementine tries to comfort her along with Rebecca, Rebecca even started silently sobbing too, covering her mouth.
"Rebecca, our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety!" He raises his voice, looking back up to the ceiling near the bannisters they were hiding near.
"If you want this over quick, I suggest you be nice and show your faces."
"How could you do this?!" Sarita shouts,
"Carlos!-"
"Stay put Sarah…okay? It'll be okay…" Clementine whispers as Sarita and Nick do their thing.
"We need to go down there," Alvin shakes his head.
"I can't do that" Rebecca sighs.
"He'll kill him!" he hisses.
"...Alvin's right Becc. We need to help Carlos" Lee whispers.
"What about Luke and Kenny? They'll help us" she whispers back with a hopeful smile.
Alvin holds her shoulders.
"Did you not see those guns? If they start shooting, people will die on both sides."
Rebecca starts shaking slightly.
Carver grows impatient, grabbing Carlos' hand again and taking another finger.
Another crack of his bone rings through the cabin, along with a more mortified scream of agony, him falling to the floor.
His fingers bent the wrong way.
"I'm sorry I can't watch this anymore. We need to give up" Lee whispers.
Rebecca looks at him wide eyed.
"Are you crazy? No!"
"Becc. We have to. He'll kill Carlos and then all of us."
"Send Clementine out to find Kenny and Luke. They'll save us!"
"What's that gonna do?"
"It'll get us help, damn it!"
"Rebecca. Please…we have to give up" Clementine sighs.
Rebecca then looks at Sarah who has streams of tears from her eyes as she holds her own hands over her mouth to be quiet.
She looks at Rebecca, her eyes sparkling with her tears. And a pained expression greets her.
"...Please…Please save my dad…" she squeaks.
Rebecca sighs.
"Goodbye Carlos" Carver's voice mumbles.
"No…No please!"

She then gets up, along with Alvin and Lee.
"Bill, STOP!!" She screams,
Seeing Carver put a knife to Carlos' throat, the sharp edge very near to his neck.
Carver looks up and slightly smiles.

A chilling smile.

"Ah."
He then kicks aside Carlos.
Sarah and Clementine get up, Sarah trying to wipe her own tears to be strong and controlling of her emotions, as Clementine said.
But she couldn't help it.
They all go down the stairs to where Sarita, Nick and Walter are tied up and the ones with guns stood.
Carver watching them with amusement.
Rebecca comes over to Carver, not looking forward to seeing him again.
The others stay beside each other as they start to get tied up.
"You alright?" He gently asks, stroking Rebecca's face, Alvin watches with a pained expression.
Rebecca whacks his hand off her.
"Fuck you Bill."
"Please. You don't wanna do this…let these people go" Walter pleads.
Bonnie shakes her head at him, an annoyed expression greeting him as she walks past him.
"Just…shut up."
Walter glares at her.

"What do I do with this one?" Troy questions, gesturing to Lee,
"He's only got one arm. Can't get him in restraints."
Carver eyes him thoroughly.
"Keep an eye on him. Stay beside Bonnie" he instructs.
Lee lowers his head slightly, walking to Bonnie.
She frowns at him, looking like she had…a scared expression.
But still, she keeps the tough act on and grips her gun tightly.
Lee looks over at all his friends, all bounded and tied. Even Clementine…it really pained him to see her in this situation, along with Sarah too.
He was starting to see how much the group means to both of them.
He watches Clementine try and reach Carlos' ties, but not being successful.

A shot rings through his ears as one of Carver's guys drops to the floor, the cabin's glass window smashing around him.
Sarah flinches, everyone else stares wide eyed as they look over.
"Kenny…" Sarita utters.
Carver stares them down and gets out his gun.
"Stay put" he states, as all of his people hide behind the pillars, avoiding Kenny's shots.
Lee didn't like where this was going…as he kept seeing Carver eye Walter.
Walter was shaking, Lee could tell he didn't want any of this.
Carver marches to him and forces him up and moves towards the window, but still in the open space of the cabin.

As he forces Walter to his knees, he grips his gun and pulls the trigger without thinking, shooting a bullet hole straight through Walter's skull.
Lee's eyes widen.
"WALTER!!" He yells.
"Walter NO!!" Sarita cries.
"Walter…" Clem slightly sobs.
Carver sighs, rolling his eyes.
"That's for our man! Now I didn't want to do this, but you left me no choice. We ain't leavin' till you back down. So here's what's gonna happen now" Carver shouts, making sure they could hear.
"I'm gonna March one of your friends over here and put a bullet into their skull.
Or, you back down and give in. Your choice."
Another shot fires, hitting the pillar Carver stood behind.
He sighs deeply, shaking his head.
He scans the group, looking for another he wanted to pick up next.
Lee eyes him, glaring into his soul.
Hoping and praying he doesn't choose Clementine.
He didn't want anyone to die, but ESPECIALLY Clementine.
Not after everything they have been through together.
One cannot live without the other.

Carver grins and pulls up Alvin.
"Hey Alvin."
"ALVIN!!" Carlos shouts,
"Bill, leave him alone!" Rebecca begs,
"Please!"
He grips his restraints behind his back and pulls him closer, putting the gun up to his head.
"You remember George, Alvin?
You had a good friend named George.
Remember when you murdered him in cold blood?
Probably to spite me.
You could've done anything…anything at all other than that, Alvin.
You…You could've been Civil" he goes on, gripping the gun tighter and tighter, getting closer to the trigger.
"KENNY STOP SHOOTING!! BILL PLEASE WE'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT-!!" She hopelessly shouts, pleading.
Lee cannot take this anymore, with a determined face, he swiftly bolts it up to Carver.
Carver notices his movement and smacks him in his chest with the force of a brick wall, making Lee fall down to his knees, coughing.
Luckily the fall wasn't too hard on his knees, managing to stop his fall from his hand.
Carver shoves Alvin to the side, And grips Lee instead, grabbing his neck and tightening it, along with his gun which is now pointed at his head.

He dares not move.
Nor breath too loud.
Or shaky.
He felt his heart beating out of his chest, he Coughs slightly.

Carver smirks with great pleasure.
Lee could feel how much fun Carver was having with this, despite him saying he didn't want to do this.
But he could tell.

Lee closed his eyes.

Whatever happens…happens, he thought,
If it's a chance to save the others, then it's a risk he's willing to take.

"We can do this all night, is that what you want?" Carver shouts.
"PLEASE DON'T HURT HIM!!!" Clementine screams,
"He's all I have!!"
Nick glares at carver.
"Yeah, don't hurt him bitch!!" He snaps.
"Lee!" Alvin utters,
"Lee…don't do this" Rebecca slightly sobs,
"Bill I swear to god let him go!!"
"Don't hurt him please…" Sarah utters with her crying breaking it. Carlos looks at Sarah and lowers his head, then looks up to Lee.

…

…

…

They hear the doors open.
Lee opens his eyes up to look over, seeing Kenny with his hands up.
Still, no Luke in sight.
Kenny's pained expression looks over at Lee.
Lee gives one right back.
Troy grabs Kenny and starts tying him up, as Carver smacks Lee's face.
He shoves him towards Bonnie.
"Do not let him out of your sight Bonnie…" he growls. She nods, lowering her head.
"Yes sir…"
Carver paces back and forth between them.
Alvin looks at Lee, and mouths "Thank you" to him.
"Where's Luke?" He questions.
Everyone goes silent.
He Scoffs.
"Finally cut and run huh? Heh…why am I not surprised?
He led you out here though I warned you, and look where you've ended up and what its made you be:
Hopeless…and pathetic."
He looks over to Rebecca, who still looks annoyed at him, adding on a slight hint of adrenaline rush from Alvin almost being killed in front of her.
He smiles at her.
"But you're safe now, We are heading home.
As a family.
Round 'em up. We're heading back to camp" he instructs, walking out of the doors as everyone looks on.
All feeling hopeless.
Sarah's nerves are still rushing, seeing her father in terrible shape, Lee still feels his heart beating out his chest from the sudden switch he didn't want,
Clementine felt helpless because she couldn't do anything and everyone else felt the same.
They all get rounded up and put into the back of a van.
The last thing they see is Troy's annoyed face.

—

Lee looks around at the forestry, spotting a small butterfly landing on one of the trees.
He slightly smiles at it, not seeing one in who knows how long at this point.
"Are you about done over there?" Troy scoffs.
Lee looks over at him.
"Sarah's almost done Troy" Lee sighs.
Troy heaves.
"Hurry up. Don't got all day."
Sarah comes over to Lee, lifting up her trousers more up her waist than it already was.
"You done Sarah?"
She nods, and smiles slightly at him.
"Thank you for coming with Me. I.I know they forced you to come but…I thought they would send my dad with me."
Lee crouches down to her.
"No problem. We're safer together than you out here by yourself. Though I can already see you're getting more brave from that short time of training" Lee grins.
Sarah nods, then sighs.
"I still have a lot to learn. My dad is still worried I'm not ready."
Lee puts his hand on her shoulder.
"You're doing fine. Your father is probably not used to you sticking up for yourself.
He just needs time to adjust is all."
Eventually, Sarah nods silently, hugging her arm.
Lee gets back up and moves her along, back near the truck where Bonnie, Carver and Troy stand watch.
Troy walks over.

"Everything alright?" He asks.
Lee nods.
Troy does one nod in return.
"Troy, get Sarah tied up" Carver instructs.
He sighs.
"Will do…"
He then goes around behind Sarah and starts tying her up as Carver said.
Carver looks at him with a glaring eye.
"If I find out you've been using fuel to keep the fucking heater going, I'll make you walk back!-"
"No…No…froze my ass off. Just like you told me to."
Carver lifts a walkie talkie near to his mouth.
It makes a static sound.
"We're about 30 minutes out at the very least, starting to move again.
Make sure everyone is prepped. Emotions are high, so be prepared for anything. Carver out."
Lee looks between them, then lowers his head.
Carver stares at him.
"It ain't polite to listen in on other's conversations. Were you ever taught that?"
Lee looks at the walkie talkie.
"Sorry, it's just…Clementine used to have a walkie talkie just like that."
He grins slightly, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah? What happened to it?"
Lee sighs.
"We lost it. It got people hurt and shit. Real bad situation…"
Carver looks at his own.
"Well if you try to get this one, I'll hurt you myself. You hear me?"
Lee glares at him, Troy puts Sarah into the back of the truck, and sat her down next to Carlos.
Carver walks up to him, glaring at him back.
"Why are you staring? It is rude, you know?"
Lee continues to glare at him.
He sighs.
"Guess you never were taught how to be polite…"
In an instant, Carver raises the walkie talkie and smacks him over the face with it, making Lee stumble.
Sarah and Clementine gasp.
"Leave him alone!" Clementine shouts.
"Fucking move us already!" Kenny snaps.
Carver glares at Kenny and sighs.
"Go. Before I do it again."
Lee jogs over to the truck and sits down next to Kenny and Clementine.
Troy shuts the truck once again.

As they let the truck shuffle around with the movement on the dirt and rocks below, all of them have hanged heads, not hopeful of their situation.
They all remain silent, staring at the floor.
Kenny on the other hand, was staring all over the place.
Eventually, he sighs and looks at his restraints, starting to try and pull them apart.
"Alright we gotta do somethin'...does anyone have anything sharp? Anyone?" He swiftly questions, looking at everyone.
They drearily look at him.
Kenny looks at Lee.
"Lee! You're not tied, help me outta these things!"
Lee sat, hesitant to do anything.
He looks up at Kenny and takes a look at his restraints.
"Do ya think I have the strength of an ox Kenny? Those restraints can only be broken by somethin' sharp as you said!"
"You still have your screwdriver right?"
Lee takes out his screwdriver and looks at it.
Its blunt edge staring back at him.
Kenny tries to hold out a hand to reach for it, but has to hold both hands out, because of the restraints.
Lee backs it away.
"It's blunt Kenny. It won't work…" he shakes his head.
Kenny glares at him.
"Lee…I swear to god I need help here man…you always have my back right?"
He sighs and hands the screwdriver to Kenny.
Kenny realising he can't cut it himself, he slowly hands it back to Lee.
"C.Can you kinda…cut my restraints for me?"
Lee then grips his screwdriver and gets at his restraints.
Eventually, they come off.
Not at the expense of Lee's screwdriver though, it becomes even more blunt and dents its metal.
"Alright, now we're talkin'! Now we just need to free everyone else and we can go-!"
Lee puts it away.
Kenny blindly stares at him.
"Lee, help everyone else out too damn it!-"
"Kenny, sit down" Nick shakes his head.
"Shut up, Boy."
"I'm not a boy…"
"Oh, right. You're a man."
Nick looks away.
"What do you expect to do, there's 10 of them all armed with guns" Carlos states firmly.
"Seriously what is wrong with you people…?! We are in a precarious position here, and we need to do something to get out! And we can do that right now once Lee frees you! He's our ticket outta here!" Kenny gestures to Lee.
Lee pat's Kenny's shoulder.
"I'm usually with you on this man but…we don't know what we're dealin' with. Who knows what will happen to us if they find out we have escaped, and they've escaped for the second time over" Lee explains thoroughly,
"Plus, my screwdriver won't do much good for all of us. It nearly broke getting yours off."
Rebecca nods.
"You don't know Bill like we do."
"Bill? All this time it's been Carver, Carver, Carver and now it's fuckin' Bill?!"
"You have NO IDEA who you are messing with!" Carlos snaps.
Kenny folds his arms.
"I got a pretty good fucking idea of what I'm dealin' with back at the lodge. And I ain't willin' to stick around and see it happen again to the rest of us, so I'm gettin' the fuck outta here!!"
"Sit down Kenny…" Clementine sighs.
Kenny stares at her, slightly shocked.
He sits down next to Clementine and hugs her slightly.
"I…I'm just tryna help darlin'…"
"I'm sure Walter really appreciated your help" Carlos Mumbles.
Kenny straightens his posture and glares at Carlos.
Sarita Scoffs.
"Do not blame Kenny for the actions of a madman!"
"I'm just saying regardless of intent, there are consequences for rash actions. Which he is supposedly mistaking for justice."
"Bullshit!" "Kenny…"
"Stay outta this Lee…I've heard enough out of all of you."
"I say that Luke is the only hope we have" Alvin Mumbles.
"If he were here to save us, he'd have done it already-"
"Oh come on Ken. Don't be like that. We've been surrounded by them fully armed since the moment they shot a walker by the lodge" Lee bluntly spat,
"And anything can happen out there. Just…maybe give him some time."
"But we don't have time Lee…when we get chained up like dogs it's over!"
"You don't know that," Alvin sighs.
"I'm not gonna stick around to find out!"
"Kenny please calm down…" Sarita pleads.
Kenny starts to grow annoyed.
"What…do I look annoyed to you Sarita? Because I'm not!"
"Luke will help us" Clementine nods,
Sarah slightly nods as well.
"Y.Yeah…L.Luke will help us."
"After that crazy fuck's KILLED US ALL?!" He raises his voice.

Everyone stares at him.

He looks between all of them and then Clears his throat, his face still showing annoyance.
He groans.
"L.Look…Lee…Clem…" he began with a sigh.
He couldn't finish off his sentence, the truck shaking side to side slightly more than before.
Nick shakes as Carlos stares at the floor.
"...We're close…"
Kenny cracks his knuckles.
"Time to get to work."
"They have guns. What the fuck do you think you're gonna do against them?" Rebecca sharply questions.
"I'm gonna punch the first sonnovabitch I see, take their gun, and then I'm gonna shoot the NEXT sonnivabitch I see."
"Sit down."
"Shut. UP. Lee" he glares.
"Sit down" Carlos glares at Kenny back.
"Shut up doc. This ain't your call."
Kenny looks down to Clementine.
He crouches down to her.
"Hey…I don't want you to get hurt or nothin' but…any help would be good. Anything you can do to help…do it. Okay?"
Clementine looks at Lee then looks at the floor, slightly shaking.
Kenny gently puts a finger under her Chin, and moves her face to face him.
"Hey…Clem…you trust me right?"
She silently nods.
"Please just do what they say" Sarita sighs,
"They know him."
"I…I trust you Kenny" Clementine blurts out.
Kenny looks to Lee.
"And you. I know…I've been shoutin' quite a bit but…you know I don't mean nothin' by it.
Just the rage of the moment.
Y.You trust me as well…right Lee?" Kenny Questions.
Lee sighs and nods.
"I do Kenny. But…this is suicide. They have 10 people along with this guy.
That's a lotta bullet holes to try and escape from."
"Please listen to the man," Nick sighs.
Kenny side eyes Nick.

The truck shakes slightly before slowing.

Kenny gets up and faces the door.
"Alright, get re-"
He smacks against the door as the truck makes a jerking motion, stopping to a halt.
"KENNY!" Sarita shouts.
She hurries to him, as he lies there fading in and out.
"Are you okay?"
Lee and Carlos shake their head at him.
"...Is he okay?" Rebecca slightly asks.
Sarita nods.
"I…I think so."
Kenny slowly rubs his head.
"Ow…what…what hit me?" He grumbles.
Carlos Clears his throat.
"Probably for the best…"
The truck door opens, Bonnie, Troy and another greeting them. They all held guns.

"Alright, up and at 'em" the one they don't recognise states.
All of them one by one get up and slowly start to move forward.
Bonnie goes to Lee, staring at him with a slight smile but quickly dropping it.
"Hey. You still stay beside me" she states.
Lee nods.
"Yeah Yeah…I haven't forgotten."
"Good."
Meanwhile, Troy stares at Kenny.
"...The fuck? How'd you get your restraints off? C'mere!"
Troy goes behind Kenny and zips on another set of restraints onto Kenny's wrists.
He sighs.
As they start marching out of the small box, Troy shuts the door behind them.

"We've got some Familiar faces with us again today.
Now I understand some may be confused…as to why we'd bring these people back when they had left us when they did.
It may not come overnight, but overtime we can heal these wounds…and grow stronger as a community and most importantly: a family."

Carver's speech continues through the speakers in the corners of the large, what seems to be, a store of some kind, lots of shelves and surfaces toppled over and some rebuilt to stand straight.
Some of those shelves hold decent supplies of food and water as they walk by.
As they continue walking, Troy looks at Carlos.
"Hey. Come with me, we need you for somethin' " Troy instructs.
Carlos sighs.
"Can't it wait until morning…we are all exhausted" he Mumbles.
Troy frowns.
"Just come the fuck on, and you can get rest afterwards."
Carlos nods reluctantly, getting led off by Troy.
Sarah watches as her dad parts from the group.
She turns to Clementine, her body slightly visibly shaking.
"C.Clementine…I..I need my dad. I can't go without my dad, he looks after me" She squeaks.
Troy comes back and gestures to both of them to keep moving.
Clementine eyes Sarah.
"He'll be back soon" she tries to assure her.
"Wh.When?"
"I don't know. But I promise, he will be back."
Sarah lowers her head slightly, but with a slight smile.
"Thanks Clementine."
"Keep those emotions in check" she reminds her,
"Even when it comes to the people you love more than anything…"
Sarah eventually nods.
"I know but…it's just so hard."
Clementine nods.
"It will be."
They catch up to the rest of them.
Bonnie unlocks a big metal gate from the bottom.
"Stay off the fence, Bill can see whether you're messing with it" she warns.

"It is no longer just survival. It is our duty to make this community…a beacon of hope…for the weak. And this place will shine.
Shine brighter than all this darkness surrounding us.
And that, that is what we will do.
We will shine."

Chapter Text

They all stumble inside the space beyond the metal door, being greeted with a decent fire lighting up the area, chairs, and bunk beds lining the walls.
Surrounding it is big, metal walls and an open ceiling. The walls ended with sharp pieces of metal sticking out of it.

"Y'all better get some rest.
There ain't gonna be much for you tomorrow, you're gonna be workin' hard" Troy states.
Bonnie walks over to Rebecca.
"Hey, that's for you" Bonnie points, she points over to a mattress with a pillow,
"Specially gifted by Bill."
Rebecca Scoffs and folds her arms.
"Yeah…it would be. Fucking Bill…always keeps me out in the cold…but at least I'll be comfortable" she mumbles.

"Hey guys," a man's voice greets.
They all look over to see a black haired man with a friendly looking smile.
Rebecca gasps.
"Reggie!"
Nick and Carlos look at him with slight surprise.
"I'm so sorry man…what the fuck did they do to you?" Nick slightly snaps.
Reggie chuckles nervously.
"Heh…trust me. This could've been way worse. I'm lucky to be alive" he sighs.
Nick lowers his head slightly.
"...It's my fault."
Reggie places his hand on his shoulder and stares at him.
"Hey. It wasn't your fault. This happened WAY before you guys left. I'm fine!" He tries to assure him.
Reggie continues to explain things, meanwhile Kenny, Lee, Sarah and Clementine stay over in one corner.
Kenny grumbles at seeing Reggie, scrunching his face at him.
"Sarah…who is this guy?" He looks to her.
Sarah is slightly taken aback by Kenny addressing her specifically.
He's hardly interacted with her individually ever since their group has met with them, so him talking to her was a very new thing.
"That's Reggie. He helped us escape here" she coups up her arm.
Lee looks at her with a slight sad expression.
"Did he not make it out with you guys?"
Clementine nods.
"Yeah…why didn't he go along with you guys to escape too?"
Sarah sighs and looks over at him.
"I don't know…I think he might've fell when we made it near the trees and..we just kept running."
Kenny folds his arms and huffs.
"...Some group your people are…" he mutters.
Sarah slightly glares at him.
"They're still good people. I…I know it wasn't our fault he got left behind" she tried to justify.
Kenny sighs and slightly smiles at her.
"I believe ya darlin'..."
He then turns to Lee and slightly chuckles.
"At least you'll have one thing in common with him, Lee: you both need a hand, and you two can provide each other just that."
Lee stares at him with an amused smile.
"Very funny Kenny…"
"Talk to you later."
He walks away.

"They got me working on the walls outside.
A lurker Snuck on me while I was hammering something. Luckily they took the arm off quickly, and saved my life" Reggie calmly explains.
"So sorry that happened to you man.." Alvin Mumbles,
"Must've been real painful."
Reggie chuckles.
"Hey, it was my choice to help you guys. And I wasn't in too bad of pain, I assure you."
"Still…That's so awful, I'm so sorry" Rebecca sighs.
Reggie continues to say that it wasn't their fault, until the lady they didn't know the name of marches in.
"Alvin, Carver wants you in his office. Now."
Alvin looks at her with wide eyes.
"M.Me? W.Why??"
"Don't make this difficult. It's too late for that, now come on."
"No…Please" Rebecca begs with a frown.
Alvin shoves his hands into his pockets with a Solemn grin.
"Hey, it's okay Becc. If he wanted to do somethin' to me, he'd had done it already.
Just get some rest, okay? I'll be fine" he assures her.
She looks into his eyes and sighs, giving him a silent nod.
Alvin then walks away, getting escorted by the woman.
Troy walks up to Reggie, Reggie giving him a slight smile and wave.
"Hey Troy."
"Don't go fuckin' up now. Bill's REAL close to lettin' you outta here.
Just make sure things stay nice and quiet out here tonight, and I'll make sure to put a good word in for ya."
Reggie grins.
"Of course, you can count on me. Thank you Troy."
Troy nods once, "Don't mention it."
He walks away.
The metal gate closes again.

Kenny and Sarita hang around near the metal gate, Lee, Clementine and Sarah stay around the corner.
Rebecca looks at all of them.
Sarah jogs over to Rebecca and hugs her from the side slightly.
Rebecca slightly chuckles.
"Hey, let them introduce themselves. They were with us when we got caught" she says, gesturing to them.
All of them bound together in front of Reggie.
"Hey, I'm Reggie!" He politely greets.
Sarita nods her head.
"I'm Sarita. This is Kenny."
Kenny smiles slightly and tilts his hat.
"Heya."
Reggie then turns to Lee.
Lee holds his hand out for a handshake.
"I'm Lee."
Reggie chuckles and takes his hand and shakes it.
Lee has no right arm and Reggie has no Left arm, Meaning it was perfect for a handshake…very luckily.
"You…have no arm either?" He questions.
Lee nods.
"I got bitten and chopped it off with a shovel…"
Reggie's eyes widen slightly, his face slowly showing he is weirded out.
"...Okay. That sounds very..brutal. I will move on now. Forget I asked" he Clears his throat.
He looks at Clementine.
"And Hello…what's your name?"
Lee chuckles and pat's Clementine on the head.
"She's Clementine. I've been takin' care of her since the start of all this."
Reggie nods.
"Nice to meet you Clementine."

Reggie looks around slightly confused.
"Where's Carlos?"
"They've already got him looking at some folks."
Reggie nods in understanding.
"And what about Pete?"
They all go silent.
Rebecca lowers her head, unable to answer.
Reggie slowly starts frowning, knowing their silence is the only answer he needed.
"Oh…"
"Can you guys save it for the mornin'?" A voice they don't recognise bluntly shouts over to them.
A black man in a grey, baggy hoodie is heaved upwards off the ground, staring at them slightly annoyed.
"Some of us have to be up early."
Everyone slightly looks confused at him, but Reggie slightly chuckles nervously and waves off to him.
"No problem! Sorry about that!"
The guy then rolls back over and places the pillow over his head.
"Who's that?" Clementine questions quietly.
"That's Mike…he's kind of a dick when he's tired, but he did save my life so…I just put up with his shit."
As they continue to Converse, Clementine and Lee look over at a small table in one of the corners of the yard.
They spot a girl with short hair and an orangey stained leather jacket, staring at them. Glaring.
"...Do you see what I see?" Lee mutters.
Clementine nods.
"She's…staring at us…"
"Don't stare back sweet pea…don't wanna get on people's nerves when we've only been here for a few minutes" Lee reminds her.
Lee taps Reggie on the shoulder, breaking him from the conversation he was having.
"Yes Lee?"
"Who's that?"
"...Who's who?"
Lee points to the girl sitting by herself.
Reggie turns his head back not wanting to stare directly at her.
He lowers his voice almost to a whisper.
"Ah…Okay. So she's fuckin' weird. They found her sneaking around outside camp covered in walker guts. It was just…the grossest shit" Reggie shivers,
"I don't remember getting her name or hearing it at all…sorry Clementine."
Clementine silently nods and stays near Lee.
Reggie sighs and gets them all to gather around the fire pit.
He sits down on the ground.

"I know this may look bad but…honestly it isn't as bad as it looks. I mean, where else would you get the food like we have?
We've got the canned stuff and now with the greenhouse coming along we grow fresh produce!
The building is becoming more and more secure all the time.
Mostly through…forced labour- but that's only temporary!
And they even got the solar panels working! When was the last time you had electricity, huh?"
He rambles with confidence.
Sarah blinks, couping up her knees as she sits on the floor next to Clementine.
"...Well we were just in a ski lodge with a wind turbine and-"
"This isn't a competition" he interrupts, shaking his head,
"I'm just saying this place is really becoming something. A real community and…Bill is making it happen!"
They all stare at him.
"Reggie…that guy killed my friend Walter" Lee bluntly Mumbles.
Reggie's face immediately changes into a face of horror.
He stutters.
"O.Okay…I don't know what happened b.but…maybe he had his reasons-"
"His reason is he is a crazy piece of shit!!" Kenny spat.
Lee nods.
"Walter was a good man with a heart of gold."
Clementine nods.
Reggie deeply sighs.
"I'm so sorry for you guys. I really am. But…I'm so close to being part of the group again, and once I'm in that position, I can help you do a lot more. And for that to happen, I need you to not cause trouble for me and make me look bad, okay?"
Kenny and Rebecca stand up.
Kenny glares at him, gripping his fists slightly.
"...What do you think this is?"
"Reggie…"
"Look, Bill had all the reason to kill me for helping you guys, and he didn't. I know he'd do the same with you too."
Rebecca sighs.
"Reggie, I do not want a second chance. I want to leave with my family and that is IT" She hisses.
She slightly stumbles, wincing and holding her stomach slightly.
"I…I need to sit down…"
Sarita gently sits her back down.
"Is there anything for her to drink?"
Reggie nods.
"There's some water over there" Reggie points to a crate filled with water bottles.
He sighs.
"Man that did not go as planned…probably should've thought of a plan…" he mutters under his breath. Reggie gets up and goes to one of the bunk beds, getting ready to lie down.
Kenny walks off, making Lee and Clementine look at each other worriedly.
They scramble up to follow him.

"Man fuck that guy…" Kenny grunts,
"He's just a nutcase. Drank too much of the kool-aid and now he thinks he can trust that fucking psychopath…"
"Kenny…" Lee sighs.
Kenny turns to him.
"I don't trust him, Lee. I do not trust him at all. He's insane!"
"I think he's just scared…" Clementine looks over at him.
"We're ALL scared. Don't give him any excuses. We have to take a look around!"
Kenny starts to look at the walls.
"They said not to fuck with anything Kenny…we could probably get a Bullet in our head if we try anything" Lee sighs.
"I doubt you wanna be stuck here to inevitably get a bullet in your skull anyway" Kenny snaps back.
"Won't looking around get Reggie in trouble?" Clementine brings up.
Kenny groans.
"Just don't make too much noise and you'll be fine. That Troy asshole is gone for now, so be quick."
Lee sighs and nods.
"Fine. We'll see what we can find, but we ain't messin' with shit."
Kenny walks off towards Reggie.
"Fine by me. I'll run interference on him."

With that Lee and Clementine look at each other.
"So, What do we do now, Lee?" Clementine questions.
Lee looks around at the walls and sighs.
"Try and see if anything can be useful for Kenny. I don't know what exactly he wants us to look for, but all we can agree on is to not mess around with anything, okay?"
Clementine nods.
"Okay."
"I'll go look at the other wall, see if there's anything, go over to that corner there then talk to Kenny" Lee instructs.
She nods again and walks off to the wall he said.
Clementine spots rope hanging from what looks like a crane-like thing, beside a slightly broken and bent ladder.
The walls not only had sharp metal pieces sticking out of them, barbed wire also lay on the top layer.
Lee doesn't see anything interesting on his side. Though when the worse comes to worst, he still has his slightly dented screwdriver in his back pocket that somehow they haven't noticed yet.
Most likely from them not searching him properly.
They both walk to Kenny who is still rambling on to Reggie.
Kenny waves off to Reggie and folds his arms looking between them.
"So…any way of gettin' outta here?" He asks hopefully.
Clementine shakes her head.
"Those fences are pretty strong…"
Kenny nods with a slight sigh.
"Yeah…Howe's with a whole set of building supplies, they must be."
"I did spot-"

Clementine gets cut off by the metal gate opening again, to show Troy with Carlos.
Sarah beams a smile and jogs over.
"Dad!"
She hugs Carlos, Carlos giving a warm smile and embracing back.
Troy groans.
"Alright, now go the fuck to sleep. I'm shootin' the first one I see that's still awake by sunrise."
Rebecca slightly stutters.
"T.Troy Where's Alvin??"
"Get to bed."
They all get up and go to their beds, Rebecca now slightly shaking with her mind running wild about Alvin.
Kenny lies down beside Sarita, Clementine is lying on the bunk beside his, and Lee lies on the other one on the opposite side of Kenny near Sarita.
"Hey you two…these people don't seem keen on leavin' but I wanna find us a way outta here. You up for it? It's your choice."
Clementine nods.
"I'll try Kenny…"
"Good on ya darlin'. Lee?" Kenny turns around.
Lee sighs and nods.
"I'll do what I can man."
Kenny nods and lies back down.
"Get some sleep the both of you. We're gonna need it."
They lay down and close their eyes, the deep blue of the sky growing black.

"Alright, everyone rise and fuckin' shine. Bill wants a word this morning" Troy states, thrashing open the metal gate to make more noise so they'll wake up quicker.
It works.
They all get up slowly and stumble to them, Lee sees that Clementine is still sleeping.
Swiftly he gently nudges her arm.
Her eyes flicker open.
"Hm?"
"Come on Sweet pea, Bill wants to have a word with us."
She gets up.
"O…Okay."
She rubs her eyes and they, with haste, jog over to the rest.
They see that the black guy and the woman, are not in the group.
Carver walks in, with a blank expression.
Looking between them.
"Update for this morning, there has been increased Walker activity, so be mindful when outside the walls. The walkers have moved closer to us, but that doesn't necessarily mean we'll be hit by the herd."
He takes a moment to stop.
"Now some folks may be sore on what happened yesterday, at how things went.
But that, is all in the past now."
Rebecca glares at him, Kenny folds his arms.
"And as for the new ones in our community, you will be able to find strength in redemption and trust. Building your worth for us to trust you, as much as we trust these walls."
He looks at Reggie who is in front.
"And Reggie. You are nearly back in, so keep going down that path and you'll be welcomed back with open arms."
"How'd you sleep?" Sarah whispers.
Lee and Clementine look at her, Lee ignores it and Clementine stutters, looking back at Carver.
"Now's not the time Sarah…"
"Take Reggie as a great example of your pathway to-"
"I just thought it was nice to finally-"
"CARLOS."
Everyone snaps their attention.
Carlos breathes.
"Y.Yes?"
"Your child seems to be speaking whilst I am" He glares.
Carlos looks to Sarah.
"Sarah. Apologise to Mr.Carver. Right now."
Sarah shakes.
"S..Sorry. I'm sorry sir…"
Carver shakes his head.
"No, No. That ain't gonna cut it. I won't tolerate this on day 1 of your reform. Discipline her with one good smack of the mouth."
Carlos' eyes widen slightly.
Sarah glances at Carlos.
"D…Dad?"
"I…"
"Now Carlos. Before Troy does it for you."
Carlos walks up to Sarah and sighs.
"I'm sorry for this honey…"
He lifts his hand and smacks her face, making her stumble to the floor.
A minute or so after, her cheek starts to sting and burn to a slight reddish colour.
Her eyes stay wide, she tries not to cry as she gets back up slowly.
Carver nods.
"Good. That'll make you think twice about speaking again while I am."
Carlos lowers his head.
"I'm sorry hon-"
"Stop cuddling her!! You don't need to do that anymore. Let her stand there and think of what she has done.
Troy, get everyone to their posts, everyone has their assignments.
Now get to work" He snaps, storming off.
Troy walks to Carlos and wonders off with him,
Meanwhile Bonnie walks to Lee and Clementine.
"Hey, you're with me in the armoury" she states,
"Come on."
Lee and Clementine then walk on with her.
"Soil coming up!" A voice shouts, Clementine backing up a bit as 4 sacks of soil drop from rope.
She looks up to see that woman in the leather jacket again.
"Oh shit…not again…" she heaves.
"Clementine!" Lee calls.
Clementine rushes to his side, as the woman stares off after her on the rooftop.
As they walk, they spot 2 people they don't know, folding their arms and looking at them.

"Who are they?" One questions.
"They're 2 of the new people, they came in with Carlos and Sarah and-"
"Ugh Sarah? I wish she'd stayed gone" the one rolls her eyes.
"She's had a hard time Becca, don't blame her-"
"So have we. And everyone else. We're not crying on the ground like babies though, are we?"
Clementine scrunches her face slightly in disgust at hearing them as they walk by.
Lee looks down at her with a frown on his face.
"Don't listen to 'em Clem. They don't know the things we've been through, and they sure as hell won't know what Sarah has been through, ever."
Clementine nods.
They continue walking to a metal covered door, Bonnie opens it and lets them go through.
"You'll be startin' your day with me" Bonnie slightly smiles.
Lee and Clementine take a seat, next to a BIG box of bullets and a bunch of magazine covers that are all empty.
Bonnie sits down on the opposite side of them, facing them with a friendly grin.
"We'll be loading up magazines."
Lee grabs a magazine cover from the pile on the wooden table, along with Bonnie doing the same. Clementine grabs bullets from the box and starts loading them into the magazine cover Lee is holding, since Lee can't do it himself.
Bonnie starts filling her own in.
She looks over at them and chuckles slightly.
"You're gettin' the hang of it, it must be hard not having another arm to use," She sighs.
Lee looks over at her then back down at the magazine cover.
"Yeah…but I didn't have a choice. I'd rather have one arm than turn into a monster that could put Clementine in danger.." He explains.
Bonnie stares at him a moment, stopping what she's doing.
"...I bet it Must've been hard…" She utters.
They go silent for a few moments as they continue their work.
"I…I owe you two an apology…" she begins,
"I wasn't truthful when I came across y'all at the lodge…and I was shown a kindness I never expected from a group of strangers…"
Lee frowns slightly.
"That was Walter for you…" he Mumbles.
Bonnie heaves.
"And now…folks are dead. And I can't help but feel like…I'm the one to blame for all of it. The plan was for no one to get hurt. But then things didn't go how-"
"A lot of people are to Blame…Carver, Kenny…it's complicated" Lee interrupts.
Bonnie nods slightly.
"I guess so…I was no help in stoppin' it. I thought I could keep things under control if I were the one to talk to you first, keep everyone safe! But…that ain't how it went."
"Sometimes you just can't change anything" Clementine states, making Bonnie slightly surprised,
"It makes you feel helpless. I understand that feeling."
Bonnie lowers her head.
Lee glares at Clementine, eyebrows slightly arched. She wouldn't look up at Lee.
"Yeah…I didn't mean for things to be this way…I apologise. Which ain't much, but it's all I can offer right now."
They continue working in silence again, Lee putting aside the full magazine and grabbing a new one, whilst Clementine waits patiently with a bullet in hand.
"So…How was your first night in the yard?" Bonnie questions.
Lee Scoffs slightly.
"It was cold as hell."
"I can imagine. We haven't got a ceilin' for the yard and the nights get pretty cold. That's one thing we'll need in the future: warmth."
Lee nods.
"It felt like a prison" Clementine Mumbles.
"It ain't a prison. More like…a work release" Bonnie tries to explain.
Clementine tilts her head.
"Don't they do those in prison?"
Lee shuffles slightly, from the mention of the word.
Bonnie shakes her head.
"I don't know. Never been to prison. Don't tell anyone else that though, gotta keep up my tough reputation."
They nod.
Bonnie's head suddenly perks up.
"Oh before I forget, I found somethin' for ya" she smirks at Clementine. She then gets out her seat and reaches on a shelf.
A light blue jacket of some kind is brought over, folded neatly.
Clementine grabs it and puts it on, Lee helping her.
"So, whaddya think?"
Lee smiles at her, Clementine raises an eyebrow.
"It's kinda ugly…"
Lee chuckles.
"I love it on you. Makes you look adorable."
"...Right" Clem Mumbles back.
Bonnie smiles at Lee.
"Thank you Lee. I thought it was kinda cute. Found it in the lodge you were stayin' at so I think it's meant for skiing.
This ain't no fashion show but, at least it'll keep you warm Clementine.
You better watch out around here, people will be jealous of your new cool jacket!" She grins.
Static jumps them, Bonnie looks to her radio.
"H.Hey Bonnie, is the girl there?" A voice comes through. Bonnie picks it up.
"Yeah the girl's with me."
"Good. I'm gonna come pick her up in a minute."
"Alright."
The static clicks off.
Bonnie looks at Clementine.
"They want you somewhere else, okay? If I had any guesses they'd be sending you to the new greenhouse."
"Wait…they want Clem? What for?"
"Is Lee not coming with me?" Clem raises her voice.
Bonnie lowers her head.
"Yes…only her is wanted.
You'll be stayin' with me Lee."
They look at each other sadly.
"B.But…I don't wanna be alone!" Clementine Mumbles, slightly clinging on to Lee.
Bonnie looks at her with arched eyebrows.
"I know Hon, but that just ain't how it works around here…you'll be able to see him soon enough, okay?"
Lee nods.
"It's okay Sweet pea. You'll be fine, and I'll be too. Even if we don't see each other the whole day, we'll see each other at dinner."
Clementine slowly lets go, and nods slowly.
The woman comes in.
"Hey. What's with the ugly jacket?"
"Tavia…"
"What? Just sayin'."
"Never mind…see you later Clementine."
"Bye Clem" Lee waves off.
"Come on."
Clementine slowly gets led out of the room, leaving Bonnie and Lee alone.
They sit in silence for a moment.
"Let's continue with the magazines.
Here, I'll help you" Bonnie insists, grabbing a bullet from the box.
Lee grabs another magazine cover.
Bonnie sighs.
"I was supposed to go with Luke and Carlos when they all left. I was plannin' on leavin' too. When…When Luke approached me about it I thought he was crazy…"
Lee eyes her slightly.
"Why didn't you go with 'em?" He questions.
Bonnie lowers her head slightly.
"I think the reason was just…I chickened out. I tried to convince myself it'd be easier to fix something broken than…start all over again."
Lee nods.
"I can understand that. This place is protected, and strong. The amount of stuff you have here is enough to keep anyone alive."
Bonnie nods.
"Exactly. It ain't easy keeping this many people fed and protected, and I don't envy Bill's position. That would be enough to cause anyone some stress."
Lee sighs and looks away.
"He still killed Walter though…and that just can't be justified."
"He overreacted. Okay? He got stuck in the heat of the moment and he overreacted.
Kenny would have shot us all..!"
"He didn't though…I'm not sayin' Kenny was right in what he did but Carver wasn't either!!" Lee bluntly responds.
Bonnie remains quiet, as Lee puts the magazine to one side.
They don't continue work and just sit there.
"Luke always had ideas on how to keep the group Safe, but Bill had other ideas…they clashed heads a lot, and then Rebecca started showin' and that just made things worse…" she rambles, shaking her head.
She sighs.
"I wish he was here right now…I hope he's safe."
Lee nods, looking down at the floor.
"He's our only hope of gettin' out of here. At least that's what it looks like at the moment.
I hope he's safe too."
Bonnie nods.
"We should get done with the rest of these magazines, Wyatt will have a flip at us if we don't get it done in time" She chuckles nervously.
Lee nods.

They continue to load magazines, helping each other as they do. Slowly letting the day roll by.
Of course…Lee was still worried about Clementine and where she is right now.
But all he can do right now…is hope.

Chapter Text

After an hour or 2, Lee and Bonnie have made it to the last magazine cover and the last few bullets.
They sigh in relief, as Bonnie puts the last bullet into the magazine.
"Well, that should about do it" Bonnie smiles.
Lee stands up and stretches his legs.
"Yeah, that was pretty nice. Got to like the quiet after hearing walkers for so long" he Mumbles.
She chuckles.
"I bet it is nice ain't it?"
She looks at him as she stretches out her arms.
"So…What's your story then? I know the others like the back of my hand…but you, the little girl and the other guy are still a mystery" she eyes him.
Lee sighs.
"I found Clem in her house, her babysitter turned long before I was there.
Clem was only 8 years old. We found a farm and that's when I met Kenny.
We've stuck with each other ever since.
We found people…lost people.
But…we still had each other.
And I got bitten. Thus why the no arm" he explains lowering his head.
Bonnie's eyes slightly widen, not expecting to hear all of this.
She doesn't say anything.
"Kenny tried to save this kid that fell from a building, he didn't want us to wait for him so…we left. We met up with these 2 people we knew and got separated from, but…they didn't last too long after. We got surrounded by bandits and walkers when campin' out for the night and…me and Clem even got separated.
We found each other a few days later up to now…and I cannot ask for anything more than those two."
Bonnie stays silent longer, trying to take it in.
"Man…I am so sorry for what you've been through. Must've been so scary to lose people close to you…not knowin' whether they're gonna make it or not…" she utters,
"Clementine must be so brave…goin' through all this at her age."
Lee nods.

Bonnie's radio statics again.
"Hey Bonnie. The girl is being sent down to you, the boys need more nails so go and get some for her to take to the new expansion" Carver instructs.
"I'm on it Bill" she nods.
"Carver out."
The static clicks.
"Nails? New expansion?" Lee questions.
"We are expandin' outwards to the stores connectin' to Howe's, it'll give us more space, and more protection, storage, all that Jazz."
Lee nods.
"Though…currently it ain't the safest place yet."
Clementine is spotted walking towards the armoury door, as Bonnie and Lee collect the nails from a wooden area near it.
"Clem!" Lee calls, catching her attention.
She jogs up to him and hugs him quickly.
"Lee!"
"Hey hon, we need these nails to be delivered over to the new expansion over that way" Bonnie points,
"Just take this and give it to 'em."
Clementine nods, Bonnie walks her over to the doorway she pointed at, which leads to an outside part of Howe's they haven't seen yet.
A long row of shops greets them, surrounded by flimsy looking walls, stopped by metal rods.
She looks up to shout to Troy, who is on the roof, scanning the area and keeping an eye on everything.
"Troy! She's just givin' the boys some nails!"
"Alright then!" Troy nods,
"Just follow the cables, you'll find 'em."
"Come on Lee, we should take the magazines and put them into storage" Bonnie smiles.
"You got it."
They walk away as Lee looks back at clementine, she slowly walks towards the end of the walls.

They go back into the armoury and Bonnie grabs a box underneath the desk.
Lee then grabs the magazines one by one and puts them into the box, Bonnie quickly helping as well.
They make sure each one is lined up nice and neat, to not make a mess of the bullets inside them.
Lee grabs another box, the first one filling up very quickly.
Once they filled up both boxes, Bonnie heaves up the first box.
She looks at Lee, picking up the second box.
"Are you…gonna be okay to lift that?" She questions with caution.
Lee nods.
"Yeah. I can balance it just fine. My nub is stronger than before at least" he chuckles.
Bonnie nods and they both leave the armoury.
Bonnie leads them to a different sector the place in which again, Lee hasn't seen before.
There is a massive storage area, all filled to the brim with massive crates and boxes.
She places down the box and Lee puts his down next to hers.
Wyatt stares at them.
"Thank Bonnie."
"No problem Wyatt, tell Carver that they've been put in here."
"I know."
They leave.

As they head back to the armoury, Lee sees Clementine looking uneasy.
Lee jogs over to her.
"Clementine…are you okay?"
She looks up at him slightly.
"Carver's asked to see me…" she utters.
He feels his heart beat.
He looks up at Carver's window, his back facing them.
"Okay…stay calm, answer anything he says, and Please…be safe," Lee sighs, patting her shoulder.
"I will. Don't worry" she assures him, walking past him.
He looks off after her, seeing Rebecca pass her, sobbing.
Lee lowers his head. Bonnie stands behind him, and places a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey…I think you've done enough for today.
She'll be fine. I know Bill doesn't have it in him to kill a little girl like Clementine. I'll escort you back to the yard so you can rest a bit. Dinner will be soon."
Lee silently nods, letting Bonnie lead him back to the yard, as she said.
"Thanks Bonnie."
"Don't mention it" she smiles before closing the metal gate again.
He looks around to see Rebecca, she is still sobbing, and the woman in the leather jacket, which is just doing the usual stalking around the corners and staring at them both.
He goes to Rebecca and sits by her, on one of the chairs near the fireplace.
"Hey Rebecca. What's wrong?" He asks gently.
She tries to wipe her eyes.
"Hey Lee…it's just…I'm sorry…"
Lee waits patiently for her to calm down slightly.
"Take your time."
She sniffles.
"Thank you…it's just…Alvin…he's gone. Bill killed him…" She mutters before breaking into a cry again.
Lee's eyes widen.
"Holy shit…I…I'm so sorry Rebecca…"
He wraps her arm around her trying to comfort her.
After a few minutes, she calms down slightly, wiping her eyes fully of the tears, her breathing still remains shaky though.
"It's okay…it's okay…we'll get outta here, and we can figure out what to do."
Rebecca nods silently, as Lee hands her a bottle of water.
A minute goes by, Kenny and Mike are shoved into the yard as the metal gate opens again.
"Stay in here!" Troy snaps,
"Don't want you fuckin' around any more than you have been!"
He angrily slams down the metal gate and storms off.
Lee blinks, as Kenny growls and angrily paces.
Mike folds his arms and sighs, he's goes over to one of the chairs near the fireplace and slumps himself down.
"What happened?" Lee questions.
Mike gestures to Kenny.
"What do you think happened? This guy slammed me against a wall, it let walkers in our workspace and made a whole mess.
Basically, he fucked it up."
Kenny sharply turns to Mike and death stares him.
"Nobody is forcin' me to be their labourer! They will fix that shit themselves, I don't give a flyin' shit!!"
Mike leans his head on his hand.
"Proves my point…"
"Sorry about him…he's always like this…" Lee mumbles.
Mike nods.
"I can see that."
Kenny grunts and kicks the air.
"We need to leave…and we need to leave now" He Mumbles.
"Good idea Genius, we need a plan" Nick rolls his eyes being led into the yard by yet another person.
Kenny stares at him.
"That's what I'm thinkin' of smartass!! If you're so fuckin' smart then get everyone outta here by yourself!" He hisses.
Nick glares at him, going over to sit on the small table in the corner.
Rebecca looks at Kenny.
"So…what do you propose we do then Kenny?" She asks, all ears for what he is about to say. Mike and Nick…basically the complete opposite.
"I say when dinner comes around…we attract the herd somehow, they're already close enough. It'll give us an opening!" He explains, getting more bright ideas in his mind.
Mike's eyes widen, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration.
"Are you crazy?!"
"Crazy enough to take the chance of escapin' here to save the group I care about? Yes."
Mike stutters in disbelief.
Lee lowers his head in thought, his mind mainly just focused on Clementine.
The metal gate opens once again, Lee hoping it would be Clem, but it was Reggie and Sarah instead.
"Hey guys" Reggie greets,
"What's…going on?"
Sarah looks around.
"Where's my dad?"
"He'll be out helping people sweetie, he'll be back in time for dinner" Rebecca smiles.
She nods and goes to sit beside Lee.
Reggie looks at the tension between Kenny and Mike.
Worried.
"Is…everything good here?"
Kenny folds his arms and looks away.
"Yeah…everything's just grand, just fuckin' grand."
He walks off to sit and face the wall.
Mike looks away as Reggie looks at him.
"Yeah…"

—

Time passes. Clementine has finally came back but to more arguing and annoyance growing between Kenny and Mike.
Lee rushes up to her and hugs her tight.
"Clementine! Thank God…I thought you weren't comin' back! Did Carver hurt you?"
Clementine smiles.
"No. He didn't hurt me…but…I saw…I saw Alvin…h.he's…"
"Dead. I know sweet pea I know, Rebecca told me" Lee sighs sadly, stroking her face removing slight tears.
"But it's okay…we'll get away from this place soon enough, when these idiots can figure out what to do to get out" he grunts slightly, looking to Kenny shouting.
"We just gotta figure out a way to draw them to us!!"
"Why do you want us to get killed by lurkers?" Rebecca states.
"What is it with you?-"
"That's what it sounds like to me."
"It does sound…dangerous" Sarita nods.
"This shit is all dangerous!!" He raises his voice.
Sarita gasps.
"Kenny…don't speak to me like that."
Kenny lowers his head slightly.
"S.Sorry hon…"
"Luke is here. He talked to me and said he wants a radio to spy on the guards" Clementine explains while walking towards them and sitting next to Sarah, Lee sharply turns his head.
"What? Luke is here?"
Rebecca nods.
"That's the option I go for."
"Y.You know about Luke?" Clementine asks in surprise.
Mike nods.
"He tracked us down after you left. Said he talked to you."
"That sounds reasonable. Tracking for an opening?" Sarita nods with a smile.
Kenny stutters, not wanting Sarita to side with them.
"B.But who knows how long that'll take? We just need a massive distraction for the walkers to hit this place. A woman in Crawford used bells to distract the walkers all over the city. We just need somethin' really loud!" Kenny brings up.
Lee nods.
"Yeah, I remember that."
Mike turns to him, eyebrow raised.
"For real?"
"Did it work though?" Rebecca side eyes him.
Lee nods.
"Yeah, with a loud enough distraction the walkers could hear it for miles. If we get a big enough group of 'em, these guys shouldn't pay too much attention to us" Lee goes on.
Kenny grins at him.
"Thank you Lee. Now…does anyone know of anything loud enough that we could use?"
Everyone looks between each other.
"I…I think there was something in Carver's office. A bunch of switches and buttons that look like they can be used with something else other than in the building" Clementine brings up.
"There's a speaker system that's out near the parkin' lot" Mike Mumbles,
"Probably is very loud."
Rebecca nods.
"It is. The controls for it are in Carver's office which is what Clementine saw. That's how you switch it on, with one of the buttons. It's labelled."
"How would you know…?"
Rebecca slightly lowers her head with a slight nervous chuckle.
"I used to do a lot of announcements back in the day…and I was allowed to use Carver's office quite a bit."
Kenny blinks, surprised.
"Wh- Now why didn't you say so sooner?"
She sighs.
"It doesn't change anything. The plan is about whether it is stupid. And it's still stupid.
I say we give Luke a radio and wait for an opening."
Mike nods, along with Nick.
Reggie also agrees, especially since he doesn't really want to leave anyway.
They look to Lee and Clementine.
Reggie has wandered off to the small table where Nick is no longer sat, not even wanting to be in the conversation, purely from how tense Kenny and Mike looked.
"Clem?" Kenny says expectantly.
She shakes slightly.
"I…I'd say we distract the walkers…if we give Luke the radio it'll lead with us most likely getting caught" she bluntly responds.
Kenny nods.
"And Lee?"
Lee looks at everyone's expectant and kind of pissed off faces.
"Um…look I trust Luke, but I don't think getting him a radio is worth the risk of possibly one of us dyin'."
"Lee!" "Come on Man! You bitches are crazy!"
"You're practically saying you wanna attempt a suicide mission, and what…casually stroll through a pack of walkers?" Rebecca sharply lectures.
"We improvise," Kenny growls.
"Then it ain't a plan!" Mike interrupts,
"You don't plan to improvise. If your plan is to stroll through a herd of walkers then you know there is no fuckin' Way in hell you're makin' it."
"Actually" someone pipes up.
The woman in the leather jacket.
She walks over and stands there, pretty confident.
"I have strolled through many herds of walkers before."
They all blink at her.
"...That is the first thing I hear you say…and it's the most weird, craziest shit…" Mike Mumbles.
"When you have the scent of a walker, they cannot tell you apart from one of their own.
All we need to do is smear ourselves with Walker guts and their blood, and remain calm. If we do that, then we'll be alive."

They all blink at her.

"This is nuts."
"I don't know who's crazier…" Rebecca buries her face in her hands.
Kenny grins.
"No No…it's perfect!"
"Lee has done it before" Clementine states, looking to Lee with a smile.
Kenny's eyes widen.
"...Really?"
They nod.
"It's how we got out of the Marsh house. I covered both of us and we walked out without the walkers knowin' no different" Lee explains.
Kenny smiles even more, chuckling slightly.
"Holy shit. Good one, Lee."
Lee nods slightly.
"Alright. It's nearly time to get some rest for the mornin'. So that's what we're gonna do."
"Wait…we're not getting the radio?" Nick stands up,
"That's what we agreed on!"
"No it wasn't, boy…we didn't agree on that. We agreed that we will use the distraction!"
"Can't we do both? It would make sense" Rebecca suggests.
Kenny sighs.
"I…I don't think we should. As Lee said it would be too risky. It was risky for Luke to even get in here in the first place."
Kenny stares at the fire.
"How he hasn't been caught yet I have no idea…"

As the night wastes away, they do eventually get fed, of course, being supervised by Bonnie and Wyatt.
After that, everyone was sent straight to their beds.
Clementine and Lee start to drift off,
Kenny lies there, his face growing with a saddened expression.
"I thought about Duck today…" he began, making Clementine open her eyes, Lee already drifting off into sleep.
"I thought about his dumb little face…and how much he ran in circles.
No matter where we went, he'd just…run. Couldn't stop him.
It makes it harder to remember that…he was a good little boy.
He…He was my little boy…good or not. I just wish I could see his dumb little face just one more day…one more day.." He repeats.
Slowly they both drift off to sleep, Kenny letting a single tear drip down his face as he closed his eyes.

—

Lee wakes up to see Kenny, Mike and Reggie gathered around the small table that has now been moved to be closer to the metal gate.
"I'm tellin' you this'll work!" Kenny enthused,
"Just trust me."
Mike folds his arms.
"Whatever man…you better not slam me into the damn wall again, or I swear to Jesus…"
"Look, both of you just be on your best behaviour okay? Bill still wants me to prove that I can be welcomed with open arms, and If I get that, then maybe I can help keep them distracted for you" He explains.
Kenny looks at the table in thought.
"Maybe…could be useful. But should we really wait until tomorrow?"
Reggie chuckles slightly.
"Have patience Kenny. Is this place really that bad OTHER than Bill?"
"No. I'm just saying that Shitbird "Bill" is the fuckin' problem!"
Reggie sighs and shakes his head, walking off.
"...Lee?" Clementine utters.
Lee looks over to see Clementine standing there.
He smiles.
"Hey Clem. You okay?"
She nods.
"Yeah, I just hope we both get the same work today…"
Lee nods.
"We can only hope Clementine.."
"Hey Clem, come over here a second" Kenny waves over.
They both walk to him.
"Yes?"
"We need you to tell Luke that we're doin' a different plan, and see if he can help with it. If he can somehow get into Carver's office without-"

The metal gate opens to Troy, marching in.
"Alright lil' chickens, let's get to peckin'."
They glare at him.
Clementine nods at Kenny, understanding what he meant.
"I fuckin' hope you assholes don't pull off stunts like yesterday. No. Shenanigans. Got it?"
Mike nods.
"We got it Troy."
"Good. Now come on!"
They all start to follow.
As they nearly make it to the outside small street of stores, Bonnie catches up.
"Hey! Those 2 are with me" she calls out.
Troy sighs.
"Ah shit I forgot…"
She folds her arms.
"Yeah. Come on you two."
Kenny stutters.
"W.Wouldn't she be more comfortable with people she knows? I.I know she's with Lee and all but…she'd do a lot more helpin' us" Kenny lists off excuses.
Lee looks at Clementine.
"Y.Yeah Bonnie, can you let Clem go with them for today. Surely whatever we're doin' can be done with just me" Lee nods in agreement.
Kenny nods.
Bonnie sighs and looks at Troy.
"Well, I suppose so. Go ahead Clem. Make sure to listen to Troy" she smiles.
She nods and hugs Lee slightly before jogging to Kenny's side.
"Now come on you 3, the wall ain't gonna make itself" Troy states, his voice fading off as they go outside.

With that, Lee and Bonnie walk off towards the Armoury.
Bonnie breathes.
"I…Just wanted to see if you guys were alright. Can I just quickly ask what that was all about?"
Lee stays in his thoughts for a moment.
Bonnie examines his face.
"...Lee?"
She opens the door and lets him through before shutting it again. She faces him.
"Come on Lee. You know you can talk to me, right? If somethin's on your mind, then I'd like to know if I can help?"
Lee sighs and looks at her.
"Luke is here."
"Wh-What?!"
"And Clementine needs to talk with him about how we're gettin' out of here. He wanted radios but we said it'd be too risky. Instead, we're gonna use the speaker out in the parking lot."
She blinks.
"Holy smokes…"
Lee nods.
"It sounds crazy but…I'm sorry, we can't stay here."
Bonnie looks sad for a minute, but after her face eventually nods.
"I…I understand that. Bill..he wasn't like this before. The complete opposite even.
But now…he seems like he is a tickin' time bomb…waitin' to go off after any moment."
They stay silent for a moment.
"If you need any help from me, I.. I'll try to do as much as I can, okay?" She slightly smiles,
"But of course there's only so much I can do.
You did the right thing not stealin' from us.
Bill would've just…lost it."
Lee nods.
"Thanks Bonnie."
She smiles again.
They breathe as they sit down together.
"What needs doin'?" Lee questions.
Bonnie looks at the table.
"There isn't actually anythin' I needed you to do here" Bonnie closes her eyes,
"I just wanted to clear things up.
You two looked…distressed or somethin'. I could just tell."
Lee looks at her then at the door.
They could hear yelling from Troy.
Both of them stand up and look at each other.
"That didn't sound good…" Both of them mutter, before swiftly exiting the armoury.

As they see Troy shove Kenny, Mike and Clementine to the floor of the yard, they also see Carver standing above Luke, who now has a massive bruise over his eye.
Everyone else has slowly been moved back to the yard too, just looking at Luke with worried eyes.
"And this is how our kindness has been repaid…with treachery…with deceit…"
"What's going on?" Lee questions.
Kenny shrugs.
"I have no idea…"
Carver folds his arms and glares at them.
"Whatever you were planning, it's over. It's done. You can't just run away from your problems. Because there's nowhere you can go that ain't tough. Tough is all we know now, get that through your fuckin' skulls."
He walks back beside Tavia and Troy.
"Luke here can't help you now. You need to help yourselves. Help us find the strength to forgive you" He shakes his head with sorrow,
"And you can start. By telling me who has been talking with Luke?"

They all go quiet.
Clementine shakes slightly, Lee most definitely noticing. And growing worried.
"If someone hasn't said anything about speaking with him when I hit 3, then I may do something I'll regret. 1…" he begins.
Still silence.
"2…"
Clementine tightens her eyes and sighs, looking up at Carver and slightly shuffling forward.
"I did it!" Clementine shouts,
"I'm the one that talked with luke…"
Carver stares at her with a slight grin.
"3."
He crouches down slightly at her, making his face a few inches away from hers.
"It was brave of you to come forward. Now. Tell me exactly what you discussed with this man."
Clementine stutters.
"W..We…We…"
"Come on kid."
Lee hated every moment of this, just seeing Clementine struggle. All the others that actually talked with Luke as well didn't want to intervene.
"We were thinking of stealing radios…but we didn't go through with it."
Carver nods.
"Good. Good. Smart kid."
Luke glares at him.
Reggie looks at everyone then walks towards Clementine.
"B.Bill, please don't do this with the kid, it's making her uncomfortable and-"
"Shut up Reggie. This will greatly affect your trust in me if you begin to act like a hero. So shut the fuck up and move aside" Carver instructs, looking back to Clementine.
"So you were planning a theft huh?"
Clementine looks to Luke, and then slowly nods.
"You know this won't go unpunished, don't you?" He asks.
Clementine stares at him right in his eyes.
And continues to stare.
"All you do is punish people…why do you keep us locked in this prison otherwise?"

Carver stares back for a minute before chuckling.
He grips his fist and punches across her face, making her fall to the floor.
One punch after another down on one side of her face, Reggie's eyes widen and everyone starts Freaking out.
"CLEM!!" Kenny screams, trying to charge in, but Carlos and Mike grip his arms and pull him away.
"LET GO OF ME!!" "BILL, GET OFF HER MAN SHE'S JUST A KID!!" "CLEMENTINE!-"
"Sarah please stay here honey.."
"You stay away from this Reg. Or you'll end up just the same" Carver spat.
He slowly backs away.
Lee grips his fist and runs toward her.
"GET OFF HER!!" Lee shouts, before getting hit in the head by Troy.
Bonnie walks in and gasps.
"BILL! THAT'S ENOUGH BILL!! PLEASE!! THERE'S A BREACH!!"
He gives one more punch and then gets up, releasing his knuckle.
Everyone's scared expressions greet him, Kenny's angered one as well.
He shoves Mike and Carlos off him and runs to Clementine, Lee didn't have the strength to, his head slightly aching and spinning.
He couldn't even bring himself up off the ground.
"Troy, Tavia, come with me. Bonnie, make sure these folks dont get into any more trouble.
None of you will have dinner tonight. Maybe an empty stomach will give you some piece of mind. And we'll try this again tomorrow."
They all walk away, his people with worried expressions, they all leave except for Bonnie who is looking at Lee and Clementine with massive worry.
She jogs over to Lee and places her hand on his shoulder.
"DOC PLEASE I NEED YOU OVER HERE!!" Kenny shouts, holding Clementine who is now unconscious.
Carlos runs over.
"Clem…Clem can you hear me?" Kenny starts shaking Clementine,
"Clem please wake up girl, c'mon…"
Sarah starts sobbing, Rebecca trying to comfort her.
Reggie, Nick, Luke, Sarita, Mike and Jane all stay in their places, lowering their heads.
"Make sure to be able to get Clementine good enough to move, because we are leavin' tonight" Bonnie states.
Luke and Carlos' eyes widen.

"We're leavin' tonight."

Chapter Text

Lee's eyes flicker open, a massive pounding in his head.
He slightly moves his body upwards, to see he is lying on his bunk bed.
When his vision Clears, he looks over to the fireplace where everyone is hanging around.
Kenny was crying along with Sarah, and everyone just looked scared and shocked.
From what Lee could see anyway.

He slowly gets up and stumbles over to the group. He sits down next to the fire.
Sarah sits down next to him and cries into his shoulder.
Lee puts his hand on her hair, letting her do it.
"It's okay Sweetie…Clementine will be fine."
"You alright?" Nick asks.
Lee nods.
"My head is still aching but…yeah."
Nick nods.
Luke and Mike sit down.
Sarita was comforting Kenny, it not really working. As soon as Kenny heard Lee's voice he looks up, letting his tears be visible.
"L.Lee…she…she's in bad shape Lee…" he shakes his head.
Lee lowers his head.
"I can imagine…he really beat the shit out of her…" he frowns.
Reggie sighs.
"I'm so sorry this happened you guys…after this I'm definitely not staying here…"
Luke looks at Reggie.
"Seriously?"
Reggie nods.
"Would I say it if I wasn't serious? He just beat a little girl, Luke. I've never seen this side of Bill before…"
Mike folds his arms, his eyebrows arched.
"Bonnie said she'll let us out of the pen if we get the PA system goin'. Second she hears it, she'll run over and spring us."
Rebecca sighs in relief.
"Good, that's great!"
"It's not great…" Luke Mumbles.
Rebecca looks at him.
"Look, I know this is my fault okay? I..I just got hungry and I got caught but…"
"How is this not great? We're leavin'!" Lee scrunches his face.
"Look. Doing it tonight, is real dangerous!"
"It is pretty damn risky…" Nick nods.
Mike stares at them both.
"Risky? D.Did you just see what that sonnovabitch just did??
Look- the plan works! Nothin' needs to change.
That guy is fuckin' crazy."
Luke nods.
"Yeah, but now we've got Clementine beat to shit, Kenny, Sarah and Lee in no shape to do anything, and I'm a fucking mess!"
Mike glares at him and leans in with an annoyed expression.
"Bonnie has agreed to help us tonight."
"Then why can't she do this some OTHER night. We need to rest up and wait for an opening!"
"We are NOT waiting" Rebecca sharply spoke.
Lee nods.
"Waitin' is just a death Wish, Luke."
"Look, guys, there's nothin' out there. Trust me I looked: no food, no water, they picked everything clean!"
"Anything is better than this place with that madman" Sarita states.
Sarah nods, wiping her tears.
"We…We need to leave. Clementine got hurt here, I don't wanna stay here!" She expresses.
Luke's eyes widen.
"Wh- Why would you ever…?"
"Where's Clementine?" Lee questions, cutting off Luke's thought.
He lowers his head.
"Carlos is lookin' at her. It don't look too good…"

Like on que, Carlos walks over.
He looks worried, he is slightly shaking but tries to hide it by folding his arms.
Kenny looks up at him.
"W.Well? How is she? Please say she's okay!" Kenny pleads.
Carlos sighs.
"Her cheek is bashed and bruised, she is very lucky he didn't catch her eye. Her cheek is bleeding badly, so I tried to clean it best I could and stop the swelling but…I don't know if it'll do much good.."
Lee covers his mouth and lowers his head, trying not to shed a tear, same with Kenny.
"Oh god…" Lee utters.
"Until she wakes up, I cannot tell if the cheek will be permanently damaged…or if she has any damage to her gums inside."
Sarah starts tearing up again, giving Luke an annoyed look.
Luke looks away, sighing.
"Look, if y'all are serious about leavin' tonight then…dammit I think we need to talk about…leavin' some folks behind-"
"NO!!" Kenny screams, growling at him.
"What the fuck man?" Mike glares.
Sarah shakes her head.
"No..No we're not leaving Clementine, she's my best friend!"
"We are NOT leavin' Clementine. Or anybody!" Lee snaps.
"I don't wanna leave Clementine behind…I'm not sayin' that I just…fuck…" he sighs,
"That kid is strong man, saved our ass more times than I can count out there, but there's just no other way."
"That's bullshit" Rebecca sharply stares.
Reggie nods.
"Yeah that's…that's pretty fucked up Luke."
Luke looks at everyone.
"What? So I'm the bad guy here? I'm just trying to make a bad situation easier…for all of us" he grumbles.
"No leaving Clementine, and that is that" Sarita nods firmly.
Kenny nods with her and glares at Luke.

"G.Good…because…Y.You won't have to" her voice utters, Kenny and Lee immediately spring up at the sound of her voice.
"CLEM!!" They both shout, rushing over to her.
They crouch down and look at her, her cheek as red and blue as anything.
They both have arched eyebrows as they look at it.
She looks tired.
"Hey…Hey…sit down a minute Clem, okay?" Kenny nods, picking her up and sitting her back down on the mattress.
"Need your strength."
"How are you Clementine? You think you're strong enough to make it tonight?" Lee asks with a gentle smile.
Clementine nods.
"Yeah. The plan hasn't changed."
They both nod.
"Damn right it hasn't" Kenny chuckles with another tear breaking through.
They both hug her.
Everyone looks over at her: Sarah, Sarita, Rebecca, Carlos and Reggie smiling,
Luke looking nervous or guilty,
Nick doesn't really show anything,
And Mike and Jane don't really have anything to show towards Clementine, not really knowing her yet.

"The plan hasn't changed" Kenny announces.
"Nice one old man," Nick chuckles.
Kenny Scoffs with amusement.
"Thanks Asshole."
"Man, you are one tough bastard, kid" Mike grins.
Clementine chuckles.
"Do tough bitches get beat up in front of everybody?"
Lee nods his head with a chuckle.
"I'd prefer it if you weren't beaten, you're already a tough bitch to me Sweet pea."
Lee hugs her again, as she slowly gets up to Kenny and Lee's side.
"Alright…so what now?" Luke sighs.
"We get the hell outta here" Lee states.
…

"Like…Now, Now?"
"Now" Rebecca stares at him.
"We need to discuss an emergency place to meet in case things don't go to plan…a place people will know where to find" Kenny brings up,
"Don't wanna rule out the possibility."
"We could meet at CarParker's Run," Mike suggests.
"What's that?" Kenny and Lee say in sync.
"It's a Civil war site a few miles north. Tourist trap. Got signs all over, just follow the road."
"We stopped there after we escaped the first time. Luke and Carlos know where that is" Rebecca recalls.
Luke and Carlos nod.
Kenny nods.
"Okay…at least it'll be easier to find with a few folks knowin' of its whereabouts."
Luke folds his arms and sighs.
"And now we just need someone to set off the PA right? You never actually bothered to explain who's gonna do that.."
Everyone slowly turns to face Clementine.
Lee shakes his head and Kenny wraps his arm around her, making her press up to his side.
"Guys…No. We can't send Clem in her condition. If she is found, she is dead. She nearly died to that beating, let alone what would happen if she had to fight against people twice her size" he folds his arms,
"She is exhausted."
Kenny glares at them and nods firmly.
"You said it Lee. What is wrong with you people? Trynna send a beaten little girl…"
"Well…the next option I guess would be Sarah, right?" Nick looks at everyone.
Sarah slightly shakes.
"M.Me?"
Carlos walls over to her and shakes his head.
"No. No, No! I'm not letting my daughter put herself at risk like this. I will let her try to do more things to help the group, but not this" he bluntly lectures.
Sarah nods and coups up her arm.
"Sorry guys…"
Luke grunts.
"So…Now what? Seems your plan Kenny isn't very flawless now is it?"
Kenny glares at him with annoyance.
Clem hugs him slightly.
"Not now Kenny…please" she hushes.
His eyebrows arch and he sighs gently.
"Oh alright. Only because it's you Clementine."
"I could go," the woman in the leather jacket states,
"I know the layout so I should find it easy enough."
They all look at each other.
"I mean…she's probably the lightest next to Clementine and Sarah, I say we go for it." Rebecca states.
Kenny sighs.
"I say that she is our only option."
"The name's Jane."
Kenny nods.
"I'd say Jane is our only option" he repeats.
Mike and Luke nod along.
"Yeah. Okay. Sure"
"I'll boost you up."
Jane then gets on Mike's shoulder and grips onto the rope, dragging it down.
Mike holds onto it and Let's Jane tug onto the other side.
As Mike pulls his side, Jane starts to go up.
"Good luck Jane," Clementine smiles.
Sarah nods.
"Yeah. G.Good luck!"
"Make sure to flip the switch for the outdoor speakers. It's set to play music by default, if not, just find the disc and put it in the player. It should work then" Rebecca explains.
Jane nods.
"I got it. Don't worry."
"Meet in the storage room when you're done" Luke calls after her.
She nods again with a sigh.

They watch as Jane disappears out of view, clambering up the ladders with the speed of a ninja.
Reggie lowers his head worriedly.
"...Is…Is this really a good idea? We hardly know her."
"Unless you wanted to try Reggie, then she is are only fuckin' hope right now" Kenny stares.
"Everyone relax. And wait for the signal, okay? Once this gate opens, we need to bolt it to the storage room" Luke instructs.
"We know Luke…We know…" Carlos sighs,
"Everyone try to keep a level head, and everyone get ready."
They all nod, standing up and bracing themselves.
Kenny keeps Clementine close, she's still holding onto him.
Lee is smiling, the fact that Kenny wants to keep her safe.

…

…

…

A good 15 minutes go by.
Kenny starts scrunching his face.
"Where is she?" He Mumbles.
Sarita hugs his shoulder.
"Kenny please…she is probably dealing with guards" she tries to assure his nerves.
He sighs and smiles at her.
"Yeah, Yeah…probably."
"Let's hope she's okay…" Reggie sighs.
"She better be…" Rebecca folds her arms.
Suddenly, they hear a loud voice speaking off random price deals, they all ramble noises of slight accomplishment.
"Yes!" "She did it!"
Bonnie then opens up the metal gate.
"Alright y'all, come on."
"To the storage room" Luke leads.
"The…storage room?" Bonnie questions as they run.
"We need to meet Jane there."
Bonnie nods in understanding.
"Right. Okay. There is an exit through there as well if we need it!"
They nod, taking note of it.

As they enter the storage room, they see Carver with his back turned.
He turns to face them with a grin, holding a gun and then pointing it at them.
He chuckles.
"Put your fuckin' hands up or I swear to god.
I'll add some more things onto my things to regret list."
They all slowly put their hands up, Reggie and Lee putting up their one hand.
Carver shakes his head.
"Real disappointment you all are. A bunch of cripples and shames in one massive shit pile.
It's laughable."
He looks to Reggie.
"Take you for an example Reggie."
He pulls Reggie out from the group and shoves him back against the wall.
"Reggie!-"
"You were so damn close to joining us again, but you just had to go and screw it all up for yourself…didn't you?"
"B.Bill please i-"
Without uttering another word, all they hear is bullets firing into Reggie's chest and his inaudible struggling.
His body slides down the wall, leaving a trail of blood smeared on it.
His body lies there, slumped over.
"REGGIE!" "Oh my god…"
"YOU PSYCHO!!"
He Scoffs.
"You wanna disrespect me, Fine.
You wanna throw away the life I'm trynna build for you, for us all. Then fuckin' fine!!"
He paces as all of them clamble together in a messy circle.
"You wanna go off with all these unstable crippled fucks, then fine. Be my guest" he growls,
"But I will put a bullet in every one of your heads before you even think about leaving with my family!-"
Jane jumps down off of the crates and tackles Carver, making him stumble and leaving his weapon free to grab.
Luke swiftly knabs it as Kenny punches Carver in the face and Lee elbows him down to the floor in the back of the head.
"Stay right there, stay right fuckin' there!" Luke shouts.
As Carver groans and puts up his hands, glaring at him, the others find all sorts of weapons around the room: a knife, a few guns, even a crowbar.
Which Kenny keeps.
Lee spots his bag from the lodge and, of course, he takes it.
His screwdriver still remains in his back pocket.
Rebecca glares at Carver, seeing him stare at her with endearing eyes.
"Rebecca, Rebecca sweetie…how did we end up here, you and me?"
"Kill him," She utters. Luke's eyes widen slightly.
"What I-"
"Just shoot him," Clementine states.
Luke looks to her, Lee and Sarah do the same.
Before they could say anything though, a shot rings out.

Carver starts bleeding from his leg, a bullet hole soaking through, everyone looks to see Kenny with a pistol, his stance not faltering one bit.

He puts the pistol away and takes out his crowbar.

Everyone slightly backs away, except for Lee.
"K.Kenny…what you doin' man?"
"Everyone go and wait outside" he states not turning to face them,
"It'll only take a second."
They all stand there, not knowing what to say or do.
Mike, Bonnie and Jane walk out, opening the metal gate that Bonnie said they can go through.
"There's no time for this…" Carlos Mumbles.
"Kenny please…" Sarita pleads.
"Kenny. You don't need to do anything too much-"
"This asshole hurt Clementine…and you're willin' to let him fuckin' live, Lee?!
He could've killed her!!" He hisses.
Lee stumbles back a bit.
"Think about what happened to Vernon.
The first time you got separated from Clem.
He deserved what he got to him.
And I'm just doin' what we should've done with him a long time ago. But worse."
Lee thinks about it for a moment.
Carlos leads Sarah outside, not wanting her to see the gruesome sight about to happen before them.
Rebecca stays and folds her arms.
Lee nods and sighs.
"Yeah…okay. Just do it."
Kenny nods.
"Come on Clementine, you don't need to see this" Sarita holds out her hand.
Luke nods.
"Come on Clem."
Nick nods as well.
Clementine walks along with Sarita and Nick, looking back at Lee and smiling weakly.

"You're just all lambs to the slaughter" Carver chuckles,
"You'll never survive out there even if you make it out. With no shepherd to guide you, it's hopeless."
Carver looks up at Lee. Lee glares back with an annoyed expression.
"Lee knows what I'm on about.
That girl of his…is stronger than all of you fuckin' combined.
Unafraid, Brave to look death right in its eyes.
Though her body is weak and senseless, her mind is better than anything you would ever know.
Like when I beat her with no mercy.
She took it with every grain of salt I spat her way.
You know she deserved it. Every last second of it and she took it-!"
Before he finished his sentence,
Kenny whacks down at his face,
over and over, and over again.
Blood spewing everywhere, the hits beating down on every facial feature:
squishing his eyeballs,
bruising his face,
breaking his nose,
hearing the bones break as the metal makes contact with his skin.
Kenny keeps going.
One after another.
Beating and beating and beating senseless.
Letting his rage take over, like a ferocious tiger giving revenge to its enemies for wrongdoing.
Eventually, Kenny stops with heavy breath.
All 3 of them look and stare at Carver's beaten body, his face unrecognisable from all the blood and gore and mangled tears of his face.

Eventually, he looks up at them both.
"Let's go."
As Kenny starts to move out towards the gate, Lee pat's him on the shoulder with a nervous straight face.
They all leave to see that everyone is covered in walker guts already, Carlos just finishing up Sarah's back.
They part and go to different dead walkers.
As Lee spreads the walker guts on the front side of himself, Sarah helps Carlos spread the guts on his back.
"...Gross…" Sarah winces.
Lee turns around and gently chuckles.
"It's disgusting as all hell, but will keep you safe from the walkers. Just remain calm and you'll be fine."
She nods.
Carlos looks at her as well and nods.
"Try not to keep with me, honey. Clumping together is not a good idea with the walkers."
She nods in understanding and shakes slightly, looking at all of them.
"O.Okay…"

"Hey! What the hell is goin' on here?!" Troy raises his voice, angered.
Luke tries to reach for his gun but Troy sticks his own gun under his chin.
"Hey!! Don't you even dare motherfucker, or I will end you! You hear me?!"
Jane sighs and slowly approaches him.
"Troy…we talked about this…"
He raises an eyebrow.
"What? The hell you talkin' about?"
"I said I wanted to get out. And if you'd help, I'd help."
"I thought you meant out of the yard, not whatever the fuck this shit is!!"
"I know. But now we can leave!" She smiles gently, holding out her hand, the other behind her, hiding a gun.
"You can come with us."
Troy looks between them, then at the herd.
"Well…where would we go?" He utters.
"Far away from here. Together."
Troy chuckles slightly smiling.
"O…Okay. But first you may need a bath-"
His thought was cut off as Jane lifts her gun and points it at his dick, shooting it.
Troy falls to the ground, writhing in pain, drawing more of the walker's attention.

"Alright everyone, walk slow and walk calm. If you believe you're a walker, they will believe it."
They all slowly start to walk to the walkers, slowly budging by them and through them.
More and more of them pile in towards Howe's, groaning and wailing and gurgling.
As walkers do.
Clementine sticks with Kenny, most of the group floats around, spreading out, taking in the advice of Jane.
Eventually it became hard to see where everyone was.
Lee tried to stay calm though, knowing he's done this before as Clementine graciously reminded him.
Sarah slowly walks up beside him.
"Lee…" she utters.
"Yes?"
"I'm…I'm scared" she squeaks.
Lee breathes.
"It's okay…stay calm. Breathe in and out for me okay? The walkers won't know any different, and won't hurt you if you stay calm."
Sarah slightly nods and lets go of her muscle tension. She breathes in and out as Lee suggested and focuses on the far end of the herd.

They hear Carlos' scream as gunshots start to fire.
Lee and Sarah slowly look over to see the rest of Carver's group up on the roof, raining bullets on the herd. Sarah starts breathing rapidly, staring at her dad getting eaten alive by walkers with a bullet hole in his shoulder.
Lee covers Sarah's mouth with her own hands and helps her to walk away.
"Deep breaths Honey…Deep breaths…" He whispers, wincing as they continue to hear the sound of his scream, until it's drowned out by the sounds of the groaning.

They walk for another few seconds, what felt like forever, until Lee spots Rebecca pressed up against a small trunk of a cut down tree.
He slowly walks over with Sarah and sits her down.
"Lee, Thank God…I can't find anybody" Rebecca whispers,
"I can't do this by myself…"
"We haven't found anyone either…" He Mumbles.
He cuddles Sarah into his arms.
"We need to get the both of you out of here. Just try and find an opening for us to walk through."
Rebecca and Lee look around them to spot an opening.
After a few moments, they sigh.
Rebecca shakes her head.
"Nothing…there's too many of them. They keep clumping together."
"It's okay…we'll think of a way."
Rebecca smiles and nods.
They spot Jane slowly walking by them.
"Jane" Lee hisses.
She looks over at them.
"We need your help."
She walks over and crouches down to them.
"What are you doing? Keep moving" she instructs,
"It's not safe to stay here."
"It's not safe to push past a clump of walkers either, we can't find an opening anywhere" he explains with a sigh.
Jane looks at Rebecca and Sarah, then at Lee again.
"Alright…Alright. I'm gonna need a walker. Distract one for me Lee."
Lee gently nudges Sarah, leaving her to sit and continue holding her hands over her mouth, she still breathes heavily, and he gets up slowly and looks for a walker.
He eyes one in particular, one light enough to deal with.
Slowly approaching it, he nudges it on its back, making it turn around with a gargle.
Jane comes up from behind and slices off its jaw, it falling off and leaving its bottom teeth completely gone.
"Won't be chomping on anyone now, will you?" She smirks, grabbing it by the back of its shirt.
"All of you, stay behind me. I won't be able to come back for you if you get left behind."
Lee gets Sarah to her feet as Rebecca stands up, and they slowly start following Jane.

Lee could feel Sarah shaking, she was shaking so much and her breathing didn't help.
Some walkers glanced at them, but not taking full attention.
As they reach the end of the herd and Jane tosses aside the walker's body, Sarah collapses into Lee's arms, her body going limp.
"Ah shit…Sarah. Sarah?"
No response.
"Is she okay?" Rebecca utters.
"Well, She wasn't bitten…so that's a good sign. She's collapsed though, most likely from breathin' too hard too fast. We just need to get outta here, don't worry I'll carry her" Lee sighs.
They nod and start running off, leaving the massive herd and their problems at Howe's behind them.

Hoping and praying everyone is okay.

Chapter Text

As the trees finally part, a wide open space greets them, they spot Bonnie, Mike, Kenny, Clementine and Sarita.
Mike and Clementine were over with Kenny.
Lee hurries Sarah over near one of the walls and gently places her down, trying not to hit her head too hard on any surface.
Bonnie immediately grows concerned and follows.
"Woah woah…what happened here?" Bonnie questions,
"Is she alright?"
Lee nods.
"She's just…had seen Carlos get mauled by walkers. She is just out cold from breathin' too much."
Bonnie looks at her.
"Oh my god…"
She sighs deeply and sits beside Sarah.
"She's been through a lot today…I'll wait here till she wakes up Lee. Go and try to help Kenny. He's…"
She stops herself.
Lee raises a brow.
"He's…what?"
She looks away.
Lee turns around and Sees Kenny holding Sarita in his arms.
He's muttering something to himself constantly.
"Please check on him…I'm worried."
Lee nods.
He walks over.
"C'mon C'mon…Sarita stay awake for me you're- you're fine! You're fine…"
"She ain't fine Kenny…she's bitten- she's gonna turn-!"
"SHUT UP MIKE. GO AWAY, and LEAVE. ME. ALONE" He snaps, sharply turning his head.
Mike slightly backs away.
He sighs and nods, knowing he won't be able to do much. He walks over to Bonnie and Jane.
Clementine sits beside him, Lee watches.
"Come on Sarita…" he Mumbles.
Sarita's eyes flicker, unable to keep them open for more than a minute.
"K..Kenny…"
He tears up.
"Sarita…don't leave me…don't leave me hon- You're, You're fine! You'll be okay!"
"It's painful Kenny…it's..it hurts so much" she utters,
"Don't let me take you down too."
He sobs, lowering his head.
Lee comes over to his side, Clementine looks at him with saddened eyes.
"Sarita, don't do this to me…Sarita…"
"Kenny…she's going to turn in a moment…let's find somewhere more private" Lee gently suggests,
"Do you have a preference, Sarita?"
They give her a moment.
Kenny glares at Lee.
"What kind of fucking question is that?!
She's-"
"Trees…near the trees…" she manages to squeak.
Kenny looks at her, wide eyes…eventually he nods and sniffles.
"O…Okay hon. Okay…whatever you want" he chokes, picking up Sarita with his strength and Clementine and Lee follow on with him.
Bonnie, Mike, Rebecca and Jane look off after them, all with concern.
Who doesn't have concern at this point…

They don't go too far.
Only a minute away from the CarParker's Run.
Kenny sets her down as she coughs, hearing her voice nazle.
"I love you…Kenny. Please…try not to…to let your anger take over you" Sarita breaks a smile.
Kenny sobs again, unable to control it and grips her hand tighter.
"Yes…I will Honey, I will control it I promise!"
Lee sighs and puts his hand on his shoulder, he slowly gets up, acknowledging Lee's gesture.
Clementine just stares sadly.
"You were a good person, Sarita" she states.
She sweetly smiles.
"Thank you…Clementine. You're a sweet child. S.Stay that way…"
She then rolls herself slightly to Lee.
"L..Lee.."
"Yes?"
"Take care of ….of my Kenny for me…watch over him."
Lee nods.
"I will."
"And take care…of Clementine."
He nods again.
Kenny gets out his pistol, streams welling up his eyes.

His hands were visibly shaking.
Lee has never seen him tremble so much.

"...Kenny?" He utters.

He chokes a sob and lowers his head, along with the gun.

He buries his face into his hands.
"I…I can't…not again…I can't do this shit again Lee!! I can't shoot AGAIN!!!" He yells, followed by more tears streaming down his face.
Lee's chest hurt, seeing Kenny like this again.
"If…If you want me to do it…just say it alright Kenny? I'm here for you…" Lee soothes.
Clementine nods.
"Yeah…we're here for you, Kenny."
He stands there a moment, letting himself sob.
He tries to wipe his eyes, before giving Lee the pistol.
Sarita closes her eyes, unable to keep them open any longer.
Lee slowly points the gun up to her, he lowers his head.
He could feel the heartache that Kenny felt, but definitely not as much as he is truly feeling.

He closed his eyes…and let the shot ring through the trees.

He opens them back up, to see a blooded bullet hole through her forehead, her hollow eyes slightly glaring down at the ground.
Lee and Clementine, together, lead Kenny away from the forest back to the CarParker's Run.
As they go back, they see that Sarah has become conscious again, lying on the ground still,
but conscious.
Kenny stays beside the fountain and sits himself down, staring into space.
Lee and Clementine leave him for now to grieve.
"Are you okay Sweetie?" Rebecca gently asks.
Sarah slightly nods.
"I…I'm okay. I just…my dad…my dad is dead" she frowns sadly.
She slowly gets herself up, and presses her back against the wall.
"I don't know what to do…he is always there for me…"
Clementine crouches on her knees beside her, and gives her a hug.
"We will take care of you, okay?" She smiles,
"We'll teach you everything you need to know. You did a good job walking through those walkers."
Lee nods.
"Damn right. You didn't scream or make noise, you kept your breathing as quiet as possible, and that was the right thing to do" he grins.
Sarah pushes up her glasses slightly, smiling back.
"Thanks."

Bonnie sighs.
"Where's Luke and Nick? Thought they'd be here by now…" she mumbles.
Mike shrugs.
"Maybe they took a wrong turn or Somethin'..."
"Considering Luke was one of 3 people that knew where this place was, I highly doubt that…" Rebecca shakes her head.
"Someone needs to go look for them," Bonnie looks between everyone,
"They might need help!"
Jane sighs.
"But we don't know where to look. We may be searching for hours to find them!"
Mike nods.
"She's got a point…we're losin' daylight fast and we've got no shelter, warmth, food or water. Gotta think of our situation first" he states.
Bonnie looks at him wide eyed.
"Yes that's another thing, but I'm just sayin' we need to send only one or two people out there to try and find them. If you can't find them then let's assume the worst but…please" she begs.
Jane sighs.
"Ignore what I said that's fine- I'll go" she steps forward.
She looks to Clementine, then Lee and Sarah.
"Lee, you up for a search mission?"
Lee sighs.
"I don't know…Luke might get a tellin' off considering he was being a dick about Clementine's condition…"
Mike sighs.
"I think he was just scared…don't hold it against him Lee. D.Don't get me wrong!
That was a REAL dick move that he did. But C'mon man…if we're travellin' together we cannot be at each other's throats 24/7."
Lee deeply sighs and nods.
"Yeah, alright. I'm comin'."
Jane looks to Sarah. She shakes her head before starting to walk off.
"Hey Sarah, Clementine, why don't you come with us? If you're both strong enough to of course…"
They both look at each other.
Clem smiles at her.
"Will you be okay?"
Sarah eventually nods.
"I…I'll be okay. Let's find Luke and Nick."
Clementine helps her up slowly and they walk over to Lee.
Jane doesn't seem that bothered about it, only slightly annoyed.
"We'll be back as soon as we can!" Lee calls out.
They wave them off, Nodding.

As they walk through the trees, along a trail, Jane walks more forward than the rest.
Lee catches up to her while Clementine and Sarah Converse.
"...Why did you bring them?" She questions, Lee turns his head to her.
"What?"
"Why did you bring Clementine and Sarah? You should've left them there, to process what's been going on. They're both hurting. They're also still kids, Lee. They'll need more time than all of us for stuff like that."
Lee sighs.
"I thought this could take their minds off of things, and teach 'em some new skills they may need. Surely you know something we don't right?"
Jane remains quiet.
"Well…yeah. I guess."
Lee nods.
"Kenny's gonna be out of commission for a while…Sarita being gone and all" She mumbles.
Lee tilts his head side to side.
"It's always been hard on him since day 1…always had family or loved ones to take care of…lost his wife and son."
Jane listens intently.
"And back at Howe's he thought he would've lost Clementine as well, and now the shock of Sarita dying has…probably spiralled him in a bad place-"
"He's going to become a liability. He won't bounce from this if he had a long history of this…trust me" Jane looks away.
Lee doesn't press her and they continue to walk in silence.
"Sometimes…it's better to be on your own…"Jane mutters.
Clementine and Sarah hear that from behind, they look at her.
"Then…why did you bring us with you?" Sarah questions.
Jane looks at Lee for a moment and sighs gently, slightly smiling at them.
"Because I want to give you the tools to make it out there. Let's start with your clothing."
Clementine and Sarah look down at themselves.
"Our clothing?" Sarah utters.
"That Jacket, Clem, is Warm but a walker will bite straight through it, and that Hoodie, Sarah, is very thin and shouldn't last very long when out here. It won't protect you at all."
They both look at each other.
"So…they should wear the jacket you're wearin'?" Lee brings up.
Jane nods.
"Leather, it is very hard for the walkers to bite through. If we can maybe find some leather jackets, you both can put those on and save your jackets for a further time."

Sarah nods, listening to every word, Lee watches her as she listens, feeling content about how she is taking in the information despite having been through so much. Same with Clementine.
Lee is slightly surprised Kenny didn't intervene with taking Clementine out here, from his paranoid worries before.
But he just assumes that he needs time for Sarita for now.

"Jackpot!" Jane beams, they come across a place spacing out the trees to a metal wall, along with a few Walkers sprawled around.
"Bet these guys have some good stuff!"
They all jog over to them.
"How can you tell they have good stuff?" Clementine questions.
Before Jane answers, she stabs each and every one of them in the head.
"You see the blood underneath them? It's fresh, meaning that it wasn't long that these guys were alive" she explains,
"They were survivors that turned. You never know what they could have on them."
She stabs the 3 scattered around, making sure they're dead.
"Go ahead, check if they have anything."
Sarah looks at Lee and smiles, jogging off to one of the walkers, to search for stuff.
Clementine was already on it, searching and finding things like bullets and a small Pocket Knife.
Sarah finds a bag next to the walker's body, not big enough to hold anything more than a small bottle of water and some bandages.
She picks them up and hands them to Lee, putting them in his bag.
She also finds some random stuff that isn't useful: some paper and pictures and a wallet.
Jane gets up from her walker.
"Find anything?"
Clementine and Sarah nod, Clementine handing the pocket knife to Sarah.
Jane lifts up a nail file.
"I got this, useful for sharpening a blade, striking a flint. Guaranteed we'll be needing this sometime soon."
They nod.
They walk over to another walker near the side of the wall.
Lee stabs it in the head with his screwdriver, Jane nods, knowing he is starting to take in her teaching.
Clementine checks the body for anything.
"So…has your group always been dysfunctional? You guys fit right in but…Lee you're not like them.."
"I have no idea…only been with them a few days, But Kenny…he's just slowly losing himself. He never loses sight of protecting whoever he can though."
Jane stares and nods silently.
Clementine sighs.
"Nothing…"
"Look!" Sarah points, walking Over and grabbing a machete.
Sarah turns to them.
"This is Luke's…he's here!"
"Luke most likely hasn't made it…" Jane states.
Lee glares.
"If that is there then he's here. It's a good sign."
"Don't get your hopes up…"

"Fuck…what am I gonna do…" a voice distantly mumbles.
All of them turn to face the wall.
"Luke!" Clementine gasps.
Jane lowers her head slightly before turning and looking around.
"There. There's an opening we can go through!"
They all rush there as quick as they could, not wanting to leave a slight chance that Luke can get mauled.
They slow down, spotting Nick caught on the fence, growling at them.
Lee backs Clementine and Sarah away.
"Nick…" "That's some way to go…" Lee mumbles.
"You should kill him Lee…he was your friend."
Lee nods silently and walks to him, gripping his screwdriver.

"I'm sorry man…"

He then stabs down at his head, the stab going through his hat.
As Lee pulls it out, Nick lifts his head up again.
He stabs down, the screwdriver getting stuck.
He tries to pull it out, but it is no use.
Nick luckily was already dead, his body slumped over the metal wire sticking into him.

They then one by one, go inside the space to see a few trailers scattered around the place.
As they walk along, they eventually see a small trailer with a lot of Walkers pounding on its door.
Everyone crouches down, following Jane's lead.
"Luke must be in there…we need to lure them away somehow…" she mumbles, mostly to herself.
"Let's look around," Sarah whispers.
Jane nods.
"Yeah. Let's do that."

Clementine leans over to peek past the wall, to see a Walker on the floor.
She swiftly sneaks over to it and stabs it.
Jane slightly smiles.
A few walkers are hung at the back, banging on the excessive amount of furniture blocking their path.
Lee and Jane nod and sneak up behind them.
Jane takes one pretty easily, Lee trips the other over and smashes its head in with his heel.
Jane hands him a new screwdriver.
"Here. You'll need it. It'll not get stuck as easily as your other one."
Lee takes it and thanks her.
"Alright you 3, look around to see if you can find anything to distract them with. Anything at all" She instructs.
They all part ways, going off in every direction.
Lee, Sarah and Jane don't find anything that can draw them away, Clementine however, is eyeing a truck, abandoned beside the furniture wall.
Lee comes over to her as she opens the vehicle and starts to honk the horn.
It draws their attention, but only for a short time.
He smiles at her.
"Good idea Clem" he grins.
Jane nods.
"We just need to keep it going…maybe use a walker and place it on top of it."
All together, they help lift up the dead walker that Clementine killed and lays him down in the truck, his head face planting into the horn.
The noise quickly turns into white noise for their ears, and the groans start to grow louder, them stumbling towards it.

"Quick through here!" Jane shouts, kicking open a trailer and letting them through.
Sarah, out of fear, stabs a walker that was inside beside her. She looks down at it and is even surprised herself.
Lee grabs her hand and rushes her on.
The horn stops…
"Oh shit…" Jane utters,
"Quick, Lee get us in there!"
Lee tries the door but it was locked, he starts bashing on it with his foot.
His second kick was enough to swing it open and they all rush inside, Jane smashing a walker's face before rushing inside and closing the door, shoving a heavy looking dresser in front to stop it.

They all breathe.

"Luke!" Clementine calls out,
"We're here!"
…
"C.Clementine?" Luke's muffled voice mumbles.
A door then opens on the other side to where they stand, to show Luke, holding his side.
He sighs in relief.
"Thank God…Me and Nick got trapped in here and got swarmed…but Nick said he'd run out to get help. Where is he?"
They all look between each other, Sarah couping up her arm and sighing.
Luke looks between them.
"...He's…He's gone Luke…" Lee finally says.
Luke sighs.
"Fuck…"
Jane looks around the room Luke stayed in, looking up to see a skylight, based on the lighting situation.
She points to it.
"We can leave through that skylight."
Clementine looks out the windows with worry.
"We'll have to…we're surrounded. Completely."
Sarah starts shaking.
"C…Completely?" She stutters.
She sits down and coups up her knees.
Rocking back and forth.
As Jane and Luke try and find something to get up to the skylight, Lee kneels down to Sarah.
"Hey…Hey honey it's alright, it'll be okay…"
He reaches out to touch her shoulder but she flinches and backs away.
His eyes widen slightly.
"S…Sarah? It's me, Lee. I won't hurt you.." He soothes.
She slightly looks up.
"I…I…I can't do this…I can't…" she shakes her head, closing her eyes.
"Let me talk to her Lee. I got this" Clementine whispers. Lee gets up and nods.
"You got this Clem."

He leaves to help Jane and Luke, whilst Clementine takes his position.
Both Jane and Luke were staring at the dresser holding the door.
"It's the only way to get up there…" Jane sighs.
"A.Are you sure there's no other way?" Luke stutters. Jane shakes her head.
"It's this or nothing. I'll hold the door, just get the dresser to the skylight."
Luke and Lee look at each other and nod.
Lee still hasn't forgotten the harsh words of Luke to Clementine, but as Mike said he can't be at his throat forever…
Luke takes the far end of the dresser, Lee takes the other side and they start to push it across the floorboards.
It's weight was a lot to drag across, both Lee and Luke straining to move it only slightly.
Luke's side continued to ache while he did it, making him falter slightly, but still he pushed on.
Eventually they make it to the room and push it under the skylight.

"You are doing so much better. You are stronger than before, you may not have noticed it or even felt it, but you aren't just that little girl anymore. You're learning, and experiencing what everyone else has. I feel your pain, Sarah.
Losing people you love. Your family…
But you use it to get better and live for the ones you have now" Clementine goes on.
Sarah was looking at her in her eyes, listening to every word.
Like how she was listening to Jane.
After Clementine is done, Sarah lowers her head.
"I'm…I'm sorry for doing this still. I feel like a child."
Clementine hold out her hand for her to take.
"You still are a child Sarah. But you're growing. And that's good."
She nods and takes Clementine's hand.
"Go, Go! Get up!" Jane shouts, slowly coming back to the room, holding off the walkers.
Lee gets up Luke first, and then picks up Clementine helping her up as well.
Sarah gets helped up next and finally Jane.
The walkers slowly stumble into the room, but they couldn't grab at Lee, him being helped by both luke and Jane and eventually Sarah and Clementine when he is almost to the roof.

They all take a moment to breathe, before they all stumble and climb down the back of the trailer and start bolting it back.

Chapter Text

Bonnie looks over at them and sighs in relief.
"Oh thank god, you're all safe!" She beams, hugging Luke.
"What happened?"
"Where's Nick?" Rebecca questions.
Lee sighs.
"He's…he's dead…"
Rebecca nearly chokes to a sob, but stops herself.
"Oh god…"
Rebecca stumbles a bit, holding onto her stomach.
Bonnie swiftly grabs her hand and wraps her other arm wound her shoulder to steady her.
"Easy there…Easy."
She sits her down.
"Thank you 4 for getting Luke back.
We now need to find anything that'll help us, because this baby is comin' very soon…" she looks at Rebecca.
"I'll be fine. Stop worrying yourselves" Rebecca sighs.
They all nod.
Jane walks off.
"I'll go and check around over here."
Luke nods.
"I'll keep an eye out for walkers."
Bonnie slowly and gently let's go of Rebecca.
"I'm gonna go to the museum with Mike, see if there's anythin' for you there. Sarah, Sweetie, can you stay and look after Rebecca for me?"
Sarah thinks for a moment before Nodding.
"Sure. I'd love to."
Bonnie and Rebecca sweetly smile at her.
Bonnie then gets up and starts walking away with Mike.
But before they're completely out of view, she swiftly pulls Lee and Clementine aside.
"Hey…Kenny went into the tent a few minutes ago…said he needed a moment to himself. He's…He's not doin' okay. Do you mind if you try and get him to come out?"
Lee nods.
"You can count on us, Bonnie."
She nods.
"Thank you. Also, quick question: Does Luke know anythin' about Babies?"
They both look at each other.
"I don't think so…" Lee slightly chuckles.
"But Kenny would know, he had a family" Clementine brings up.
Bonnie nods.
"Right. When he comes out just…get him to help with Rebecca okay? She is denyin' that this baby is comin' as soon as it is."
They nod again. Bonnie rushes to catch up with Mike.
It leaves Lee and Clementine idle for a moment.
They stare at the tent.
"Let's…Let's hope Kenny is okay…" Lee mumbles.

They both walk to the entrance, and Clementine moves the closed part of the tent to the side, letting Lee come through.
They both sit down either side of Kenny, who is facing the corner, looking down at the dirt.
"...Kenny" Lee utters.

"I'll never forget what you did for me Lee. I…I hated to see her suffer…and…I tried to keep her alive. When she was sufferin'.
Thank you for endin' it for her.
When I didn't even have the guts to...to do what she wished."

They go silent.

"She had such a beautiful face…I thought it'd be different. I waited and waited…hopin' and prayin' she wouldn't become one of those things."
Clementine lowers her head.
"I liked Sarita. She was a good person…"
"I'm so sorry Kenny…that she even got bitten in the first place…" Lee sighs.

Another moment of silence.

"That's not your fault Lee."
…
"Do you know what it's like to see everyone single one of your family members die in front of you, and there's nothin' you can do except helplessly watch?
It feels…painful. Helpless that you can't do shit to save 'em…
It feels like I am chained to the world…unable to go and fly with them when I really damn wanted to.
Every day I wake up…nothin' has changed.
And I'm still chained to the floor.
The weight of the chain grows heavier…every day."

They let him continue talking, both of them slightly glance at each other, showing the same reaction.

"Katjaa…Duck…Sarita…over and over…it never fuckin' stops.
Sometimes I wish that Carver had just taken the shot at me. Put a bullet in my head when I stood firm in front of everybody.
Obviously I ain't helpin' anyone by bein' here…"

Lee shakes his head.
"Nah man…you've helped me, more times than I could count. And you've helped Clem too, a lot."
Kenny doesn't react.
"...You always knew what to say in these kind of things Lee. Smart bastard."
Lee chuckles.
"I do my best."
"You two know that you can hold your own without me there."
Clementine slightly holds her cheek, it still bruised and red.
Kenny looks over at her.
"...You alright Darlin'?"
Clementine nods.
"It still hurts…but it'll be fine. It doesn't hurt as much as after Carver stopped."
Kenny hugs her tight, making her slightly jump.
"...I'm glad I beat that fucker to nothin'. Nobody hurts my little girl."
Clem returns the hug.

Lee Let them have their moment. Kenny is clearly hanging on to whatever he can at this point, and Lee doesn't want to stop him from doing so.
He needs him.
They've been through everything together.
All 3 of them. Hand in hand. Gun with Gun.

"Thank you…both of you…" he slightly wipes his tears,
"I'll try to keep that promise to Sarita…and protect you both. No matter what."
"Oh shit…does that mean what I think it does?" Luke's voice stutters, they all turn to the tent's entrance,
"Wh.What are we gonna do?!" "I- I don't know!"
They all slowly stand up and go outside to see what the commotion is about.
They go outside to see Sarah holding onto Rebecca's hand as Rebecca struggles.
Luke is looking at her with big concern, not knowing what to do.
They walk over.
"How does it feel?"
"It feels wet, Luke. That's how it feels."
"What's going on?" Clem asks.
Rebecca looks up at them.
"I…Think her water broke" Luke looks at them.
"You think?"
"Okay Kenny…I think the baby's coming…what do we do?" They look at Kenny.
He's pacing and folding his arms.
"...Kenny?" Lee says his name, raising a brow.
"Yeah Yeah. Gimme a sec."
"There's no way Rebecca can travel like this" Luke folds his arms.
"Yeah…this place ain't too safe to have the baby be born either…" Lee mumbles.
"There's a map over there…maybe there Is someplace safer?" Sarah suggests.
Luke nods and gives her a smile.
"Good thinkin' Sarah."
"Kenny, what will we need to look for?" Lee looks back to Kenny.
Kenny perks up his head and turns back around.

"Right, Right. Sorry. We'll need blankets, We'll need clean Water-"
"And we'll need to get out of the cold as well" Lee adds, Kenny Nodding.
"Exactly."
"Alright. Kenny, stay with Rebecca. Clementine, Lee go and See Jane and see if she needs any help."
Luke looks at Sarah.
"And Sarah…"
She looks at Luke with a slight smile.
"Maybe stay with Kenny and Rebecca for now."
Her shoulders slightly lower.
"B.But…!"
"I know you wanna help us out Sarah, and you can do that by being there holding Rebecca's hand, like you are now, okay?"
Sarah looks at Rebecca, she gently grins at her.
"You've helped me a lot Sweetie. Just by being here with me and holding my hand."
Sarah nods.
"Okay. I'll do that."
Luke nods and walks off, Kenny takes position by Rebecca's side and Lee and Clementine rush off to where Jane wandered off to.

The vast open space surprises them, a river long and winding cuts off another open space near the trees and a small pointed roof of possibly a church sticks out over the edge of the treetops.
They spot Jane sitting at a picnic table, just like the table back at Howe's that she used to sit at.
They walk over to her.
She spots them.
"Oh, Hey."
"Hey Jane. You alright?" Lee questions.
Jane stays quiet a moment before Nodding.
"Yeah, Yeah. Just…a lot has happened today."
Lee nods.
They stay silent for a few moments, letting the slight breeze take over.
She turns around to face them, still sitting down.
"I guess it's nice to have someone watching my back."
She gets up and pat's Clementine's shoulder.
"So come on you two. Let's go check out that deck. I like the height" she states, walking past them.
They follow.
A decently sized building towers over them, with a small winding staircase up to the observation deck.
As they get up to the top, they spot a cannon and a few binoculars/telescope thingies that you need to pay for. Jane is more interested in the locked gates in front of her, one big one, and a small one that isn't locked.
Lee opens up the small one to be greeted with practically nothing, except another staircase down.
"If this is locked then it means, hopefully, there's some stuff in there nobody has reached yet."
Clementine grins.
"Rebecca could have the baby in there!"
Jane chuckles slightly.
"Yeah. Maybe. If I can get this open, just give me a few minutes."
She takes out the nail file.
"...The nail file?" She slowly utters.
Jane beams.
"Versatility is not overrated."
She crouches down and starts to try and work her magic on the lock.
"While you're at it Clem, see if you can find anything a little bit bigger, might need to bust the mechanism."
She nods and starts looking around at the very empty deck.
Lee walks over to her and grins.
"Let's see if we can help, Clem. Looking down the stairs might be a good idea, but be careful" he says, patting her back.
"Okay."
They both walk over back to where Lee was standing before, and he starts to search the bin, meanwhile Clementine goes down the stairs back to the ground. It's only a small room at the bottom with a locked door.
Lee shakes his head with a sigh.
"Found nothin' Jane…not even trash."
Jane mumbles.
"Nothing's down here either!" Clementine calls up, starting to walk up the stairs back to Lee.
Lee decides to look over back at where Kenny, Sarah and Rebecca are laying low, not expecting to see much out of it, maybe just a decent view.

His heart slightly thumps.
"Jane, hide. Now" He firmly instructs.
Jane looks at him slightly.
"What?"
"Hide. There's a guy comin' up here."
She puts away the nail file and her eyes widen, getting up to her feet.
"Oh shit…"
"I'll talk to him."
Jan nods.
"Good call. We have enough to deal with already, we don't need any more than we have."
Lee nods.
Clementine walks back onto the deck, Lee immediately gets her behind the cannon, whilst Jane hides down the stairs.
"What is happening?" Clem whispers.
"There's a guy comin' up here…I'm gonna talk to him, see what he wants."
Clementine nods in understanding.

They hear a slight squeaking of something metal, and footsteps on the floorboards.
Lee peeks over to see a boy, maybe in his teens, with a bag.

Lee slowly gets up from behind the cannon.
"Hey…" he begins, the boy sharply turns and immediately whips out a gun, pointing it at him.
Lee lifts his arm slightly.
"Hey, Hey…I'm not gonna hurt you. Take it easy."
He stays quiet, Lee notices his trembling hand.
"I'm Lee."
…
"I'm Arvo."
The boy had a slight accent, though Lee didn't recognise what exactly his accent was.
Arvo lowers his head slightly.
"I…I don't want to shoot. I don't want to shoot добрый человек(dobryy cholovek). A uh…a kind man."
"You don't need to shoot. Okay? Please put the gun down, nice and slow" he soothes.
Arvo looks into his eyes, locking eye contact.
His lip quivers.
Before he had the chance to say anything, Jane grabs Arvo from behind and takes his gun, aiming it at him.
"Back up."
He slightly backs away. He looks at Lee.
Lee looks at Jane with a slight annoyed face.
"Drop the bag" she instructs.
"Jane. Please, we don't need to be aggressive here-"
"We don't know this guy Lee!"
"Put the damn gun down."
Jane glares at him before scoffing and putting it in her back pocket.
"If you try anything, I'll end you."
Arvo gulps.
He turns around to face Lee, Clementine is also behind him.
Arvo looks at her as well.
"What's in that bag there Arvo?" He asks.
He takes a moment.
"I…I have water and medicine. It is for my sister. She is sick."
"Medicine?" Jane utters.
"Is it just you and your sister?" Clementine asks.
Arvo shakes his head.
"No. No. I have many friends."
"Can we take a look inside your bag, Arvo? I won't touch anythin' you have my word" Lee nods.
Arvo puts his bag on the floor next to Lee and looks at him expectantly.
He zips it open and sees that he is telling the truth: many medications and syringes and a few water bottles greet him, they all widen their eyes.
"That is…some stash of meds" Jane stutters,
"Lee. We need that."
Arvo stares at her.
"NoNoNoNoNoNo please…Please take anything but the medicine. My sister is suffering. She cries in pain, and that make those things come please-"
"I don't believe your bullshit story about some sick sister! Lee, we need that stuff: Luke is messed up after Carver, Kenny is a mess, Rebecca is in pain!" She lists off, getting more and more pissed.
"Lee!!"
"Calm the fuck down Jane!!" He yells back.
He looks back to Arvo, glaring at all of them.
"You leave me defenceless…and now you want to take my sister's medicine?" He chokes.
"Calm down Arvo, okay? Is there any medicine that you may not need? Is there any chance we can split this?"
Arvo thinks for a moment.
He sighs.
"Just take one or two thing. The rest my people need."
Lee nods.
"It's just…Rebecca. She's got a baby on the way. We just don't want her to be in pain, like your sister is."
Jane glares at him shaking her head.
Clementine is Nodding, going along with Lee.
Arvo grows surprised.
"Oh…you having child?"
Lee nods.
Arvo eventually nods as well.
"As I Said…take one or two thing. And water bottle."
Lee sighs in relief.
"Thank you."
He then takes some pills, a water bottle and another set of medication that he feels might help in the long run.
He gets up and puts it in his own bag.
"Thank you Arvo. You're a good kid. Jane. Give his gun back."
Jane shakes her head and folds her arms.
"No. He can walk out of here, and never come back here. You hear me?" She spits.
Arvo's eyebrows arch.
"G.Goodbye…"
He slowly limps away, the metal of his leg brace squeaking as he does.
All of them sighs as they watch him walk away.

"Jane. What the fuck was that?" Lee sighs,
"You didn't need to terrorise that poor kid."
Jane folds her arms.
"I…I'm sorry…I just thought It would protect Rebecca. With the baby and all…"
Clementine sighs.
"It's okay. You did what you thought was right. But at least we have some medicine for Rebecca now, right? And some water, Like Kenny said."
Lee and Jane look at each other and nod.
Jane sighs and lowers her head, crouching back down to the padlock.
"Go and get the others back here. We need to move ASAP, and give those meds to Rebecca."
"You got it Jane."
They both start to go down the stairs, Lee catches Jane's slightly regretful expression.

As they walk back to Rebecca, Sarah and Kenny, Luke walks up to them.
"Hey Lee and Clem!" He calls,
"Kenny and Rebecca said they haven't seen you in a while. Just thought I'd check up on you."
Lee smiles.
"We're fine."
Luke looks up at the deck.
"How's that deck lookin'? Don't guessin' there'd be much but, Jane seems pretty resourceful."
"We think Rebecca can have the baby there. If there's no place better" Clementine explains.
Luke grins.
"Good. Better than nothin'. I'll check up on Jane. Go and see Kenny, Rebecca and Sarah."
They nod and they walk past each other, Luke heading for the deck.

Sarah runs over to them as they see Kenny and Rebecca.
"Clementine! Lee!" She beams,
"I've been practising with my gun and my pocket knife!"
Lee chuckles.
"That's great kiddo, but uh…did Kenny and Rebecca let you first?"
Sarah nods.
Rebecca breathes in and out, and weakly smiles at him.
"We did, we thought it'd be nice for her to practise more."
Kenny nods.
"Yeah, better have her prepared than under prepared for anything."
He looks back at Sarah, her goofy grin greets him back.
"Jane did the knock them on the knees and stab them in the head, so I've been trying to do it properly but can't really…visualise it without something in front of me.." she sighs.
Lee pat's Clementine on the back.
"I'm sure Clem would help with that" he looks down to her.
Clem smiles.
"Sure, I'll help you."
Sarah claps like an excited child.
"Thank you Clementine!"
They both go out of the way to a more slightly open area to practise together, meanwhile Lee sits by Rebecca with Kenny.

"How you doin' Rebecca?"
She holds her stomach slightly.
"It still hurts…but…it..it shouldn't be happening this early" she shakes her head,
"I've tried to say that something may be wrong to Kenny but he keeps saying that-"
"Nothin's Wrong Becc. Babies know when they'll be born, and how to do it.
And it's true. Nothin's wrong, you're fine!" He chuckles.
Rebecca sighs.
Lee tries to comfort her.
"Hey…when your child is born, you know this will all be worth it in the end."
She chuckles.
"They better be, causing all of you trouble and all."
Kenny stares for a moment at the floor before turning to her.
"Hey becc. Do you think it'll be a boy, or a girl?"
She looks at her stomach for a moment.
"My instinct tells me…it'll be a boy," she smiles.
"Really? I thought just the same" Kenny chuckles.
Lee slightly lowers his head.
"I'm…I'm sure it'll be a boy too Becc."
They all share a slight chuckle, abruptly stopped after another shock of pain to Rebecca's stomach.
She sighs.
"I…I wish Alvin was here for this…" she utters.
Lee and Kenny lower their heads slightly.
"He was a good guy…" Lee closes his eyes.
Kenny nods in agreement.
"Alvin was a good man…" Clementine repeats, they look in front of them to See Clementine, Sarah is over by herself, continuing to practise her stabbing accuracy and swings.
"He helped me out with my arm. When nobody else helped me, he gave me the things to help myself in the shed: bandages and…a juice box" she warmly smiles.
Lee grows slightly confused.
"...You were in a shed?"
Rebecca looks at Lee with a nervous chuckle.
"We um…We didn't know whether it was a dog or walker bite. Or whether she was working with Carver…so we decided to keep her in the shed until some time passed."
Lee's eyes widen.
Rebecca sighs with a smile.
"I should've known that that big softie wouldn't follow through on locking you in the shed.
I don't think he even wanted to lock you in there in the first place."
They chuckle.
She follows it up with a deep sigh.
"But I can't help but think about things I should've said to him. Things I should've talked about and did with him. That we never got to do…"
Clem's brows arch slightly.
She tries to give a hopeful smile.
"Alvin said he thinks the baby is gonna be a girl" she giggles.
"Is that so? Heh…he never really had a great sense for these things" she shakes her head,
"And I think these boys can agree that this one feels like a boy."
Kenny and Lee nod.

Rebecca Jerks her hands to her stomach, her face scrunching as the pain conceals her from inside.
"Argh…Oh shit…"
Kenny perks up immediately and starts holding her hand.
"What's wrong?"
"Fuck…Fuck…" she hushes.
She starts screaming in pain, not even meaning to, they all look at each other in worry.
"Hey guys!" Mike calls over, Lee looks to see Mike and Bonnie are back.
Mike is carrying a big jug of water and Bonnie carries a greyish jacket.
They jog over, slightly concerned.
"What's happenin'?" Bonnie questions.
Rebecca's scream echoes again.
"This baby's comin' and its comin' now…we need to get to that deck!" Kenny bluntly raises his voice.

"Uhhh…" Sarah breathes.
She clumsily aims her pistol and shoots a walker, catching the attention of everyone else.
"Walkers…? Where's Luke?!" Kenny spat,
"He should've been watchin' out for 'em!!"
"Not the time Kenny!!" Lee shouts,
"We need to get her there, and now."
"I'll guide her" Bonnie grabs her hands.
Kenny gets out his crowbar,
"I'll hold 'em off. Clem and Sarah are stickin' to me."
Clementine nods as Sarah continues to shoot at the walkers.

More and more of them stumbling out of the trees.

Chapter Text

Bonnie helps up Rebecca, and Mike grips the water bottle, Lee swiftly walks in front, leading them towards the observation deck that surely Jane must've opened by now.
They look back to see Kenny bashing in a walker's face with brute force, Clementine is slashing them left and right with her cleaver and Sarah is carefully shooting at the walkers making sure she doesn't catch Kenny or Clementine in her shots.
They make it to the small two archways, separating the building and the fountain.
Lee makes sure that they all make it after him.
He stares at the archway.

A walker stumbles slowly through.
He hesitates.

It gets shot in the head, Sarah swiftly jogging into view with a scared look.
Clementine and Kenny also jog into view.
Lee runs forward past Rebecca and the rest, rushing up to the staircase.
"Alright Jane, Luke, hope you have that-"
He stops his sentence.

He stares at them, they were on the floor, Jane putting her boot back on and Luke latching his belt.
"L.LEE. U.UM- I.It's not…I mean…"
"What the fuck is goin' on here?? Rebecca is havin' the baby!" Lee snaps.
Their eyes widen
"R.Right now?!"
"Right now. And there's a SHIT TON of walkers that we need to deal with because YOU weren't watchin' them!"
Rebecca's wail of pain catches their attention as they scramble to their feet.
They come into view and Bonnie gently sits Rebecca down, Mike quickly following behind and setting down the water.
Lee grabs the pills from his bag.
"Here, they might help with the pain."
Kenny grabs them and sets them down, cracking his knuckles.
"I'll handle this, all of you just try and keep those walkers away!"

Lee rushes outside to see Sarah and Clementine shooting at them already.
They looked focused and determined.
Luke, Jane and Bonnie start helping, shooting also.
Lee and Mike couldn't do much, since they didn't have guns.
After a minute or two of shooting, Jane shakes her head.
"There are way too many of them!"
"Keep shooting, they are NOT gettin' up here!!" Luke snaps.
The metal gate slightly rattles, Mike swiftly grips it and tries to keep is closed against the Walker's attempts.
"Find something to block the gate!"
"The cannon!" Lee immediately points, running and starting to move it.
Sarah rushes to help out.
They heave it with all the force they can muster, using their arms and tensing them, making the cannon move very slowly.
The floorboards creak under its weight.
It creaks…more than before.

A LOT more than before.
All of them swiftly back up as the staircase part of the deck completely collapses in on itself, crumbling down the floor and dropping a big chunk of walkers to the ground.
The cannon along with it.
"What the fuck is goin' on out there?!" Kenny calls out.
They all breathe with slight unsteadiness.

Lee and Luke look at the metal rod holding up the one side of the deck and it is not holding on much longer.
"QUICK, MOVE!" Lee shouts,
"EVERYONE GET IN QUICK!!" Luke Screams, everyone swiftly jumping to the closer side near Rebecca and Kenny to safety.
Jane isn't able to make it in time, nearly dropping down entirely with the front side of the deck, some of the wood making a slight ramp shape.
She hung on the edge, her heart beating out of her chest.
Sarah falls completely, slightly squeaking at the sound her leg made as she hit the ground.
"JANE!!" Luke shouts,
"Here I'll help you up!"
"I'll help too!" Mike swiftly rushes to him.
"SARAH!" Bonnie panics.
"Clem help me get Sarah!" Lee instructs.
Clem nods without hesitation.
"Wait- Are you crazy?!" Bonnie hesitates,
"You can't go down there! You both could die!!"
"I'm willin' to take the risk" Lee snaps back, swiftly heading down with Clementine.

Sarah breathes heavily, still willing to attack the walkers around her, she stabs their legs and then their head and is just out of reach of her gun that lay near her.
Clementine hatches up a walker's head and slices another, and picks up her gun.
Lee stabs and kicks 2 Walker's knees, and their eye following on, quickly and gently picking up Sarah from her position.
She slightly grunts in pain, knowing not to scream, but she still is in a lot of pain.
A slight tear fell from her eye.
"Guys get up here!" Jane shouts,
"This is suicide!!"
Clementine shoots a few more walkers that nearly sneak up on Lee and Sarah and she hands Sarah her gun.
As Lee makes his way back up the ramp, Sarah and Clementine have his back, Shooting and slashing anything that tries to grab him.
They make it back up to the deck, and breathe heavily.

All of them stare in…quite the shock.

They break out of it almost immediately though, as they see the walkers slowly pushing themselves up the ramp.
"They're gonna get up here!" Jane shouts,
"They're climbing up!"
Luke swiftly runs to the ramp and starts trying to kick it down.
Lee runs over and tries helping him.
"Fuck it, drop the whole deck!" He yells.
"Drop the- ARE YOU FUCKIN' CRAZY?!"
"It's the only way!" "How are we gonna do that?"
"The metal holding up the deck, cut that!" Lee points, the metal wire and rod keeping it up hardly keeping on by itself.
Clementine looks up and nods.
"Mike, help me up" she asks.
Mike lifts her up onto his shoulders and she starts slashing at it with her cleaver.
The walkers nearly reach onto Luke's ankles but Sarah shoots them before they can.
She still grunts in pain, starting to cry from it.

As Clementine slashes at the metal rod one final time, the whole deck falls apart, Lee and Luke just about making it to what is left of the deck.
Only a few mere floorboards that they can walk on to the staircase and to where Rebecca and Kenny still stay.

Rebecca is no longer screaming, they all rush to check up on them.
Kenny is holding a little baby, it's eyes closed and Rebecca is just breathing heavily, her stomach now flat.
Everyone stares.

"N.No…" Bonnie lowers her head.
Lee sighs and lowers his head as well, along with Clementine, and eventually everybody.
"Is it okay?" Sarah utters.
Kenny closes his eyes.

He opens his eyes again as the baby slightly coughs and opens its eyes, Kenny looks at it with glimmers in his eyes, everyone else lights up with a smile and a chuckle.
"We uh, We should all get some rest. It's been a long day" Luke nods.
Everyone nods as well, and scrambles into the space, finding somewhere to lay down.

Lee, however, is still focused on Sarah, as she still has her leg bent.
He crouches down to her.
"How does it feel?" He gently asks.
She looks down to it.
"I…I can't feel it. B.But I can at the same time…" she stutters,
"It's really weird. I've never hurt myself like this before."
"It's okay. This'll happen from time to time. Stuff happens" he smiles.
He grabs the bandages from his bag and starts wrapping her leg tightly.
"This may hurt when I wrap it, Sarah, but don't worry. Hopefully it won't hurt in a week or two."
She nods silently as she watches him wrap her leg.
She looks over the edge at some of the remaining walkers, stumbling around without purpose.
"Why…Why do you keep helping me?" She finally asks, not looking back at him.
Lee's eyes widen slightly.
"Wh- Why would I not help you kiddo?"
Sarah sighs.
"I…I just feel like a liability. I know that Jane didn't want me to come with you to get Luke…well…maybe she was right in thinking of not taking me. I haven't done anything outside for most of my life."
Lee shakes his head.
Jane does recognise her name in their conversation and slightly looks away.
"No, No sweetie…you're not a liability.
You're a kid who is learning.
You came from a confined background, and you're still gettin' used to the world as it is right now. Nobody can blame you for bein' a little slow on learnin' things" Lee explains.
They stay quiet a moment.
"At the pace you're learning, you will be great with that gun and pocket knife of yours, as great as Clem is right now I reckon" He grins.
Sarah's eyes slightly light up with a slight hopeful smile.
"Y.You think so?"
Lee nods.
"People may not believe in you sometimes Sarah, but you need to show them that you can handle yourself, by yourself. And do what you think is right, okay?"
She nods.
"Thank you Lee…"
"No problem kiddo-"
"No seriously, thank you. I know I probably would be dead without you…"
He chuckles and hugs her gently.
"I'm glad you're with us. Now try and get some rest, you won't be able to use that leg for a while."
She nods and tries to get comfortable, Lee comes over to Clementine and lies down beside her.

—Some time passes—

Lee wakes up, lifting himself up slowly to see that Clementine isn't beside him. He looks around and doesn't see Luke or Jane either.
Kenny is sitting in the corner on the floorboards, holding the baby.
He gets up and walks over to Kenny.
"Hey Kenny" he greets ,sitting beside him.
Kenny smiles, which Lee hasn't seen in quite a long time.
"Hey Lee."
He looks down at the baby.
"Isn't he the most perfect lil' man in the whole world?"
Lee looks at him, his twinkly, little eyes staring back at Kenny.
Lee nods.
"Yeah. Very cute."
Kenny cradles him gently.
"Keepin' an eye on him while his mama gets her beauty sleep."
Kenny boops his nose, making him slightly gurgle with a smile.
"Dammit!" Luke's voice mumbles with a shout.
Kenny and Lee sharply look over and sigh, pulling themselves up.
They walk over to see Luke standing up his fists clenched, and Clementine sitting by the bannisters with a lowered head.
"Hey. Keep it down" Kenny states.
"Sorry…S.Sorry it's just…Jane's gone" he sighs.
Lee rolls his eyes.
"Come on Man. Both of you calm down, don't be like this in front of the baby."
They both glare at each other.

Luke groans and gives Kenny and Lee a death stare.
"Look, I fucked up. Okay? But Jane made me an offer and…my god I needed it! Look around you- LOOK AROUND YOU, ALRIGHT?! EVERYTHIN' IS SHIT. SO FORGIVE ME, FOR WANTIN' TO ENJOY ONE FUCKIN' MOMENT OF SOMETHIN' ELSE!!" He yells, pushing Lee back.
Lee grabs onto the bannisters and Clementine gets up, out of instinct.
She hugs Lee's side.
Lee stares at him with a confused look.
The baby is wailing in a cry, little tears starting to form in its eyes.
Kenny starts cradling him again.
"Shh sh sh sh…it's okay little guy…it's alright."
Lee shakes his head.
"Yes you made a mistake, but this baby now is what matters, alright? It's sad that Jane is gone. But we need to move on from that, okay?"
Luke lets go of his clenched fists, and storms off back to the space.
Mike walks over.
"Is everythin' alright?"
"Everything is fine" Luke murmurs, pushing past him.
"Kenny, Where's my baby?" Rebecca slightly asks.
He comes over and gently places him back into Rebecca's arms.
He sighs.
"We need to raise him in a safe place, which definitely ain't here. We need to push on!"
They all look at each other.
"There's a town across the river…it might be safe there" Clementine suggests.
"Or it may be a good stop on the way!" Kenny beams,
"We need to go as soon as possible. We leave at first light."
"Woah Woah…what are you on about?" Luke butt's in,
"Rebecca needs rest. She is in no shape to travel! She needs a few days at least!"
Everyone folds their arms.
"We have the baby formula.." Bonnie reminds them,
"But no food for us."
"And this place, it will not help us when we're freezin' to death" Mike shakes his head.
"We should leave in the mornin' "Lee states,
"We're not gonna last if we stay here."
Luke gets that expression again of anger.
"Rebecca is is NO condition to travel!!"
"Luke…I.I'm fine. If there's any chance there's food we have to take it" she weakly smiles. Her colour is slightly more off than before, she slightly coughs.
Luke sighs.
"Okay. Fine. If that's what you want Becc."

"We should all just try and get some sleep. It's been a real long day" Mike soothes.
They all nod.

—

They walk across the flimsy wooden bridge, the snowflakes slowly and gently swaying down to the floor and the water. The air is slightly colder.
Everyone is walking slowly, holding and hunching their arms from the cold weather.
Lee is carrying Sarah, and Bonnie is helping Rebecca.
They see a dead walker with an amputated limb and some wooden crutches.
"Alright everyone, we should stop a minute. Give Rebecca some rest and we should search this walker" Lee suggests.
Kenny looks Over at him and nods.
"Alright Lee. Everyone take a break."
Luke glares at him and folds his arms, looking away.
Everyone sits down for a moment, Rebecca coughing and looking down at her baby with a smile.
Clementine grabs the crutches and puts them beside Lee and Sarah.
"She can use these to help her walk!" Clementine smiles,
"It'll be better than using up your energy."
Lee nods and slowly places Sarah down beside him. She grips onto the crutches and puts them under each arm.
"Thank you."
"What else is there, Clem?"
She takes another moment to search the walker, a small can of food is the only thing she sees.
"Only a can of food…" she sighs.
Lee nods and sighs, putting it in his bag.
"It's better than nothin'."
Kenny nods.
"Damn right. Everyone ready to start movin' again?"
Everyone nods and slowly gets up.
They start going on the move again.

They move more along the trees, only a good 17 minutes away from where they were.
Rebecca slightly stumbles, Bonnie catching her.
"You alright?"
"I…I'm fine…" she utters.
Luke shakes his head.
"She's exhausted. We all are" he glares at Kenny,
"We should've stayed put until she was in better shape-"
"She wasn't going to get any better there. We need to get her food and someplace warmer-"
"Does this look like someplace warmer to you?!"
"Luke shut the fuck up. None of this is helpin' anyone" Lee sighs.
"Yeah, don't get pissy at me because your girlfriend left" Kenny growls.
Luke stops and starts to shout again, but it is broken by Rebecca falling to the ground completely.
The baby starts crying again.
Mike looks at a tire nearby.
"Hey, she can rest there a minute."
Bonnie nods and helps her up, bringing her to sit on the tire.
"Here Becc, lemme take care of the lil' man for ya" Kenny offers.
Rebecca weakly holds him and smiles.
"It's okay…I got him."
"Kenny, she'll be fine holdin' him a minute" Lee gently states.
He sighs and nods.
"Just trynna help."

"Hello?!" A voice calls out.
They all turn to see a boy limping along through the snow, a boy that looks very familiar to Lee and Clementine…
"A.Arvo?" Clementine utters.
Mike turns to her.
"You know this person?"
"We met them on the deck with Jane" Lee states,
"Before everyone came."
"You know this sonnovabitch? Well what's he want??" Kenny presses.
Lee glares at Arvo, he is waving his arm to try and get their full attention.
"I don't know…we got the pills from him and also some water. Other than that, we didn't do anythin' to him. He also has a sick sister."
They all face him as he finally gets close enough so he doesn't have to shout.
They go silent.
Arvo smiles.
"Hello. You are Lee. And…the girl."
"Clementine," she smiles.
He nods in understanding.
"Lee, and Clementine."
"What's goin' on friend? You need help?" Kenny Questions.
He lowers his head.
"I have brought my friends. They wanted to see Lee and Clementine. Nice people."
A woman pops up from behind a tree and holds up a gun to the group, going beside Arvo.
A bunch of other guys come up from behind them and also point guns at them.
They back up in a circle, facing all of them.
One of them starts talking in fluent Russian, nobody understands them at all aside from Arvo and his group.
"What is he sayin' Arvo?" Lee questions.
"I told them you were the ones that took from me. And he said to put the guns down so then I can get it back."
Lee looks at Kenny and Clementine.
"I…I still have the medication we didn't use. B.But…we had to use the pills to stop Rebecca's pain…remember?"
Arvo looks over at Rebecca who is not looking well. She is still holding the baby.
He arches his brows.
"Can I have back please?"
Lee nods, handing back the medication.
He puts it away.
"Now, lower guns. We can make this easy."
Lee's face grows confused.
"Make this easy for what? You got what you came for."
He lowers his head again.
"They want everything you have."
Everyone puts their guns up.
"Arvo, this doesn't have to be like this man! We have a baby, if you take everything, that baby will die!"
Arvo frowns and looks over at his group.
"У них есть ребенок (U Nikh yest' rebenok)."
The guys talk back, chuckling after they reply.
"What the fuck are they sayin'?" Kenny growls.
"Nobody get excited…" Mike Mumbles.
"Put your guns down," Bonnie states.
"They think it funny you want to negotiate because of child. But things just have to be this way."
Lee frowns at him.
Arvo stares.
"Wish we could've met in better circumstances Lee."
As everyone starts yelling at each other, a massive jumble of Russian and yelling, Sarah looks at Rebecca who is slumped over, the baby still in her limp arms.
She lifts her head and starts growling, her eyes hollow.
Sarah starts breathing slightly, not knowing what to do.
"C.Cl…Clementine..!" She manages to squeak.

Clementine looks over and immediately shoots Rebecca in the head.

Everything goes quiet.

"NO!!" Luke Screams.
Gunshots fire through the air.

Chapter Text

As Lee comes back to his senses, he sees Clementine, Sarah and Luke behind a stone wall, Clementine holding the baby.
Kenny is behind a tree firing at one of the Russians. Mike and Bonnie are doing the same.
Arvo is slumped over his sister who has presumably been shot, and he is trying to make her better.

"Lee!" Clementine shouts,
"Lee, get out of there!"
He slightly gets himself up and heaves his body behind one of the stone walls, one close to Clem and the other 3.
"Can you get over here?" Luke questions.
Lee glares at him and shakes his head.
"Not without gettin' a bullet in my head."
Luke sighs and tilts his head, looking at the Russian guy Kenny is trying to kill off.
"I'll come over to your side. Maybe I can get a better angle. Stay there girls, keep each other safe."
"..Luke?" Sarah utters.
He breathes, and swiftly launches himself to Lee's side of the stone wall. The Russian's shots: missing him by a small scathe of air.
He then aims and shoots the Russian that aimed at him, he drops dead on the floor, blood spilling around him onto the snow.
"ENGLISH MOTHERFUCKER!!" Kenny snaps, shooting another few bullets at him but not succeeding.
Luke grabs at his side again.
"Are you alright?"
Luke sighs.
"I…I think so. It's just my ribs…they're still hurtin' from Carver beatin' the fuck outta me…"
He side eyes Lee.
"I'm even surprised you care so much."
Lee gives him a glare back.

Kenny eyes Arvo, he shoots a few times back at the Russian making him hide, giving him enough time to sprint and grip onto Arvo.
He squirms, trying to get out of his grip.
"YOU COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW OR I PUT A BULLET IN THIS KID'S HEAD."
"Kenny please!-" Bonnie pleads
"Stop it man- he didn't do anything!" Mike adds.
"Kenny, what are you doing?' Clementine questions.
He grips tighter.
"I'm endin' this."
As the Russian goes to take a shot, he gurgles, choking on his own blood.
He slowly turns around with a knife in the back of his neck, lodged deep into his skin, folding over it, and sees Jane, wide eyed.
He falls to the ground.
Jane picks her knife back up out of his neck, breaking and ripping the skin containing the sharp edge.

Arvo's sister, supposedly named "Natasha", growls and stumbles over near Sarah and Clementine, her eyes hollow and dead.
She gets uncomfortably close.
Sarah uses her crutches to back her away slightly without harming her, her too awkward in position to reach her gun.
Clementine reaches for hers, and points it at her.
"I'm so sorry Arvo, but she's turned into a walker!" She calls to him.
Arvo turns with teared eyes.
"No, she just sick!! She no turn!!!" He yells.
Clementine shoots a bullet and Natasha drops dead.
"NOO!!" Arvo screams, he breaks free of Kenny's grip and sits at Natasha's side.
He angrily looks at Clementine before grabbing his sister's hand.
Clementine looks firmly at him.
"I'm sorry. But what else was I meant to do? She would've killed us!"
"You did the right thing Clem" Kenny nods, folding his arms as he looms over Arvo,
"You did the right thing."

Everyone gathers around Arvo, Kenny quickly grabbing the Russian's gun and Jane joining them.
"That uh…That was intense…" Luke sighs.
"I thought that was just…it" Mike lowers his head.
"It was for these assholes" Kenny Scoffs.
"Jane…you're back" Clementine smiles.
Jane folds her arms slightly.
"Uh…Yeah. I guess I am."
She stares off at the guy she killed.
She shifts her movement, fidgeting.
"I uh…I've never killed someone that hasn't wronged me in some way…I never even knew this man."
"He was gonna kill us" Lee states,
"You saved us."
Jane nodded silently.
"That…That still doesn't make it feel right to do this though…it never really does."

Kenny hands the gun to Luke.
They all stare at Rebecca's body, and lower their heads.
Luke glares slightly at Clementine, her being the one to shoot her.
"She just…lost too much blood" Luke utters.
"Clem did what she needed to to protect the baby. It isn't her fault she turned" Bonnie deeply sighs.
They nod.
"She…She is with Alvin now" Sarah states,
"Up in the good place. Right?"
They nod.
"Yeah. Up in the good place, together with him…" Bonnie Mumbles,
"Don't worry Becca. You rest easy now. We promise to take care of your precious boy."
Kenny grips his fists and turns to Arvo.
He grabs the back of his jacket and yanks him to his feet, putting his pistol up to his head.
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FUCKIN' FAULT!!" He yells.
Lee sighs.
"Kenny…please man…" he slightly shudders.
"Shut up Lee. This asshole tried to steal our shit, just so then his friends would be satisfied, HE NEARLY KILLED THE BABY!!"
"But think about it Kenny! He lost his sister…and his friends…and remember about Sarita…your promise to her" Lee reminds him.
His eyes slightly widen.
He puts down the gun and smacks Arvo across the face, sending him to the ground.
Mike and Bonnie rush over to him, Arvo is greeted by Kenny's rage filled scowl.
"You better have one good fuckin' reason I shouldn't kill you right now and move on."

"There is house. Food. Please-"
"Bullshit…"
"NoNo! Is true! There is house. Not far. Warm, and food!" He pleads,
"I can take you."
"Why would you wanna help US. Huh?!"
"Kenny…lay off him please" Mike sighs,
"He's trynna help."
"Trust him, don't trust him- it doesn't matter" Jane raises her voice,
"We should go anyway."
Bonnie nods.
"We're runnin' low on supplies as it is. Think of the baby Kenny."
Lee nods.
"It'll be better for the baby to be in a house than out here in the cold."
Kenny looks at the baby and sighs, he folds his arms and looks away.
"Fine. Lead us then."
"I'll take you."
"Anythin' to tie this shitbird up??" Kenny Questions as they start to walk on,
Lee shakes his head.
"We are not tying him up, Kenny. That is that."

They walk along the snow, Sarah with her crutches, and everyone else normal. Arvo limps in front of them, still with his squeaky leg breach.
Jane walks by Lee.
"Hey…um…I know some of you guys may be pissed I left but..if it helps, the thing I'd normally do is walk away for good. But I didn't" she awkwardly explains,
"I…I knew it was a mistake as soon as I heard gunshots. Despite everything I've seen of this group, somehow everyone has managed to pull through. Including Sarah.
I…I feel like I sort of belong in this group despite how messy things have been…"
"I'm not pissed. I'm glad you're back" Clementine beams, catching Jane off guard as she strolls up the other side of her.
"Me too!" Sarah beams,
"I didn't want you to go."
Jane slightly chuckles.
"Oh, uh…thanks. I guess it would've been awkward if you guys did hate me this whole time."
"That would suck" Lee laughs.
They nod along.

"I…I'm worried about Kenny. He's in a dark place…" Jane mutters,
"I'm afraid of what he may do…"
"I know Kenny. He always does what he thinks is best for us. And only us. Even if that means…torturing that kid to get us safe" Lee shakes his head.
Jane looks away.
"I knew I couldn't trust that kid. Guess it was too early to tell what would happen."
Lee nods.
"You were tryin' to protect us. I get it."
Jane goes silent with a nod.

—

As they walk through the trees, they go by some logs pulled up from their roots.
Clementine bounces back slightly from her cheek, Lee stops.
"Hey, we're gonna need to stop again!" Lee calls out.
Everyone does stop except for Arvo.
"Alright Lee, You stop there" Kenny instructs.
Arvo keeps going slowly.
Kenny sighs and shoves him on the ground.
Mike rushes over and helps him up.
"Kenny, there is no need for that!!" He snaps,
"He's just a kid-!"
"Whatever…"
He walks away towards Clementine.
Mike leads Arvo near a tree stump and sits him down. Jane sits down with them.

"Are you alright Clem?"
"It stings…"
"Let's put somethin' on it to help it alright? I'm pretty sure Bonnie had some of the stuff…I'll be right back, just sit tight okay?" Kenny slightly smiles at her.
Lee sits Sarah down as well, making sure she gets rest from using the crutches. Clementine sits down next to her.
"How are the crutches feeling Sarah?" Clementine asks.
Sarah smiles as she looks at them.
"They feel weird to use, but maybe we can keep them after I don't need to use them anymore!"
Lee nods.
"That'll be a good idea."
Kenny comes back with a bottle in his hands and a small cloth, Bonnie and Luke looking over at them.
Luke slightly looks away, his face showing some form of regret.

Kenny crouches down in front of Clementine.
"Hey, I got the stuff. Now this might sting a bit but only for a second" he tries to assure her.
She slightly moves back, shifting in her space.
"Oh I know…this is gonna hurt like hell…" she mumbles.
Kenny nods slightly.
He pours some of it onto the cloth gently and slowly looks up to Clementine's face, she has her eyes closed, preparing for the stinging hell to reach her already.
As he slowly dabs it on the cuts and bruises, she flinches back, slightly screaming.
"Just stay still for me darlin', I know it hurts…"
"You're doing good sweet pea" Lee smiles.
Clementine opens her eyes and looks at Lee.
She slightly smiles back.
Kenny continues to dab the cloth over her cheek, making the swelling of it slightly go down and also the raw redness of it too.
Slowly but surely.
"So um, Rebecca said she wanted to name the baby Alvin if it was a boy. She was so out of it she couldn't really decide on a name" Kenny explains,
"I was thinkin' that we go with Alvin Jr."
Clementine smiles.
"Yeah, I like it. I'm sure his parent's would've too."
They all nod silently, as Kenny puts the cloth down and slightly smoothes his hand across her cheek.
It slightly stinging but not as much as before.
"There. All done."
"Thank you Kenny" she smiles.
"No problem."
"Are we all ready to go?" Bonnie asks, walking Over over with AJ in her arms and luke beside her.
Lee nods as Sarah gets up with her crutches and Kenny gets up with clementine.
"Yeah."
"Alright, let's keep movin'."

They all do exactly that.

—

The trees start to part and with the sun slowly setting over the horizon, they see a small electrical transmitter, big and metal, surrounded by chain link fencing.
Kenny glares at it.
"...Is that it?"
Arvo is staring off into his own world.
"Arvo" Lee states, making him turn his head.
"Oh…W.What?"
"Is this the place you were talkin' about? With the food?" Mike questions.
Arvo shakes his head.
"No…it a bit further, a few more hour-"
"Goddammit!!" Kenny punches his fist into a log,
"A few more hours?!"
"Calm it Kenny…"
"Calm it?? We're nowhere near where we're meant to be!!"
"It's gettin' dark. We should stop for the night here" Bonnie soothes,
"It'll be better and safer than goin' through the dark."
Kenny sighs.
"Can we at least, have a calm, quiet night tonight?" Lee sighs with him.
Everyone starts to nod.
"Yeah, that sounds nice" Luke smiles to himself.
Mike and Bonnie agree.
Sarah silently nods too.
AJ starts crying again, Bonnie tries to cradle him in her arms but he continues to cry.
"It's alright I got this Bonnie" Kenny grins, gently taking AJ from her.
He starts doing the same, talking gently to him and saying everything will be fine.
He then hands him to Sarah who is sitting by Luke.
"Here, take care of him while I look around, make sure this ain't some walker nest we're gettin' into."
"I'll go with you" Jane states,
"Me too" Luke adds.
He nods in agreement and they walk off.

Sarah looks at AJ, his eyes still sparkly.
He was still sobbing a little bit.
"Hey…It's okay AJ…it's okay. We're here. We're here" she gently smiles, bring him closer to her with her warmth.
AJ eventually but quickly stops crying and giggles, as She bounces him slightly up and down playfully.
"You like that?"
Bonnie chuckles.
"I think he likes you!"
"Really? I've…I've never handled babies before. But, I always thought the idea of a brother would be cool."
Bonnie slowly takes AJ back and rubs her nose against his tiny one.
"Ain't you just the most handsome little boy? Yes you are" she mumbles with a grin.

Kenny, Luke and Jane emerge from the trees.
"Alright, it's safe everyone!" Luke calls.
Kenny nods.
Everyone starts going down the hill, Arvo still with his head lowered.
He is kind of glad his wrists aren't tied though.

—

The night looms over them, the moon shining a little bit brighter than most other nights.
The group are huddled around a fire that Jane has started up with her nail file and pieces of wood, except Arvo and Jane, who are sitting and pondering in 2 different corners.
Mike walks over to Arvo.
"Hey…You wanna join us by the fire? It's cold out here."
Arvo doesn't look at him.
"Maybe in bit…just need to think."
Mike nods in understanding and walks back, looking at Jane, but not going to her.

"Hey, it uh…it's my birthday" Luke smiles,
"At least…I think it's sometime round this week."
"Happy birthday Luke" Lee nods.
"Yeah, happy birthday man" Mike says as well.
"That makes you…28 right?" Sarah tilts her head.
Luke chuckles and shakes his head.
"Not quite Sarah, Close though."
"27 right?" Bonnie grins.
Luke's eyes widen with a nod.
"Y.Yeah that's right. Surprised you remember. Sure as hell feel a lot older though-"
"Don't even start with that shit" Kenny chuckles.
Lee chuckles as well.
"Yeah. Try bein' in your older 30s, then start complainin' about old."
They all share a slight laughter.
Clementine grins, hearing them laugh, same with Sarah.
"Got out of college 5 years ago. Feels like a million years.." He Mumbles,
"But! At least I don't need to pay off student loans."
"I'm sure there's some asshole still sittin' with the paperwork" Mike smugly grins.
"What did you study?" Clementine asks.
"Um…Majored in Art history."
"Sounds cool!" Sarah beams.
Kenny Scoffs with amusement.
"Yeah. Sounds like you majored in workin' in a coffee shop."
They chuckle.
"Pretty much. Also got a Minor in Agriculture. To keep the ol' man happy" he solemnly explains.
Bonnie nods along before her head perks up.
"Oh! Almost forgot. I was savin' this for a special occasion, thought this may be good a time as any" she grins, reaching into her bag.
She pulls out a bottle of rum.
"Really?" "Of course!"
"Heh…thank Bonnie."
"Don't mention it. Birthdays are meant to be special. Even in the apocalypse."
She hands him the bottle.
He stares at it a moment.
"Go on. Make a toast!"
He awkwardly stutters.
"I…I'm not the kind of guy to-"
"Oh come on Birthday boy, don't have to be fancy!"
"D.Don't we all need a drink for that?" Mike questions.
"We can just pass it around. Now go on."
Luke Clears his throat.

"To the ones that have gotten us to where we are now, in hopes that we will stay together and see the ones we lost again someday" he announces.
He then takes a drink.
"That was lovely Luke," Bonnie grins.
Mike nods.
He hands the drink to Bonnie.
She looks over at Jane, standing by the fence and looking out at the trees.
"Still haven't gotten her figured out…up and surprises doesn't she?"
"I'm glad she's here," Clementine smiles.
Luke nods.
"Yeah, she saved us back there. That puts her as okay in my book."
Bonnie rolls her eyes.
"Oh we know already how you feel about her. Ain't no secret-"
"It…was stupid" he nervously chuckles,
"Just wanted to forget about this shit for like…10 minutes."
"10 minutes? Man that's more than I'd last at this point-"
"Sarah, cover your ears" Kenny shakes his head, she does just that.
Lee covers Clementine's ears, his nub just about reaching her other ear, she blinks.
"Well n.not 10 minutes but-"
"Come on you two we got a little one around!" Bonnie reminds them.
She passes the bottle to Mike.
"Clem nor Sarah knows about this yet…" Lee mumbles,
"Save it for some other time would ya?"
"Sorry dude" Mike grins.
He stops covering Clem's ears, prompting Sarah to stop as well.
"I know what you're on about…" Clementine Mumbles.
Lee looks at her.
"Please tell me you don't…"
"You're talking about…kissing stuff" she scrunches her face.
"Gross.." Sarah looks away.
Luke chuckles nervously.
"Y.Yes-! Yes…it's just that- yep."
"Was there any room for kissin'?" Mike teases with a smile.
Bonnie laughs and shoves his shoulder.
"That's enough outta you!"
"Sorry! Sorry…Luke is just a cassonova!"
"Shut up…"
"His moves workin' on ALL the ladies!"
Bonnie shrugs her shoulders.
"Worked on me."

They stay silent for a few moments, broken by the sounds of the crackling embers of the fire.
Luke sighs and looks to Clementine.
"Hey Clem…um…somethin's been on my mind for a while…it's really eatin' me up inside" he lowers his head.
Lee and Clementine look at him with raised brows.
"...Back at Howe's…I didn't mean the things I said…I'm sorry I even suggested the idea of leavin' folks behind. I was stupid for gettin' greedy."
"It's okay Luke. You were trying to think of the group" Clem grins,
"Anyone would struggle in your position."
He then looks to Lee.
"A…And I'm sorry to you as well Lee. I got mad at you and Kenny…when you were just protectin' her. In instinct of what I said. So…I'm sorry."
Lee gently smiles.
"Thank you for the apology. I accept it. You're a good guy Luke…this world forces you to make decisions you never even knew we're hard before. I get it."
Luke nods silently and keeps hanging his head.
Bonnie looks at him with a hopeful smile.
"That was nice of you to do Luke."
Kenny stays silent as well.
"Yeah. You may be an asshole sometimes. But we can't let it get in the way of the group."
Luke nods firmly again.

Mike hands Lee the bottle.
"I'll go and see if Jane wants to come over by the fire. Might speak with Arvo too."
They all nod, Kenny blankly staring in the fire, as Lee walks over to Jane.

"Hey Jane."
"Hey."
He shows her the bottle and gestures to take it.
She blankly stares at it.
"Your idea to lure me over there with alcohol?"
Lee chuckles slightly.
"Just tryin' to make you feel welcome. It's warm by the fire" he grins.
She shifts her position.
"...What is it?"
"It's Rum."
She grabs the bottle and stares at it a moment.
She then looks over at the group, Luke talking to Bonnie and Mike, and Kenny speaking to Sarah and AJ.
She sighs.
"If I go over it might be…Awkward."
"It's only awkward if you make it awkward. It's not so bad if you be chill about it."
She Scoffs slightly.
"If only it was that easy."
"It is. Trust me, it'll be easier to go through with the mindset of just letting conversation take over, you'll let yourself be a little less awkward. Less scared."
She sighs.
"Why does this feel like I'm signing a contract or something?" She chuckles, as she takes a sip of the rum.
"God that's a good feeling" she closes her eyes smiling,
"Can't remember the last time I tasted something with flavour."
Lee smiles.
"Me neither."
She gestures for him to take the bottle.
"Have you even had any big guy?"
Lee shakes his head.
"Want everyone to have a sip first. Except Clem and Sarah of course."
Jane chuckles.
"Yeah. They're not stupid like I was back then…I started drinking at their age. I was…a troubled kid."
"Sounds like it."
"Were you ever a bad kid Lee?"
Lee thinks for a moment. Not sure on what to say.
"A few times…every kid gets in trouble sometimes. Even later in my life I went pretty hard…a man slept with my wife. I just…got frustrated and was filling up either all these emotions I didn't know what to do with" he folds his arms and looks away from her.
Her eyebrows arch slightly.
He stops himself, and breathes.
He looks down at the floor.
"When all of this began…I was on my way to Jail. For what I'd done. Police officer weren't watchin' where he was goin' and…crashed off the highway."
She stays silent.
"Guessing that everything changed?"
Lee nods.
"A few moments after…I found Clementine. Changed me for the better."
Jane nods.
"I'm glad. Hate to see a good guy like you behind bars. I'm…Sorry about your wife."
"It's fine…still wonder where she is sometimes…" he sighs.
"Welp. Nice to talk to you Lee. A deal's a deal."
"Take the bottle to Kenny. He hasn't had a drink yet" Lee states.
Jane looks to him, still by the fire and chuckling.
She sighs and nods.
"Sure. He needs a drink more than any of us…"
She then proceeds to walk to the fire, everyone looking at her.

"Jane!" Clementine smiles.
"Hey" she chuckles nervously.
"Sir wherever you'd like" Bonnie gestures, she awkwardly takes a seat next to Sarah and Kenny.
She holds out the bottle to Kenny.
"Here."
Kenny looks at it.
"I'm alright. Need to take care of AJ here" he looks down with a smile.
"I can hold him" Bonnie smiles,
"Enjoy a bit of liquor Kenny. I'm sure you need it after today."
Jane nods.
He sighs and hands AJ over to Bonnie.
He grabs the bottle and drinks.
"Thanks Jane…glad you're by the fire warm."
She nods slightly, couping up her legs.

Lee looks over to Arvo, he is still in the corner, looking out the fence like Jane was.
He walks over.
"...Hey Arvo. You alright?"
He doesn't respond.
"Look…we're sorry for today. If you didn't want me to take any medication you had permission to say so."
He lowers his head.
"I know…"
"Clementine is Sorry about killing your sister. She was just afraid that she might kill Sarah and the baby. You understand that right?"
He sits down next to him.
Arvo starts slightly tearing up.
"I knew she was sick…it just got out of hand. That why we needed all medicine to make her better. Natasha…Natasha…" He sobs.
Lee pat's his shoulder, he slightly flinches.
"Sorry…"
"...Is…Is Clementine good girl?" He utters.
Lee nods.
"I've been with her since the beginning. She is the sweetest girl I know."
He deeply sighs.
"I…I sorry for uh…Злиться на маленькую девочку(Zlit'sya na malen'kuyu devochku). Beat…Beat little girl."
Lee nods.
"I understand. It's okay to be angry…Clementine killed the one you loved very much. Seems you were very close with your sister."
He stays silent.
"But just know Clementine would never hurt anyone unless it was for her own protection."

…

…

"Why don't you come over to the fire. It's very cold out tonight, and there's some rum if you want some as well."
Arvo looks at him slightly with arched brows.
"B…Bad man there too?"
"Who…Kenny? He'll just have to deal with it. You can sit next to Mike, I'll sit next to Kenny."
Arvo eventually nods.
"O…Okay…Okay…Thank you. Kind man."
Lee smiles.
"Don't mention it."

The night slowly goes on, everyone surrounding the fire with warm smiles and naughty stories.
Kenny slightly shifted in his place with Arvo there as well, but Lee assured him it was fine.
Eventually, everyone drifts off to sleep.

Chapter Text

They Walk, and Walk, and Walk for hours.
Kenny is still behind Arvo as he leads the way.
Lee looks over at Clementine.
"Is your cheek alright sweet pea?"
She nods.
"Yeah. I don't think it'll hurt anymore."
"That's good. And Sarah? How's your leg?"
"I think it's alright. I'd rather use the crutches though than have my leg hurt again…"
He nods.
"As long as you two are alright" Bonnie smiles.
Mike is holding AJ.
"Are we there yet?" Kenny questions.
"Close. Very Close."
He sighs.
"You've said that the past 5 times I've asked."
"Is true…very close."
Behind a rock, a walker they haven't noticed starts to crawl towards him, stumbling itself upright.
"KENNY BEHIND YOU!!" Lee shouts,
"KENNY!!" Bonnie yells in concern.
Kenny turns around and gets pushed to the ground, instinctively he pushes it away from him while also trying to keep his arms away from its mouth.
Jane has her gun in hand, a ring shoots through the trees, scaring a bird away
Luckily, Clementine shoots it first and it falls down, Kenny pushes it off of him breathing heavily.
He takes a moment.
"Holy shit…"
"Let's hope no walkers heard that. That was pretty loud…" Bonnie Mumbles.
Jane nods.
"Yeah, let's not stick around to find out."

They make it out of the trees, and see a big open frozen over lake.
"Here."
Arvo turns the corner to greet them with a half built house. Covered in tarp and sheets with the ceiling and the wood just about covering the walls.
"...This piece of shit? It's half built!"
"We're here for the supplies. Not the house" Jane reminds him, folding her arms.
She puts her gun away.
"There's a fireplace. Warm. Very warm."
"Is there any other way around?" Clementine questions,
"I'm not liking the look of that ice…"
Jane sighs.
"We should've stuck to the treeline."
"Why can't we just go around on the snow? Better than riskin' it on the thin ice of a lake" Lee suggests.
Kenny sighs.
"It'll be quicker if we go on the ice. It's a straight line. If we Walk we should be fine."
"Yes. Good. Ice."
"No shit ice" Kenny interrupts.
Arvo turns around.
"I can show you it safe. I can be front."
Lee nods.
"That's fair enough Arvo. If you wanna show us it's safe on the ice, go ahead."
"We shouldn't stay together right? If we're too close together then the ice will break" Sarah brings up.
Jane nods.
"She's right. Let's spread out just In case."
They all nod in agreement.
Sarah slightly smiles at Jane.

Lee and Sarah stick together, not too close and take the left side.
Clementine, Bonnie and Luke take centre, and Mike and Jane take left.
Kenny and Arvo are out in front, way ahead of them.
All of them slowly shuffle along, listening to the light cracks of the ice, hoping that it doesn't just drop them to their Death.
Lee can tell Sarah is nervous, but then again, so is everyone.

They make it halfway, so far, so good.

Distant growling and groans grow closer, a few walkers stumbling slowly towards them.
"Just a few walkers, keep goin' "Mike states.
"L…Lee…"
"You're fine Sarah. Keep goin'. They can't get you here."
They hear the sound of ice shattering underneath something, they all look over to see 2 walkers falling into the lake, which judging by how it is covered in the ice, is freezing for anything inside it.
"That's 2 less walkers to deal with" Jane nods,
"Keep going."
Arvo starts to move quicker, shaken.
"Hey…stay close" Kenny instructs.
He doesn't listen, quickening his pace.
"You piece of shit…"
Kenny runs after him.
"KENNY DON'T!!" Lee shouts,
"DON'T RUN!!"
"He'll kill him!" Mike yells, slowly jogging after him trying not to run.
All 3 and AJ make it to the other side, Kenny pushing Arvo onto the ground to stop him.
Mike glares at him.
"Come on Man!"
"Shut up Mike. You stay put, got it?!" He snaps.

They look over at everyone else, Jane moving ahead of them as they stay and stare for a moment longer.
"Why did Kenny do that?" Sarah whispers.
Lee sighs.
"It's okay Sweetie…he's just makin' sure Arvo doesn't leave us is all."
"But…isn't he the one that brought those Russian guys to us? The ones that wanted to steal from us?" She presses.
Lee lowers his head.
"It's complicated Sarah…I promise I'll explain when we are safe, okay?"
She nods.
"Okay."

They hear a massive crack.

They turn to see Luke breathing slightly, trying to hold it. Standing right in the centre of its cracking.
Bonnie and Clementine stare, not knowing what to do.
Bonnie slowly starts walking towards him.
"S.Stop! I…I can make it okay?" Luke sighs.
The walkers come ever closer.
"L.Luke there are walkers on the way- let me help you!!"
"The ice is too thin for both of us! Don't come over here, back up!" He lectures,
"I just need to be careful!"
He tries to take a step off his current spot, but the ice cracks open wide and drop the whole chunk of ice he was standing on. He just about holds on.
Bonnie in instinct rushes to him, but gets stopped by him yelling again.
"STOP IT BONNIE. JUST COVER ME!!" He yells.
"No Luke just let me help you-!!"
"You wanna help, keep those walkers off me!"
Bonnie looks to Clementine.
"...Clementine. Go and help him."
Luke looks between them, he shakes his head.
"C.Clementine no-"
"You're light you can get him!-"
"Just cover me Clem! I can make it!!"

She hesitates.

Lee prays she doesn't get hurt.
"Clementine!!" Sarah shouts,
"Come over here!! You're safe here!"

"Back up Bonnie…" Clementine states, before slowly and gently moving closer to Luke.
Bonnie pulls out her gun and starts shooting off walkers.

"CLEM!!" "CLEMENTINE!!"
"SWEET PEA!!"
Everyone helplessly watches as they see her slowly approach Luke, reaching out her hand.
"It's okay…I've nearly got you, you're gonna get out Luke, okay?"
He shakes his head.
"No…No go back Clem! It ain't safe for both of us! I can make it."
She stays a bit away and stretches out her hand as far as she could.
Most of the walkers are shot dead, Bonnie dealing with most of them.

Lee's heart thumps.

"It's okay…grab my hand."
Luke hesitates, his breathing shuddering.
"O…Okay…Okay…" he sighs slightly.
Slowly he reaches out his hand.

All at once.
Time stops.

Lee's heart sinks, watching in slow motion as Clementine and Luke fall into the water below, the ice cracking underneath both of them and sinking them under.

Everyone stops for a moment.
"Cl…Cl…Clementine…?" Sarah utters, shaking.
She looks to Lee.
"L..Lee is Clementine-?"
"Oh my god…" Bonnie utters, quickly shooting the rest of the walkers.
Kenny rushes over, along with Jane.
"WE NEED TO GET HER OUT OF THERE!!" Jane shouts.
"DAMN RIGHT, SHE IS GONNA FREEZE!!" Kenny snaps.
They both look at the hole into the water, it being very hard to see.
For a moment they see a Walker, before it gets snatched away by something and gets dragged into the water again out of view.
They both reach their arms in, trying to fish out Clementine, and Luke too if he's alive.

Lee stands there frozen.

Is…Is his little girl…dying?

Is this how it ends for her?
The one he's taken care of for 2 years…or what felt like his whole life?

He's been with her so long…he doesn't know what else he can do without her.

Sarah will be her old self if Clementine is not there to support her.
Frozen and scared of the outside world.

Again.

He shakes rapidly, his heart beating out of his chest, he slightly grabs at his chest, it hurting like it is stabbing him inside.

Jane gasps and pulls whoever she grabbed out of the water, it is Clementine.
Her skin is very pale, almost a pale blue.
She is shivering harshly, couping up into herself.
Kenny gasps and quickly goes to her side, picking her up.
"CLEMENTINE!! Can you hear me?!"
"...L…Luke…Luke is…"
"Come on! We need that fireplace started! She's gonna freeze to death!!" Jane orders.
Kenny swiftly rushes off to the house along with Jane, everyone swiftly follows, including Lee and Sarah.
Both still shook and wide eyed.
"How the fuck can this happen to you darlin'? Why did the world pick you…" Kenny Mumbles to himself, sobbing.

Jane kicks down doors and and looks around to scan for the fireplace.
"There!" She points,
"Set her down here!! We need that fire started!"
"Jesus…"
Bonnie starts sobbing, lowering her head.
Kenny sets her down swiftly and gently and takes off her jacket, soaked all the way through.
Kenny feels her shivering, when he touched only her shoulder he can feel how cold she is.
Like the ice itself.
"Holy shit Clem…"
"G.Get that fireplace started!!" Lee raises his voice, swiftly running to her side as Kenny gets up and paces worriedly.
"Clem…Sweet pea…sweetie…are you okay?!!"
She quivers, not being able to respond.
All she does is a slight nod.
She lowers her head.
Jane rushes off to find wood to put in the fireplace.
"Luke's gone man…Luke's fuckin' gone" Mike pits his palms into his hands, AJ being taken into Bonnie's arms.
They find a small wooden crate to lay him in, so she does just that.
"I…Fuck…" Bonnie stutters.
"We should've gone around…"Mike sighs,
"We should've gone around."
Lee nods.
He had every urge to hug Clementine to give her warmth, but he knows with her clothes soaked up the way they are…he'll just make it worse.
He opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.
Sarah is sat by the door, couping up her leg and straightening out her other, staring with wide eyes still.
Lee knew that look…the look of her panicking.
She'll be like that for a while.
Bonnie goes beside her and wraps her arm around her shoulder to comfort her.
"It…It's okay Sarah…it's okay…" she sobs.

Kenny turns to Arvo, with an angered scowl.
"You…" he growls, marching towards him with clenched fists,
"This is YOUR FUCKIN' FAULT!!"
"Kenny, don't man!" Mike shouts back.
Lee looks between them.
Then look at Arvo.
"Arvo. You said the ice was safe?"
Arvo stutters.
"It…It was safe…" he lowers his head.
Kenny shoves him.
"Oh yeah, SO FUCKIN' SAFE AIN'T IT?!
IF 1 OF OUR PEOPLE HAS DIED AND THE OTHER IS SITTIN' THERE FREEZIN' HER ASS OFF!!"
…
"What…NO SPEAK OF DE ENGLISH?!"
Arvo looks up at him with a frown.
"...Fuck you."
…
"You commie piece of shit-!"
He punches him across the face, knocking him to the floor.
He throws punches at him again and again.
Mike trying to stop him, grabbing Kenny by the arms.
"Stop it Kenny!" Bonnie pleads.
Sarah's heavy breathing doesn't help.
Mike finally pulls back hard enough, getting Kenny away from Arvo.
His face is blooded over.
Kenny shoves Mike.
"Get the fuck off me."
"Kenny…Please" Lee sighs, looking to Clementine sadly, she's still shivering and looks up to Kenny with a pained expression.
It makes his eyebrows arch slightly.

Jane jogs in with a bag and some wood.
"Okay I've got the-"
She looks at Arvo, then glares at Kenny.
"...What the hell did you do to him?"
"He's bullshit that's what…" he growls back.
Jane drops the bag in front of him, a can of food dropping out.
She stares at him as his face slightly falters, picking up the can.
"Just for the record, there's a whole other bag just like it. He wasn't lying."
She pushes past him and puts the wood into the fireplace, using the nail file to try and strike up a flame.
He grips the can.
"Can you tell me…how a can of fuckin' chilli is gonna help a baby!?" He turns around.
"How is beating a kid gonna help ANYONE?!" She snaps back.
"Calm the fuck down both of you" Lee states.
They glare at each other. Scowls on their faces.
"This is your fault Kenny and you damn well know it" Bonnie shakes her head.
Lee stares at her.
"Don't Bonnie. Just…Don't. It's not like you're exactly out of this either. Weren't you the one to say to Clem to help Luke?"
She goes silent after that.
Kenny stares at everyone, Jane going back to trying with the nail file.
He grips his fists and grabs Arvo.
"I'm tyin' him up…"
"Kenny…"
"Fuck off Lee. This ain't a decision."
Lee frowns, watching him tie up Arvo to a wooden post in a very uncomfortable position.
"Mike, help me light this fire."
"B.But Arvo, is he okay? He's hurt real ba-"
"Now. Mike."
He sighs.
"Y.Yeah okay…"
He crouches down by Jane and hands her some matches he had on him.
She puts away her nail file and strikes up a match, burning with a quaint little flame.
They place it underneath the wood and it starts to spread its burning virus, making the flames bigger and warmer.

Lee picks up Clementine and sits down with her, placing her in a lying position with her head on his lap.
"Is that okay Sweet pea? You feelin' a little less cold?"
Clementine nods slowly.
He chuckles slightly.
"Good. Your colour is hopefully gonna come back soon…"
"It will once she gets warmer…" Jane sighs,
"For now, you should rest Clem."
Kenny nods, walking back over.
"Yeah Darlin'. You deserve some rest for what you tried to do."
Clementine looks up to see Kenny's warm smile, she smiles back and lays there until she slowly drifts off to sleep.
He takes the gun out of her pocket and keeps it beside him, so she doesn't get uncomfortable leaning on it or trigger it accidentally.
Lee keeps her safe in his arms, remembering back when he did this in the RV, in the train and now.
He's so glad she gets to be in his arms again…he didn't know whether he could function if he knew Clementine died without him being able to help her.

—

He stares at the fire, still with Clementine on his lap. Sarah has moved beside him, her head on his shoulder.
She has settled her breathing slightly.
She looks at Clementine.
"Is she going to be okay?" She utters.
Lee nods.
"Yeah, she just needed rest is all. Did you get a good sleep as well Sarah?"
She nods.
"I haven't had sleep like that in a while. It was nice not being woken up by a man with a gun."
Lee nods with a smile.
Mike Walks over to Arvo.
"Hey kid…lemme look at you" He Mumbles.
Arvo turns to him, as Mike crouches down to see his injuries sustained by Kenny.
"Jesus…he could've killed you…! The fuck is wrong with him…?"
"Hey Mike…sorry to interrupt but…please keep it down, Clem is still sleepin' " Lee nicely reminds him.
Mike nods.
"Sure, Sure…sorry Lee."
"Hope you're alright Arvo" Lee states, before looking back at Clementine.
Arvo looks away.

Clementine's eyes slightly open, she slightly groans.
Lee gently smiles.
"You're finally up, Sweet pea. You okay?"
She slowly gets up and lies on his other shoulder, Sarah gets off her side.
"Yeah…I think so."
"Good. Your colour is a lot better."
Sarah lifts herself up using both arms and the little long stool behind her, and grabs a can that is slightly open.
She sits back down and holds it out for Clementine.
"Here, you should eat something."
She slowly takes the can.
"Thank you Sarah."
Lee looks out of the door, watching the night go by.
"Things have been a mess…with the worry of you, Kenny's behaviour and…losin' Luke…today has…not had luck on our side."
Clementine lowers her head as she scoops out the beans in the can and smushes them into her mouth.
Jane walks in.
She smiles at her.
"You're awake. How you feeling?"
Clem nods.
"I'm okay."
"Good. Good…"
Jane lowers her head.
"I…I just can't believe he's gone…I, I've lost people before but…it's never felt this shitty in a long while…"
"He was a good guy, wanted to do what was right" Lee nods,
"And he cared for you too, Jane. He always has."
Jane buries her face into her hands, sighing.
"Godammit…"
She takes a moment.
"I shouldn't have come back. I knew this would happen. I knew it…"
"I'm glad you came back" Sarah interrupts her, making her slightly surprised that Sarah is the one to say it.
"We wouldn't have gotten far without you. Some of us might've been killed already."
She blinks at Sarah.
"Th…Thank you. That's…That's nice of you to say Sarah.."
"We're glad you came back Jane. We need you" Lee smiles.
Clementine nods.
Jane smiles at all of them, her spirits slightly lifted.
"I'll find somethin' to clean you up" Mike Mumbles, getting up and walking to another room, gripping his fists,
"I can't take this shit anymore…"

Kenny comes in, and smiles at seeing Clementine awake. He walks over and crouches down to her, patting her head.
"You alright Darlin'?"
Clementine nods.
"I'm okay now."
"Good, Good. We have to get movin' soon. Found a truck out back, this house ain't worth shit but…the vehicle could maybe work with the right push."
Lee slowly gets up.
"I can help you with it if you need me to Ken."
He nods with a smirk.
"You read my mind Lee. Glad we're on the same page. Meet you out back."
He then walks off.
Jane shakes her head and looks at AJ who is still sleeping soundly.
Her eyebrows arch, thinking.
Lee gives Clementine her Jacket, which has warmed up a lot more and isn't so wet anymore.
"There you go, nice and Cozy warm" Lee smiles,
"I'm gonna go help Kenny. You two stay here with Jane and keep an eye on AJ. Okay?"
They both nod.
"Good girls."

He walks out.

"I know she is runnin' her mouth. What did she say?" Kenny questions, as they walk to the truck.
Lee sighs.
"You shouldn't hit Arvo."
"I know…I know Lee but-"
"I don't care man. You shouldn't do it. It scared the kids, it scared all of us."
Kenny stutters.
"Lee…you know me. I'm not usually like this…"
Lee folds his arms, his nub just about reaching over his other arm.
"I promise…it won't happen again. You have my word."
Lee nods.
Kenny hands him the keys.
"AJ needs us now. Let's get this piece of junk started."
Lee opens up the truck door and sits inside, Kenny opens up the hood of the truck.
"My daddy always was fixin' half wrecks like this. He was a mean sonna bitch…but he taught me respect. Somethin' Jane should learn a thing or two about."
Lee sighs.
"I think Jane's alright. Give her some time."
Kenny tilts his head side to side.
"Fair enough. I mean, I didn't know what to think of you at first when I met you. And you've helped me and mine more times than I can count."
They smile at each other.

"Alright. Give it a turn."

He turns the key in the hole, the engine shuttering with its hush noise.
Nothing.
Kenny sighs.
"Alright. Back to work. Come on…"
He messes with it another moment.

"Try now."

Another turn of the key, the same hush noise.
And…Nothing again.

He deeply sighs.
"I need to get this workin'...AJ doesn't have time like this to be wastin'. If we wanna keep him alive, Wellington is our best shot."
Lee nods.
"If we can't find Wellington Kenny. Then…maybe we can travel somewhere else?"
"Like what? What do you have in mind?"
Lee looks around for a moment.
"I don't know…Someplace secluded for sure. A farm or somethin' like the one we first stayed in. That was pretty safe."
Kenny nods.
"Sounds pretty great. But…only if we can't find Wellington."
Lee nods in understanding.

"Okay…one more time Lee."

He turns the key…and nothing.
"Did you turn it?"
"Yeah."
"Godammit…think the battery might need warmin'. Shit…"
He slightly kicks the front of it in anger and paces.
"Well…Thanks for helpin' out Lee. Go and get some rest with the girls, check on AJ.
I don't trust him with Jane…I don't trust her at all."
Lee sighs and nods, patting him on the shoulder.
"See you later Kenny. When you get that thing workin' try not to yell at people for at least a fuckin' minute on where we go."
He sighs.
"...They're difficult people Lee. Your words are always useful in situations like these. I need you to be there by me all the way.
AJ has only got a day's worth of food left."
Lee lowers his head.
"Try and keep the group together, Kenny. Okay? We need to stick together. It's hard with no people there to have your back."
He silently nods, letting Lee walk away.

Lee walks inside past Bonnie, who is smoking a cigarette, looking out at the night and watching Kenny get angry at the truck.
Once inside, he sees the girls talking to each other with AJ still in the crate, but this time they are by the window.
"Hey girls" Lee waves.
They look over and wave.
"I think it might be time to get some sleep. Got a long road ahead of us tomorrow the way Kenny is takin' it."
"Okay" Sarah smiles, getting her crutches.
"I'll keep an eye on AJ. And Kenny."
Lee raises a brow to that, but doesn't question it.
Only in his mind.
Clem and Sarah walk by him and he leaves to the fireplace with them.
They lay down and try to get some sleep, finding it difficult because of Mike and Arvo making noise.

—

Lee opens his eyes, hearing a certain noise.
He can't quite distinguish it.
He slowly gets himself up and rubs his eyes, seeing the girls are still asleep.
He takes Clementine's gun just in case, and makes sure he has his screwdriver that Jane gave to him.
He slowly heads out to the back, the sound getting louder…it's almost like a thumping or a metal sort of sound.

He closes the door gently and looks over at the truck, the door is open.
He slowly walks down the steps, gripping Clementine's gun.
"Who's there?" Lee begins.
The one next to the door, grabs a gun also and points it at him.
They emerge from the dark shadows the moon cast on them, Mike and Arvo moving forward.
Arvo is holding the gun.
"L..Lee! Easy now.." He tries to soothe.
"We…We were just…Shit…"
"What are you doin' out here at night. It could be-"
"I got the rest of it" Bonnie whispers, walking to Mike and Arvo with the other bag Jane mentioned.
She gasps and backs up slightly, seeing Lee.
"L.Lee!"
He squints at them, trying to understand why they are doing this.
He looks at the bags.
"That is everything we have. And you're leavin' us?" He hisses,
"You're leavin' 2 children, a baby and the rest of us to die with nothin'?"
"We need to get away from Kenny…and keep it down would ya?"
"Please be quiet Lee…we don't mean to do this to ya but…Kenny is dangerous. We can't stay here."
Lee grips the gun slightly more.

They stare at him. He stares at them.

Mike heaves a sigh and puts the bag in his hand down on the floor.
"Alright. Gonna do this nice and slow, okay? I'm gonna take the gun nice and slow-"
"You ain't takin' shit. This is Clementine's gun-!"
"Calm down…Calm down Lee. You're a nice guy. We don't need anybody to get hurt here."
He shuffles slightly closer.
"Easy…"
"Back up" he sharply raises his voice,
"Why are you doin' this?"
"He didn't leave us any choice."
Arvo spits on the ground, glaring at him.
"Arvo. I trusted you man. I was on your side…"
He glares at him.
"Fuck you. For siding with madman.
He could've killed me."
Lee's face grows into a scowl.
"And I thought I could trust you 3."
"We're sorry Lee…" Bonnie sighs.
"Sorry ain't gonna cut it Bonnie" Lee glares at them,
"You're leavin' us with nothin'! If one of these kids die, their blood is ON YOUR HAN-"

Mike and Bonnie's eyes go wide, they turn to see Arvo giving a deadly stare to Lee.

Lee drops to his knees as he touches where the bullet hits his chest.

Bonnie rushes over to him.
"Lee! Oh my god Lee…I…I'm sorry I didn't mean for this to happen!"
"Bonnie, we need to go! We need to get out of here!" Mike snaps.
"Don't you touch me!"
She looks back at Lee concerned.

Lee's vision goes blurry.

All he hears is muffled apologies from Bonnie and Mike.
He hears the door of the house slightly open.

"L.Lee? LEE HEY! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!
…
WHAT DID YOU DO?!!?
Lee…LEE!!!"

Chapter Text

His eyelids are heavy.
Everything is heavy.

He felt like he was floating in the middle of the ocean.
Cruising peacefully across the waves that carry him to a safer shore.

Slowly, it drifts away from him, his vision coming back to him.

"Go left!" Jane instructs,
"Jesus…slow down-"
"Shut. Up" Kenny sharply says back.
"Does everyone need to be shouting?" Sarah mutters.
"Sorry Sarah."

Lee is lying his head on Clementine's lap, like Lee has let Clem do many times with him before.
It felt weird for him to do it reverse role.
He slowly gets up, the sting from the bullet hole hitting as he does.
"Y.You're awake!" Clem sighs in relief.
She hugs him gently.
"Lee!"
"Lee, oh thank god."
"You passed out from the shock," Jane explains.
"Where are we?" He utters.
"In the truck. Drivin' for a few hours now" Kenny grins.
"We had to run the truck to keep you warm. Got a little help from these 2 as well" Jane smirks, as Lee gets circled by hugs from Sarah and Clementine,
"How do you feel?"

He grips at the blooded bullet hole.
"It kills…"
"We couldn't find the bullet. Must've gone clean through."
"Those sons of bitches…I mean I expected it from the Russian…but Mike?" Kenny goes on, clearly pissed.
Lee shakes his head.
"I…Never expected it from them. Can't believe they'd do this."
"Damn right. I mean, Takin' all our shit and then shootin' the man that's been savin' their asses? We shouldn't have went with trash like that in the first place…"
"I think they didn't know what they were doing. Except trying to get away…I wonder why…" she mumbles to herself.
Kenny glares at her.
"Good fuckin' riddance they're gone."

They take a moment of silence.

"Alright. Now that Lee's awake…where are we going?"
"We're heading north."
"What? To find Wellington?"
"You sure talk a lotta shit, you got a better plan?" Kenny snaps.
"Yeah. Go back south to Howe's" Jane replies back.
"Carver's camp?! Fuck that."
"It has baby formula, and food and water, good defences-"
"And is ransacked with a herd."
"The herd would've moved on."
"Like hell it would've. We're not goin' back."
"Even if Wellington is out there, it'll take us WEEKS to find it. We can get back to Howe's ina day-"
"Just shut the fuck up…both for you…my head is achin'..." Lee shakes his head with a sigh.
Clementine nods.
"Arguing isn't solving anything!-"
"It's not my fault that Kenny is being an asshole!" Jane frowns.
"Real fuckin' classy of ya Jane.
We can turn around once you pry this wheel from my cold dead hands…how does that sound?"
"Whatever."
She looks away.
Kenny growls.
"Clem and Sarah are fuckin' more mature than you. Grow the fuck up."
"Go to hell."
"I will pull Over this damn car-"
"Go ahead."
"You wanna die out here?"
"Better than waiting to die next to you."
"Stop it!" Sarah pleads.
"Stop fighting!!" Clementine raises her voice.

…

"Pull over…I can't take this" Jane grits her teeth.
Kenny keeps going.
"Runnin' away again? What a fuckin' shocker! Only carin' about yourself. Am I wrong? You never have cared about anyone or anythin' but yourself."
"I'm sick of this…what is it with you?
Oh right, it's your family isn't it?" Jane raises her voice.
Kenny grips the steering wheel.
"Don't…"
"Isn't it?"
"I'm warnin' you you little shit…"
"Jane…this is dangerous territory-" Lee utters.
"You mouth off about my family, I will FUCKIN' END YOU. YOU HEAR ME?!"
She Scoffs.
"This wounded warrior crap…where were you when Sarita got bit Kenny?"

Kenny goes quiet.

A little tear takes form in his eye.

Clementine, Sarah nor Lee knew how to react.

"I was there…she wasn't covered enough I- argh Goddammit I loved that Woman!!" He snaps.

"You know what Kenny?" Jane starts.

"Please stop-"
"Jane…" "Both of you…!"

"You are just a bomb waiting to go off. Everyone talks about you behind your back because they are afraid of you!"

"That ain't true!"

"Mike, Bonnie, Sarita, Everyone!"

"For God sake that AIN'T TRUE!!"

"Everyone knows that sooner or later, they're gonna end up dead if they stay with you. Sarita knew it, I knew it, and so does Lee, Sarah and Clementine!!"

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO TALK ABOUT MY FAMILY YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!"

"WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? KILL ME IN FRONT OF THE KIDS?!?!"

AJ is balling his eyes out, Sarah is starting to sob as well and Lee and Clementine sit there, feeling helpless.
Jane starts rocking AJ up and down trying to calm him whilst glaring deadly daggers into Kenny.
Kenny grits his teeth.

"I wish I fuckin' could- OH SHIT!!!"

Kenny swerves the truck, somehow doing a full 360 as he stops the truck and shows a bunch of abandoned cars blocking the way.
They all breathe heavily.

"The girls alright?"
Lee nods and looks at Sarah and Clementine.
"Yeah they're fine."
"You fine Lee?"
"I'm fine."
"AJ fine?"
"Yes."
Kenny glares at Jane before looking at the cars.
Jane sighs.
"Go around."
"One of them might have diesel. We're runnin' on fumes as is. We won't make it much further."
Lee nods.
"Do what you have to Kenny. We'll wait here."
"Thanks Lee. If anythin' happens, meet there at that sign okay?" He points to a blue sign mostly covered by snow.
They nod in agreement.
He shuts the door and walks off, the frosty thickness of the air shadowing him and making him disappear.
Lee staggers into the front seat and waits for Kenny's signal.
Jane side eyes Lee.

"I can't understand him Lee…how on earth have you and Clem stuck around with him for so long?? He's just so…Argh…"
"Because you keep makin' it worse. Just shut the fuck up Jane."
She glares at him.
"I can't take this bullshit from you people…you're just blinded by your history together…I don't get how you can't see he is a DANGER to these kids!! To Sarah, To Clem, To AJ!
Have you ever wanted to live your own life?"
Lee sighs.
"We are."
"We could leave. Right now."
"No."
"Think about it Lee-"
"I am NOT leavin' Kenny.
WE are not leavin' Kenny!-"
"You're just like him-"
"And that's a bad thing??"
She goes silent.

Slowly, walkers come into view, stumbling.
Sarah looks at them with worry.
"It's snowing…why are they moving?"
"They must not be cold enough yet…" Lee mumbles.
Jane turns the key and pushes down the gear.
"We need to go now."
"But Kenny's signal-"
"NOW. LEE."
He presses down on the pedal and it takes a moment for the truck to start up again, the wheel's movement slightly faltering from the cold.
The hood smacks into a bunch of walkers, and then another group of 3 making Lee not able to see a thing.
He swerves, as he can't keep the wheel straight.
"OH SHIT…HOLD TIGHT!!" He yells, bracing for impact.

The truck slams into a pole, they hear growling all around them.
Jane swiftly checks on AJ, luckily he's alright, and Sarah and Clem quickly scramble out, Sarah grabbing her crutches from the truck floor space.
Jane also gets out and Lee scrambles out as well after her.
He stabs a Walker close to Jane and Sarah shoves one to the ground with her crutches.
Jane rushes off.
"Hurry!"
"Jane, wait a damn minute!!" Lee yells,
"JANE!!"
Clem gets nabbed by a walker caught under the truck's wheels.
She shoots it and Lee helps her up, slightly hindered by the bullet hole in his chest.
He gathers the girls to his side and takes in a deep breath.
"We need to find Jane and Kenny.
Then we are gettin' out of here. Together."
They nod.

Slowly they ponder, the icy wasteland nothing but looking like the same thing no matter where they go.
The thickness of the mist grows, Sarah not really being able to see anything from her glasses soaking it in.
Clementine makes sure to shoot any outline she recognises as a walker.
Lee coups them up together, making sure he does not lose sight of them.
That's the last thing he wants at this moment.

This drags on, longer than Lee would've preferred.

Finally.

A space they can see.
From what Lee could tell, it looks like a small, off the road restaurant kind of place.
The benches outside and the overhead wooden ceilings over them give him that indicator.

They go inside, Lee letting in Sarah and Clementine before he goes in himself.
"Jane?" Clementine calls out.
Sarah gasps.
"Kenny!"
"You guys!" He sighs in relief rushing over.
"You all right?"
Lee nods.
"We're fine. We lost Jane in the mist."
"Wh..Where's AJ?!"
"He's with-"
"YOU LEFT HIM WITH HER?!"
"We didn't have the time to get him off her, she rushed off!" Lee shouts back.
Kenny starts pacing.
"Shit…Shit Shit this ain't good."

"Hey! Look!" Sarah points.
They run over to the other side, to see Jane's leather coat in the distance, Jane walking up to the doors.
"Oh thank god…" Kenny sighs, rushing over.
He lets Jane in.
She is frowning and couping up her arms.
"Well, Where is he?!" Kenny questions.
…
"Where is he?" Lee questions again.
She lowers her head.
Crying a slight tear.
"H…He's…"
She stops herself.
Kenny starts breathing.
"N.No…NO."
Kenny rushes out of the building.
Lee hugs Sarah who is balling her eyes out again.
Clementine also starts crying as well, Jane takes her shoulders.
"How could you let this happen?" She sobs.
Jane sighs.
"Look. I want all of you to stay out of whatever happens, okay?"
Lee looks up at her.
"Stay out of what?!" Clementine presses through her sob.
"You're gonna see what he really is."

Lee scrunches his face in confusion, as Kenny marches back in fists clenched way more than Lee has seen before.
His growl as vicious as a wolf.
"How could you kill A FUCKIN CHILD?!" He hisses, shoving Jane away.
"I..I didn't kill him Kenny-!"
"BULLSHIT!!"
Kenny picks her up and slams her against the door's glass, it shattering but not breaking.
"YOU TWO!!"
"S..Stop Fighting please…" Sarah sobs.
Jane punches him in the face and tackles him to the ground.
Lee grips Jane's arm to get her off, but gets elbowed away.
They punch and shove each other and slowly make it outside.
Lee gets up and gets in-between them.
"You two…stand the fuck down."
"That ain't happenin' Lee. Get out of the way."
Kenny shoves him to the side, him hitting the ground and his bullet hole starting to bleed again. The pain starts to sting, as he sees Clementine try and stop them too.
Sarah is still inside, he can still hear her sobbing.

Jane tries to slash him with her knife, but Kenny grabs her and throws her into a sign, making both of them stumble and fall on the floor.
"I'm gonna end you, you piece of shit-!"
He goes to reach for her knife, but she sits herself on top of him and digs her fingers into his eye, his blood curdling scream echoes throughout the mist as they hear the blood squishing from his eye.

Clementine pulls Jane away, making her stop.

Kenny grabs the closest object and stabs it into Jane's leg, it being a piece of rusty metal.
She flinches and seethes the pain through her teeth.

Jane shoves Clementine away, making her trip and fall.

Finally Kenny grabs the knife of Jane's and presses her down onto the snowed ground.
He tries pressing the knife down into her chest, but she is struggling against it.
"Fuckin' baby killer…" Kenny growls.
As they struggle, Clementine reaches for her gun.

Lee watches as he can't even get himself up off the ground.

She trembles holding the trigger and pointing it at Kenny.
"Cl..Clementine…h.help…" Jane stutters.

Clementine puts the gun down and looks away.
Lee sighs and nods.
"...Th…That's my girl….C.Clementine…"
Kenny shoves down the knife into Jane's chest, her one last grunt of struggling comes to a short end.
And Kenny's heavy breathing ends it all.

Lee and Clementine slowly get up and Sarah slowly goes outside and flinches at seeing Jane dead.
Kenny holds his hand over his eye that is now replaced with nothing but blood.
"She….She killed Him…how could she do that?" He utters.
"It…It's over now…" Lee sighs,
"Like it or not."

Clementine's eyes slightly light up and she sporadically looks around.
"...A…AJ?" She utters.
They all look at her, and swiftly jog to her.
"Is…Is he..??" Lee stutters.
They all swiftly jogged together, Sarah falling a little bit behind. Kenny stays with her, as Lee and Clementine go towards the sounds of what seems to be AJ's crying.

They stumble upon a car nearby, and lean to the window, spotting AJ still wrapped in his linen.
Lying there crying to himself.
"Holt shit…" Lee stutters.
Clementine immediately opens the car door and holds him tight.
"AJ…you're alive. Thank god…Thank god…" She smiles.
"He's alive!!" Lee calls back.
Kenny and Sarah quicken their pace.
"What?!"
"Lemme see him!"
Kenny takes AJ out of Clem's caring grip and gently hugs him.
"Hey there…Hey there lil' guy…it's okay, you're safe now" He gently soothes.
He frowns, lowering his head.
"Why did she…why did she lie to us?" He utters.
"You didn't have to kill Jane then…" Lee mumbles, shaking his head,
"AJ is alive. But now Jane's dead."
"It was me or her Lee…she was trynna kill me as well. If she hadn't of lied to all of us…none of this would've happened."
Lee nods.
"I'm glad you're here Kenny. And I'm glad you're alive buddy" he smiles at AJ.
"Th…Then why…" Sarah sobs,
"Why did she do it??"
"She was doing it for her own selfish reasons Darlin' " Kenny looks to her,
"But we're alright now. I was protecting you.
I was protectin' all of us.
You know I'd never hurt you guys."

They nod.
Kenny brings them in for a group hug, they all close their eyes and take it in.
The amount of pain they have been through together.
Their warmth colliding with each other, the slight hint of cold breeze breaking it but not strong enough to faze them.

Eventually they let go.

"Come on, Let's go. We need to get far away from here."
They nod.
"Lead the way Kenny" Lee smiles.

They all walk away, together.

—9 days Later—

All of them continue walking, Sarah slightly struggling.
"Here, gimme the crutches and get on my back" he grins.
Sarah blinks.
"Really? Is…Is it safe?"
Kenny nods.
"Don't worry, I'll hold you tight."
He lifts her up and she wraps her arms around his Neck. He carries her crutches.
Meanwhile, Lee holds AJ nice and gently, Clementine walking alongside him.
"We're nearly there. Don't worry" Lee calls to them.
Kenny chuckles.
"Let's hope that's a hot meal Cookin' " he sighs looking at the smoke at the end of the hill,
"I could really use a hot meal right now…"
He then looks at them and grins playfully.
"Heh, I'll race you to the top!"
"We'll be there first!" Lee grins, all of them starting to run up the hill with quick speed, Lee making sure he doesn't drop AJ.
Lee and Kenny make it to the top at the same time, Sarah giggling and taking in the breeze as Kenny ran.
Clementine makes it a second after.
"Yeah! Team Kenny and Sarah won!" He rejoices,
Lee Scoffs and Shakes his head.
"Oh no you didn't. Team L.A.C definitely won that."
"The fuck kind of name is that?"
"A cool one."
"Oh Lee" Kenny sighs with a smile, taking in the moment of happiness.
They look over to see a massive metal wall.
Their eyes widen.
"Holy…it- it's real. It's…It's real!" He utters.
"What are we waitin' for? Let's go!" Lee chuckles.
"Sir Kenny, away!" Sarah shouts happily.
Kenny jogs with Sarah around like an aeroplane as Lee and Clementine jog over to the wall before them.
They all stand there, waiting.

A shot rings out at them, making Sarah scream.
"Drop your weapons."
Lee sighs and drops his screwdriver, Clementine drops her gun.
Sarah still keeps her pocket knife and gun, not being able to reach them properly.
Kenny doesn't get rid of his either.
A woman walks up just above the gate with a radio in her hands.
She looks friendly.

"Hi. I'm Edith" she begins with a smile.
"I'm Kenny. This here's Lee and Clementine.
And this is Sarah."
"Nice to meet you."
She looks at AJ.
"Aww, look at him. What's his name?"
"Alvin. Junior."
She chuckles
"He's gonna be a heartbreaker when he grows up."
"This is Wellington. Right?" Lee questions.
She nods.
"Some people call it that."
"Well…what do we do to get in?"
She sighs.
"This is the part where I tell you the bad news…"
"Wh..What?" Kenny utters.

"We aren't accepting new members. We're over capacity as it is and we're not gonna last with any more. B.But things may change in a few-"

"You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me!" Kenny shakes his head.
"I'm sorry" Edith lowers her head, dropping a bag of supplies in front of the gate.
"If it were up to me I'd take the whole lot of you in but-"
"JUST TAKE THE KIDS!!" Kenny yells.
Lee looks at him.
"K.Kenny?"
"It's too dangerous out here for 'em. They need to be safe…safe in there" he sadly lowers his head,
"They won't make it out here. Take the supplies back if you have to…please!"

Edith is nearly brought to tears by the sound of his voice all choked up, Lee, Sarah and Clementine are staring at him sadly.
He still has Sarah on his back.
"I'll…I'll go ask" Edith nods,
She walks away for a moment.

"Kenny? What are you…?"
"You'll be safe here kids. That's what's important."
Lee nods.
"Kenny's right. We don't know if we can take care of you for much long on how we're goin'...Wellington will be a fresh start. For the 3 of you" Lee explains,
"If we can't be safe then we need you to be."
Clementine shakes her head.
"NO."
They look at her with wide eyes.
"We are not going in there without you two!"
Sarah nods.
"Yeah. We're not going if you two are not going with us!!" She adds firmly.
Lee and Kenny look at each other.

Edith comes back.
"We can take the children. But…just the children."
Kenny sighs in relief.
"Thank you, Thank you!!"
"Thank you very much Edith," Lee smiles.
Kenny gets Sarah off his back and hands her back her crutches.
"Listen Sweet Pea, Kiddo.
This is a chance of a new life for you 3. A new chance to have a good life in a safe place" Lee explains with a sad smile,
"Me and Kenny can't give you that with what little we have…"
Sarah shakes her head and latches onto Kenny, dropping her crutches.
"No, No, no!! Why are you doing this?" She sobs,
"We can't survive without you!"
"She's right…" Clementine chokes,
"We're not leaving without you."
"Think about AJ…" Kenny Mumbles,
"Please do what we ask…one final time. Please."

Clementine shakes her head.
"No. We are leaving. We are ALL leaving!" She presses.
Edith sniffles.
"Soun..Sounds like she means it."
Lee shakes his head.
"...I …I knew you wouldn't wanna do this Clem. But you have to. For the baby's sake."
"Lee…let's…let's go…" Kenny utters,
"They made up their minds…"
He looks up to Edith.
"Sorry to waste your time."
"You didn't…" she states, whilst dropping another bag down.
"Here. Another one for the road. Okay?
Be safe out there. Maybe come back again in a few months."
Lee nods as Kenny grabs both bags and Sarah grabs her crutches again.
"Thank you. Very much" Lee nods.
Kenny smiles and thanks her too.

They all slowly walk off in the distance, Edith watching after them.
The snow stops falling, and the sun slightly shines, as they walk over the hill and into another day.

Chapter Text

They bunker down for the night, lucky enough to find an in-tact tent and a fire pit.
Lee grins as Sarah gets helped to sit down, putting her crutches to the side.
They all breathe as Kenny sets AJ down.
He giggles with a goofy grin.

"I'm gonna go get some wood, you guys stay here" he smiles,
"We got just about enough for a few more days if we'd like to stay here."
Lee looks at Sarah and Clementine.
Sarah smiles.
"Whatever you wanna do. I'll be okay with it."
"Clementine?" Lee looks at her.
She looks at AJ.
"Maybe another day or two. Never can be too sure if this place is safe or not."
Kenny and Lee nod.
"Alright then. Get comfy."

Kenny walks away into the trees, and Lee sits beside Sarah, putting his bag down.
"How's that leg feelin'?" Lee questions.
Sarah feels it with her hand where the old scuffed up banadages lay, still remembering back when Lee first put them on her.
"It feels okay. It stopped hurting a while ago. Might leave it a week or two more. Just in case" she smiles.
Lee chuckles slightly.
"I'm proud of you kiddo."
Sarah looked at him, brow raised.
"For what?"
"For pullin' through. With all you've been through this whole time, and nobody believin' you can make it this far…you've really shown that you can handle yourself and you're proud to survive."
Sarah beams and giggles.
"Thanks Lee."
He gets on his knees and looks at the fire pit.
There's only a few small twigs in the centre.
The night dawns on them quickly.
"Sarah, hand me my lighter please."
She quickly does so.
He then strikes it up and sets alight what is in the fire pit, it burning with slight dwindles of flames.
AJ claps his hands at seeing it, the flames sparkling in his eyes.

Clementine hoists up AJ onto her lap.
"You like it AJ? That is fire. It keeps you warm when you're cold. Don't touch it though, it'll burn your little fingers" she chuckles.
Lee and Sarah smile at the sight of Clementine as she talks away at AJ.
"Hey AJ, wanna see something cool?"
She sets AJ down beside her so the log she is sitting on rests behind him.
She then uses the fire to make shadows with her hands.
Sarah gasps.
"Oh my god! I've seen people do this before! I've never been able to do it myself though."
Clementine chuckles.
"It's a butterfly!" She beams, flapping the butterfly shadow's wings making great amusement with both AJ and Sarah.
Clementine thinks.
"Hmmm…what to do next…"
"Can I do a request?" Lee holds up his hand,
Clementine looks at him with a gentle smile.
"Sure."
"How about a dog? Bet that one's hard!"
Clementine chuckles.
"You underestimate me" she teases, looking back at AJ.
She then makes a silhouette that strikes a familial resemblance to a dog, which slightly surprises Lee.
AJ claps his hands.
"A dog! Bark, Bark!" Clementine giggles.
Sarah claps slightly too, Lee chuckles at the happy sight.

"That's a pretty good dog Clem" Kenny states, they turn to look at him to see he has quite a few logs.
He puts them down next to the fire and messes with his bandage eyepatch over his empty socket.
"I used to do that one for Duck. He'd laugh his ass off every time" he smiles tenderly.
"I bet he did. Everythin' amused that little boy of yours" Lee chuckles.
Kenny looks at Lee with a chuckle.
"Yeah. Everythin' really did."
"What was he like? Duck" Sarah questions.
Kenny nervously chuckles.
"He loved runnin'. He used to draw a whole lot too. Didn't see him much before the walkers came but…yeah" Kenny slightly lowers his head.
"Kenny always described him as, and I quote "As Dumb as a Bag of Hammers."
"Lee…I was only usin' the phrase to say that…he ain't the brightest lightbulb out there" He shakes his head with a grin.
"Well he sounds like a nice boy," she gently smiles.

The fire goes out, Kenny turns to it and sighs.
"Ah shit…Lee. Lighter."
He nods and sets it alight again, putting it just underneath the logs that Kenny swiftly sets up.
After a moment or 2, the fire starts up again.
Slowly, but surely.
AJ starts quietly crying.
"It's okay AJ, it's okay…" Clementine holds him, turning around to face the fire.

He continues to cry.

"Clem! Behind you!!" Sarah shouts.
Kenny and Lee sharply turn.
Clementine gasps seeing 2 walkers stumbling very close to her, she ducks and dodges the first one, it tripping over the log and she takes a stone into one hand, holding AJ in another, and smacks the second walker, beating it until it is dead.
She drops the stone and huddles AJ close, checking for bite marks.
"You're okay goofball…you're okay…"
Lee grabs his screwdriver and stabs the walker in the head as it stays down.
He stabs again, just in case and stabs the second as well in precaution.

They all breathe.

"Is AJ okay?!" Kenny panics.
Clementine nods.
"Yeah. He's okay."

They all take a moment, Clementine sitting down next to Sarah with AJ and Sarah takes over holding him, Cradling him and patting him on the back gently.
"It's okay little guy…it's okay…"
Kenny chuckles and sits down next to Lee.
Lee wraps his arm around Clementine and huddles her close.

"Man…seeing us all here…
makes me feel like part of a family again.
Seeing you girls holdin' AJ…his mama is somewhere up there, lookin' down on you. Grateful for what you're doin'."
They both smile.
"You've done just as much for AJ as we have Kenny" Clementine explains,
"Rebecca will be grateful for you too."
"Hey, what about me?" Lee perks up.
Clementine, Sarah and Kenny chuckle.
"You've been a great daddy for Clementine and Sarah, Lee. You've probably been the least experienced with AJ out of the 4 of us currently. That ain't a bad thing.
You'll get your time soon enough, big guy" he grins.
Lee folds his arms and shakes his head.
Kenny looks at Clementine.
"Also, Clem, you and Sarah are the only mamas he has now:
Strong, lovin', carin', protective, all those qualities a good parent needs to have and be, and you two are perfect. Even at your age!"
They both look at each other with a smile and Sarah boops AJ's nose and cuddles him.
"We'd do anything for this little guy" Sarah smiles,
"I always feel like more of a sister than a mother though…I'm sure Clem fits that role more than me. I couldn't even take care of myself before I met her" Sarah explains, staring off into AJ's eyes.
"Parenthood is one hell of a motivator though heh…that one's for sure.
That kinda love…" he trails off.
"It brings out the best in us" Clementine nods, Kenny and Lee look at her,
"I…I always felt it when I was with Lee when we first started…and now, all of you."
They all share a feeling of warmth.
"You're a good man Lee. Sometimes I wish that back then I treated you just a little bit better.
I know that now."
Kenny looks into the fire.
"I hope I'm not makin' the same mistakes now with that."
Lee pat's his back.
"We all make mistakes Kenny. But you're gettin' better."
Kenny chuckles.
"Always honest sonna bitch."

Kenny stretches out his arms as AJ coughs.
Sarah sets him down next to her as she looks at him with worry.
Kenny pat's his head gently.
"AJ's as sick of this cold as I am."
They all nod collectively.
Kenny sits back down next to AJ.
"I don't think it's a good idea to wait around for Wellington anymore…" he states,
"No use survivin' out here just for a small chance that they'll have room to let us in."
"What's your idea then Kenny?" Lee questions.
Kenny stares at the fire again for a minute or two.
The others waiting expectantly.
"I say we maybe get outta the cold and…maybe we'll find some good people in Florida" he brings up,
"Maybe even a little friend for this goofball! Wouldn't that be nice?"
They look at AJ as he messes with his shoes happily.
They chuckle.
"Yeah. That would be nice" Sarah smiles.
"The kid would probably love interacting with others his own age," Lee grins.
Kenny sighs with a smile.
"We could really use the company.
Hell…I know I could" he chuckles.
"Yeah. We've been together for quite a while…" Clementine Mumbles,
"Maybe it's time for something a bit different."
"That's the spirit, Sweet Pea."
Kenny folds his arms.
"I remember when you and Duck used to colour together back at the motel, you remember that too Lee?"
Lee nods.
"Helped each other forget about all this. Even for a moment. I'm sure he helped you too."
Clementine silently nods.
Kenny lowers his head and stares into the fire.

"Sarita always said…Family is what you make it. She's right."
He chuckles slightly.
"Sorry for the sappy shit heh. Guess I'm just…happy. First time in a while-"
He flinches back a little, Sarah wrapping her arms around him.
Clementine and Lee get up and join in, also wrapping their arms around him. Sarah snatches up AJ as well to join in the hug.
Kenny gently chuckles and closes his eye.

Taking it in.

They break out of it and Kenny picks up AJ, putting him back next to the tent where Clementine did the shadows.
Kenny sits down next to him.
"Hmmm…how about this one little man?" He smiles,
Making a sort of torch shape with his hands.
They all chuckle, along with AJ.
"As long as we have each other, we'll be alright" Lee nods.
The girls nod as well.

—Unknown amount of time—

The car eases along the road as Kenny takes the wheel.
Lee, Sarah and AJ are sat in the back and Clementine is sat in the front, watching Kenny drive.
Kenny is smiling.
"Ain't it nice to finally be on the road again?"
Sarah nods.
"I never usually travelled in a car.
Especially now…but never before the walkers" Sarah explains, looking out the window.
"Your dad really had you inside didn't he?" Lee slightly smiles.
She nods.
"Yeah…I'm sure he was just too scared to let me go…"
He nods in agreement.
"I'm sure Duck felt the same with me bein' all over him" Kenny chuckles,
"Never really gave him the space to run around like he did."
"I still miss him sometimes…I wonder what he would be like if he was still here" Clementine states, whilst staring out at the trees.
Kenny thinks.
"Maybe…Maybe he'd be like his ol' man. A fighter for sure. Maybe a bit like Sarah when she first started but, he would've been taught right at the right time."
She nods.
"Yeah. And…maybe he'd become a master artist too" she giggles.
"I loved his drawings. My boy, always so talented."
"He drew stick figures like the Mona Lisa-"
"Either way, Lee, he tried his best, and he put all his love into those drawings."
Lee chuckles.

Kenny slowly stops the car.

"Why are we stoppin'? Spotted somethin'?" Lee questions.
Kenny shakes his head and turns around to face Lee.
"I think it's time Clem learned to drive. She might need it later, ya never know" he grins.
Lee's eyes widen.
"A.Are you sure? What about Sarah? She's older."
Kenny eyes him.
"Lee. The fracture JUST healed.
Don't think its a good idea to let her try when it could reverse the healin'."
"Oh…Oh yeah."
"Whaddya say Darlin'? Worth a shot?" Kenny expectantly grins at her.
She sighs and nods.
"Okay. I hope I don't crash it…"
"Don't say that Darlin' you'll be fine."
"Yeah Sweet Pea, you'll do great" Lee adds.
Sarah nods.
Kenny and Clementine switch seats.
"Okay. First, turn the key in the ignition. Step one of knowing how to drive anythin'."
She turns the key and the engine hums.
"Good. Good. See that pedal there? Gently press it down to start movin'."
She does that and the car slowly starts to move.
"That other pedal is to stop. And this is for the gears, we'll get onto that a bit later down the road."
She nods.
Lee can see her shaking, but at least she is trying.

They continue down the road, a good 15 minutes of Clementine driving at a decent pace, all the while with Kenny explaining how to do it and how she is currently doing.
Eventually she gets into first gear.

"Good. Gettin' into first gear is the hardest part" he grins,
"Now just stay on the road, eyes focused on it. Most important rule there is."
"I think she knows now Kenny" Lee chuckles.
"She needs to know everythin' Lee" Kenny shakes his head,
"Now let's try shiftin' into second."
She grabs the gear and stiffly changes to second gear. It slightly jolts the car but keeps on the road.
Kenny nods slowly in approval.
"Not bad at all. Especially for a first time. Maybe just ease on the clutch a little smoother-"
"I think that was alright the way you did it Sweet Pea. This old man is just being stingy-"
"Oh shut up Lee" Kenny chuckles.
"I…I wanna try again" Clementine states, gripping the wheel,
"That wasn't as good as I wanted it to be."
"Well, we can try in a minute. Just be gentle with it next time."
Kenny looks at Clementine's very concentrated face.
Hardened like stone.
"When we get down to Florida, ima make a sailor outta you, Sarah" he looks in the rear view mirror. It makes her slightly jump.
"M.Me?"
"Yeah. Bet you'd like to maybe learn somethin' too, right? Somethin' a bit more your style."
Sarah nods with a grin.
"Yeah!"
"Same with this goofball too. Just like his old man was."
…
Kenny sighs and looks at the road.
"I just…Can't get him to talk. It's unusual for his age" he Mumbles.
Sarah holds AJ and starts playing with him, pointing out at the window and saying words to him.
Lee watches and folds his nub over his arm.
"Yeah…maybe it's just not the time for him yet. Plus, it's cold as shit in here…"
"It's not our fault the heaters broken.." Clementine stubbornly replies.
"I know Clem, I know.."
Kenny relaxes with a sigh.
"When we get down to Florida, we can put all this snow behind us and look forward to a lot more sun! Gonna need to find me some shorts!" He chuckles.
Lee nods.
"Haven't seen the sun in a little while. Would be nice for the kids at least to not be covered in jackets" Lee looks at AJ.
Sarah nods with a gleam in her glasses.
"Ohhh, wouldn't that be amazing AJ? Seeing the sun and feeling the warmth again?" She closes her eyes, imagining just what it would be like.
"It would be nice right now. It's freezing outside" Clementine grumbles.
Lee sighs.
"Ease down a bit Clem. You've grown up too fast but…when we're there you can experience a more relaxed life if we can help it" Lee explains,
"Don't be so hard on yourself."
"We can teach AJ to swim, how to fish, watch the sunrise every mornin' all 5 of us!" Kenny closes his eye, dreaming of it.
Sarah nods excitedly.
"Oh I just want it now Kenny!" She giggles.
Kenny laughs.
"Okay Darlin' alright, we ain't gonna make it to Florida goin' 25 miles an hour, how about we try you at third gear?" He looks to Clementine.
She nods.
And shifts up to third gear a lot smoother than when she shifted into second.
He grins.
"Good job Clem!"
She beams.
"We're proud of you Sweet pea" Lee grins.
"Well I have a great teacher. I'm happy you wanted to teach me Kenny" Clementine expresses.
Kenny warmly smiles.
"I wanted to teach Duck to drive but…you're the next best person I could ask for."
Sarah stops looking out the window and looks around for AJ's blanket.
She scrunches her face.
"Hey, Lee, have you seen AJ's Blanket anywhere?" She questions.
Lee sighs.
"I…I don't know. Might be here somewhere. He doesn't make a peep who knows where it could be" he Mumbles.
Kenny folds his arms.
"Duck never went a mile without makin' a sound."
"I know damn well what that was like" Lee shakes his head.
"There's nothing wrong with AJ" Clementine lowers her head,
"He'll talk when he's ready."
"Hey Hey Hey! Easy Clem, shift back to second!" Kenny interrupts.
She sweetly does but it doesn't stop the car swerving slightly.
Sarah latches on to AJ and rocks him slowly.
Kenny takes the wheel and turns it to the right to make them swerve smoothly.

They stop.
And breathe.

"Jesus…"
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" Clem breathes,
"I don't know what I did-"
"It's alright Clem. This is why you're practicin'. You're learnin'. By the time we get to Florida, you're gonna be better than me" Kenny smiles.
Lee nods.
"Don't be hard on yourself Clem" Lee repeats himself.
Clem sighs.
"Okay…"
They hear slight groans heading towards the car.
"Oh shit…lemme take the wheel a minute Clem" Kenny states.
She nods and they awkwardly switch seats, Kenny starts up the car again and gets them back on track, leaving the few walkers trailing behind them.
He keeps going till he thinks they are safe.
"Alright, let's try this again" He looks to Clementine.
She lowers her head slightly.
"O…Okay. Okay."
"You don't have to if you don't want to-"
"I want to" she interrupts,
"I just wanna get it right."
She switches seats with Kenny again and they start all over again.
"When you start losin' control of the car Clem, you swerve the wheel to the right always. So then the car will stop."
She nods.
She shifts into third gear again. Kenny nods.
"Is AJ alright back there?" Kenny looks in the rear mirror.
Sarah nods.
"Yeah he's fine, just slightly sad he can't find his blanket…"
They continue to search for it in the back end of the car: under the seats, under their own seats, in the back where they can just about see in the boot, everything!
Lee gasps slightly.
"I think I've found it" Lee says, picking up a small slightly dirtied up blanket, cyan blue and in some corners, tattered.
He hands it to AJ.
"There you go buddy…your blanket is now back" he chuckles slightly.
AJ claps his hands and puts the blanket in his mouth. Sarah giggles.
"You silly Goofball the blanket doesn't go in your mouth!"
"I wouldn't be surprised if his first words were "blanket" and "mouth"."
Sarah and Kenny shake their heads.

They continue for another few minutes, until Clementine starts to swerve again.
"Ah fuck…!" Clementine panics.
"Turn the wheel- Turn the WHEEL!!" Kenny raises his voice, reaching for the wheel himself.
They hit into a walker on the road and it swerves them off the road completely.

They crash into a pole, making the hood curve around it, bashing up the engine inside.

They hear glass shatter as it knocks the lights out of Lee's eyes for a moment.

But just for a moment.

Lee flickers open his eyes, and then quickly jerks up, his head pounding, but he doesn't care.
"S.SARAH, CLEM, Are you okay?!" He quickly questions.
They both groan and lift up their heads.
"Y.Yeah I'm fine" Clementine nods, she then looks to Sarah.
"Sarah?" Lee shakes her shoulder.
She perks up and shakes her head slightly, then looks down.
"I'm fine, AJ is as well. Just hit my head a bit."
"Okay…Kenny?" Lee looks to his seat.
Clementine's face is scared.
"Clem…where is he?" Lee utters.
"He's…He's…no" she stutters, quickly scrambling out of the car on Kenny's side.
Lee quickly follows along with Sarah holding AJ tightly.
They get a hold of their weapons, Sarah leaves her crutches where they are on the car floor.

They rush to where they see Kenny lying on the floor, not moving.
"KENNY!!" They all shout, Lee shakes him as Clementine tries to start helping him up already.
"Is he okay?!" Sarah panics.
AJ starts crying, she occupies herself trying to comfort him whilst also worrying for Kenny.
Kenny groans, giving Clem and Lee a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank god, we thought you were dead!" Clementine hugs him tightly.
"I'm fine, I'm fine…" he Mumbles,
"Is AJ okay?"
"Yeah, he's with me, he's fine" Sarah smiles, tears slowly forming.
"Shit…help me up" he groans, holding out a hand for both Lee and Clementine to take.
Blood runs a bit from his eye, and some blood is on his neck…his legs were way worse.
As they try and help him up he seethes in through his teeth, and drops back down in pain.
"Argh shit…sorry…sorry…" Kenny shakes his head.
"Jesus christ man, your leg don't look too good…" Lee mumbles, looking at it bent the wrong way.
"Really?" He questions.
Lee nods.
"Bet that must hurt like shit, we can help you, Sarah get the bags from the car, and the crutches" Lee instructs.
She nods and hands AJ to Clementine, then proceeds to rush back to the car.
"I…Lee I…can't feel it…" Kenny utters.
Lee raises a brow.
"Kenny, that's a good thing-"
"No Lee. I..Can't feel my legs. At all."

Lee's heart thumps.

Slowly it dawns on them that Kenny can't move at all in his condition.
Clementine starts quietly crying.
Sarah's heavy breathing is heard behind them, Lee swiftly grabs the crutches and puts it beside him.
"Alright Kenny, we're getting you up and we can run the fuck away from here. I can help you up, we can find a wheelchair or somethin' for you to use-"
"No…Lee…" Kenny shakes his head.
"Yes!" Clementine snaps back,
"We are helping you."
"I'll just slow you down-" "Kenny!"
"You need to go without me…"
"NO!" Clementine yells,
"That is not an option! Lee, get him up!"
AJ's sobbing takes over the silence as Lee gets his arm over his shoulder and gets him up.
"We are not leavin' you to fuckin' die Kenny. You are family. And we don't leave our family" Lee firmly states.
Sarah grabs the crutches and let's Kenny grab one of them to help himself and Lee keeps hold of him.
"Sarah, grab the bags, make sure we have everythin' and let's go."
Sarah nods and grabs the bags again, putting the other crutch down the gap in the bag on her back, and they start to walk with haste, hearing slow groans behind them.
Kenny continues to groan as weird sensations sting him.

A few minutes on the road, Kenny still groans in pain and they set him down by a log, still basically in the middle of nowhere.
They sigh, Sarah putting the bags down and Clementine putting down AJ.
Lee spots a Walker coming out of the forest, he kicks in its knees and takes its head out with one fatal stab.
They look at Kenny.
"How you feelin'?" Lee questions,
"A stupid question but…"
Kenny shakes his head with hushed breath.
"You…You guys should've left me there…" Kenny Mumbles,
"It ain't safe for you to be travellin' with me on your back like this."
"We ain't stoppin' till we get you to Florida. Gotta see that sunrise together, right?" Lee smiles.
Kenny chuckles weakly with a smile.
"Yeah…Yeah I guess so."
He looks down at his leg.
"Argh…that shit is gonna hurt like absolute hell when I can feel it again."
"Lee, you helped my leg, can you help his?" Sarah asks.
Lee hesitates.
"I…I don't think this is the same as your leg Sarah. His bone is completely broken. We don't have anythin' to help that with us at the moment."
Sarah lowers her head and hugs Kenny, putting her head on his shoulder.
Kenny slightly sheds a tear.
"It's alright darlin' It's alright…"
They stay there for a moment as Lee also huddles Clementine close to him.
He can hear the sounds of her crying, but clearly trying to hide it.
"Look, if you really want me to stay with you guys…promise me that when the situation gets tough…leave me to distract it. Okay?" He Mumbles.
They all look at him.
"Like…with herds?" Sarah utters.
Kenny nods.
"Yeah…and promise me you 3 always stay together. No matter what. And protect AJ with your life."
They nod.
"Always" Clementine nods,
"And we will teach him to swim…and fight…and take care of himself" she slightly tears up.
Lee nods as well.
"And how to trust others and make the right calls. He'll be fightin' like his old man."
"Heh you fuckin' bastard…" Kenny chuckles, Lee chuckles with him,
"You're an old man too, you know? When I go you'll be the only other old man he can look up too…"
Lee nods in the moment, but doesn't want to think about when that time comes.
Clementine looks at the sky.
"We should keep going. We're losing daylight fast" she states.
They all nod.
Lee helps Kenny and Sarah grabs the bags, Clementine raises AJ and they all start going again.

5 minutes.

5 short minutes across the road near the trees.

A horde slowly stumbles towards them.
It was one. Then 4. Then 10.
Then what looked about 20.
Then who knows how many.

As they tried to get away, Kenny closed his eye tightly before looking at Lee's face.

"I'm outta time…Lee…" he Mumbles.

Lee looks at him.
"What are you on about? We're nearly away from them. We can make it!"

"I'm sorry for this Lee…but take care of the kids for me, Okay?
You've been a great daddy to 'em…

and the bestest friend I could ever ask for."

Before Lee could respond, Kenny shoves himself out of Lee's grip.
Lee tries to reach for him but grabs the crutches instead, just out of reach from his hand.
"KENNY!!"
He starts moving himself towards the walkers.
"HEY! COME AND GET ME!!"
"KENNY NO!!" Sarah screams,
"KENNNYYYYY!!!"
"Come on Sarah…come on."
"Kenny…!" Clementine sobs.
They all jog away with Lee pressing them on, as they hear the sounds of his screams,

Lee slightly caught a glimpse of the walkers over him, biting into him.

And his slight smile as he gets mauled on.

Chapter Text

—

They run, and run, and run.
"Come on Sarah!" Lee huffs,
"Don't want them to get you."
"I'm going as fast as I can, getting used to my leg again" she chuckles through her breaths.
Lee keeps AJ on his back as Clementine leads them both, spotting a small cabin like place in a small opening of trees.
They see a few more walkers stumbling to them in the opposite direction.
She tries the door, but it seems to be stuck on something.
"Ah shit…I need to kick it down" She sighs.
"Do it, we've got the walkers" Lee states.
As she starts to kick down the door, Sarah and Lee take on some of the walkers, stabbing them with their pocket knife and screwdriver.
Taking out a few at a time.
Lee made sure not to move as much so then AJ falls, he makes sure his nub holds him tight.

Clementine finally kicks the door open and they rush inside, Clementine holding it shut.
Lee gently puts AJ down as he starts wailing and crying.
Sarah sits down next to him and gently pat's his head.
"Shh Sh sh…it's okay Goofball…it's okay. They can't hurt you. We're here."
The walkers growl, whacking themselves against the walls.
"Lee, find something to block the door!" She heaves.
He sees a shelf, quickly he uses all his strength to push it, and eventually after a lot of trying, he covers the whole door.
He slightly falls to his knees from the amount of energy that took.
Clementine gets on one knee and looks at him with worry.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Clem, I'm fine. Just tired" he sighs.
They look up to see Sarah holding AJ close and humming a tune.
A nice, sweet tune, sound and slow.
AJ slowly stops sniffling and wraps his little arms around her.
She looks at him with a warm tint, beaming at his puffy cheeks.
"There you go buddy…you're safe with us."
"You're a natural," Lee smirks.
Sarah giggles.
"My dad used to hum that song to me sometimes when I was scared…" she lowers her head.
"Really?" Clementine questions.
Sarah nods.
"It sounds…familiar. I think my mom used to sing that to me sometimes too when I was younger" Clem smiles,
"From…what I remember at least."
Lee sighs as he looks at the walkers outside.
"Once they pass by, we're gonna find us some dinner. We only have our weapons and ourselves left. Maybe some bandages and the crutches too but…nothin' else."
Clementine nods.
"Alright. Hopefully there's a place nearby where we can-"

"Hey! I hear you in there…let me in!" A voice hisses, banging on the blocked off door.

AJ starts to tear up again.
Clementine holds him tightly.
Lee gets up and pushes aside the shelf slightly.
The door bursts open and shuts again, a woman holding it shut.
They all glare at her.
Her eyes slightly widen.
"Um..hi" she awkwardly greets.
"Hello…" Lee greets back,
"Are you bitten?"
She shakes her head.
"No. I'm not bitten. Luckily."
She struggles against the door, Lee pulls the shelf back into position, making her ease off the door and look at Sarah, Clementine and AJ.
"You look like a great team, the 3 of you…uh- 4 of you, I mean" he nervously chuckles.
Sarah nods slightly.
"Th…Thanks…I guess."
"He's a cute kid."
AJ sniffles and looks at Ava.
"Do you guys live here? Pretty crowded for a family of 4" She explains looking around.
Lee shakes his head.
"No, we were just trynna get away from the walkers for now. Just tryin' to find some dinner for us."
She nods intently.
"Well lucky for all of you, you didn't become the dinner."

They stay silent a moment, the woman shakes her head with a deep sigh.
"I was scouting with some other people…just any other day. Nothing out of the ordinary- Nothing at all!
Then…we got separated from each other. I got separated from the others…these fuckers are easy to manage when we're together but godamn when there's enough of 'em…" she goes on, venting her frustration,
"I just…I just hope they're all okay."
"What were y'all scoutin' for?" Lee questions, raising a brow.
"Gas…food…water…anything we could find" she mumbles, she then Scoffs as she leans against the wall,
"It sure as hell wasn't worth it."
She gazes off outside.
Clementine eyes her.
"Who are you?" She firmly asks.
The woman jumps slightly and smiles.
"Oh, sorry, I'm Ava.
And my group, we call ourselves:

The New Frontier" she explains, rolling back her sleeve to show a marking on her arm, displaying a unique symbol.

Lee folds his arms.
"Hm."
"Cool" Sarah smiles.
Ava nods.
"Very cool indeed."
AJ coughs and starts whining slightly.
Clementine continues to hold him close. She sighs.
"He's hungry…"
"I know Clem..we all are but…we need to wait for these walkers to move first-"
"Hey…" Ava raises her voice slightly.
They all look at her.
"Why don't you guys come with me? Meet my people. We've got food, water, blankets, medicine, and walls. Dinner can be on me"
she smiles,
"After all, I owe you one."
They look at each other.
Sarah slightly shifts in her place.
"I…I don't know…I don't..I don't do well with strangers…" she murmurs.
"We're not scary, don't worry" Ava chuckles,
"Most of the guys try and act tough but my god you'll find that they are not. Especially our leader sometimes…" she shakes her head.
Lee look at Clementine.
Clementine looks at AJ's face, thinking over and over.
Eventually, she sighs.
"Sure. That sounds good. Great even" she smiles.
Lee grins.
"Alright then. Guess that is that."
Lee looks at Sarah.
"Don't worry Kiddo, I'll stay by you the whole time we're there. Okay?"
Sarah silently nods.
Ava grins.
"My people will be able to find us soon.
We just need to wait it out a bit longer."

—

They wait in their tent, hearing the distant crackles of the fire pit outside where most of the members sit around.
Sarah is staring at the deep darkness of the sky, praying.
Lee lowers his head as he continues to hear AJ coughing, with his face slightly going more red than before.
He sighs.
"I'm so sorry buddy, they said they can't do anything for you…even though I personally think they're full of shit."
Clementine is angrily pacing, Lee clearly seeing that she is annoyed.
She huffs.
"We need to do something. If we don't, AJ won't survive any longer with the weather" Clementine rants.
"I know Sweet Pea, I know. But they said they can't-"
"I KNOW WHAT THEY SAID!" She snaps.
Lee's eyes widen, slightly taken aback.
Sarah also turns around, slightly startled.
After a moment Clementine sort of bounces back, blinking.
She slightly shakes her head and groans, annoyed.
"S.Sorry…"
"I understand you're angered Clem.
But, what are we gonna do? Steal from them?"
Clementine glares at him.
Lee sighs.
"Clementine…you know better…"
"What I know is I'm not gonna let AJ die because they refuse to give him the help he needs."
Sarah sighs.
"What do you think we should do Clem?" She meekly asks.
Clementine folds her arms.
"I say we go into Linguard's tent, look around for the medicine he first suggested before not going through with it, and give it to AJ."
"What?! But what if it hurts AJ instead of helping him?" Sarah gets up.
Clementine stares at her.
"Have you got a better idea?"
Sarah goes quiet. Clementine nods.
She picks up AJ.
"If you two won't help me…I'll do this myself."
"Sweet Pea…"
She turns around and looks at Lee.
Lee lowers his head.
"Just…be careful. I hope you know what you're doin'. Love you Clem."
Clementine doesn't respond and continues walking on slowly towards the fire pit, and starts sneaking near them.

Lee and Sarah wait, both sitting together in the tent.
Lee takes a sip of water and hands the bottle to Sarah, her also taking a sip.
They sit in silence.
"Jesus christ…" Lee sighs,
"I knew around this age would be hard for Clementine…but…"
"Not this hard?" Sarah finishes, looking up at him.
She nods.
"I know…I still feel bad for yelling at her sometimes, like back at that house?"
Lee nods.
"It isn't something she can really control…her having to grow up so fast. The walkers didn't make it easy. And now with AJ, it's worse. She hasn't experienced this before, and she is finding it hard" Sarah lengthily explains,
"That's no fault of yours Lee. She still loves you…but is having a hard time. I would know…"
Lee nods and gently gives Sarah a hug.
"I'll try my best to help her…even if she hates me right now. I dedicated myself to her when I first found her, that ain't changin' just because she's older now" Lee firmly states.
Sarah nods.
"And that's the same with you too Sarah. You may be older, but that doesn't mean I won't treat you any differently than Clementine."
She nods with determination and a slight fire in her eyes.
She smirks.
"I will fight by you with my life. I will never forget the day you saved me.
And convinced my dad to let me use a gun.
I wanted to use one for ages, but it seems that you were the push he needed to make him see it" she smiles.
Lee's eyes widen slightly.
"Really?"
She nods again.
"I am not afraid anymore Lee. Like I used to be.
I wanna be useful. And you and Kenny, along with Clem helped me see that I have more purpose than sitting around in a house."

They let the conversation trail off.
"So…how do you like The New Frontier? Trust 'em?" Lee questions.
Sarah lowers her head slightly.
"I..I honestly don't know. We've only been with them for a week or two. But if we're talking about on a scale…it'll lean more towards not trusting them" She explains.
Lee listens intently.
Sarah looks over at the fire pit.
"They seem nice I guess, but I don't know…there's a weird energy about them. Something…off."
Lee nods.
"I kinda felt it too. I thought it was just the branding of it all and the people we're not used to but…it always felt like somethin' else" Lee looks down at his nub, the New Frontier's symbol just above where his nub is bandaged.
Sarah rolls up her sleeve slightly and looks at the same symbol on her wrist.
"It slightly hurts…" Sarah mumbles,
"Why do they even have these?"
Lee sighs.
"I have no idea…"

Before they can talk any more, they hear AJ wailing in tears and David's voice.
They both get up in slight panic, both their chests aching.
"Ah shit…"
"We should go…" Sarah mumbles.
Lee nods.
They both walk out the tent to see David shoving Clementine away from the fire pit and the rest of the members.
"That will cost someone's LIFE down the road, someone in this camp…someone that contributes to our SURVIVAL!!" David raises his voice.
"You gave up on him…I want going to let him die!!" Clem snaps back.
Ava puts her hand on David's shoulder.
"Come on David she was just tyring to help her kid-"
He shoves her off him.
"We have helped these people enough!! We should've left them out in the woods where we found them!!"
"Hey, what's goin' on?!" Lee snaps,
"Don't push her like that."
David death stares Lee, everyone else looks over.
He marches up to him.
"Do you know what your fuckin' kid just did?! Wasted our supplies that we said WOULDN'T WORK ON YOUR LITTLE BOY."
Lee looks over at Clementine and AJ,
AJ's face was slightly less red than before.
"I..It looks like it's helping though!" Sarah beams,
"His face is less red-!"
"It only brought him peace for a moment…nothing more" Lingard hushes,
"I'm sorry for you folks…I wish I could tell you that would save him.."
Clementine glares at David.
"Well it's more than what you did to save him…what ANY of you did!!"
David clenches his fists.
"You ungrateful little shit…"

Slowly they all start walking over and folding their arms, not really taking kindly to Clementine's behaviour.
"We opened our arms to you…and THIS is how you repay us?! By stealing?!?!" David yells,
"By putting yourself before the group!!??"
He shakes his head with a scowl on his face.
Clementine slightly backs away.

"You…are DONE. here."

Clementine stutters.
"Wh..What? I…I was thinking of AJ. He's just a kid!!" Clementine slightly starts tearing up,
"A kid that YOU refused to help!!"
"You have made it very clear you do not have a place at The New Frontier."
Clementine looks at Lee and Sarah.
"C.Come on Lee..Sarah-"
David holds out his hand to stop them.
"No. They can stay. They didn't do anything wrong!" He snaps.
She starts tearing up more.
"N.No! You can't do this to me!! They are the only ones I have left alongside AJ!!!" She yells.
David looms over her with a frown.
"Well you should've thought of that before you violated our rules…and our trust."
Lee and Sarah push by David's arm and walk by her.
Lee glares at him.
"No, David, If you're kickin' her out, then we go too" he firmly states,
"We have stayed together longer than you'd EVER fuckin' know!"
"Yeah. We're family. Unlike…Unlike you people" Sarah stubbornly adds.
David squints at them.
He shakes his head again and Scoffs.
"Thought you were a nice guy, Lee. Guess I was wrong…siding with the one on the wrong end of the scale."
Lee death stares him.
Lingard Clears his throat.
"David…maybe we should give them another chance-"
"Don't argue with me on this, Paul. They have had enough chances, PLENTY of chances" he glares at Clementine.
Lee huffs with clenched fists.
"Let's go Clem."
She nods, wiping her tears and holding AJ tight.
"Yeah. We don't need this place anyway."

The members all surround them.

"Nuh-uh" David frowns,
"The baby stays."
Lee's eyes widen.
"What the fuck is wrong with you David?! Not only are you kicking out 2 helpless girls that have NOTHING, But now you're taking AJ TOO?!"
Sarah stutters.
"Wh..Why? He's our goofball- OURS NOT YOURS!!"
Lingard sighs.
"He's in no condition to travel-"
"And in no condition to be in the hands of you people either!!" Lee shouts back,
"You're the ones refusin' to help him in the first place!!"
Ava sighs.
"Let him go…he'll only drag you down" She lowers her head.

They then grab Lee and Sarah and pull them away, they try to break free of their grip but they have a firm handle on them.
Clementine hugs AJ as tight as she could as they surround her, David grabbing her shoulders as Ava tries to take AJ away.

"NOOO!!!" Clementine cries,
"AJ!! AJ PLEASE!!"

Ava tugs away AJ, AJ wailing and screaming with tears dripping down his face, Clementine gets shoved to the ground and sobs.

Lee and Sarah do the same, Lee making sure both the girls are okay.

Lee looks up at them with gritted teeth.
"You FUCKING MONSTERS!!" He spat, lifting both Sarah and Clementine to their feet.

David folds his arms.
Lee shows the symbol.
"What about this? Did this mean nothing all along? We're supposed to be one of you.
You made us…one of you" Lee shakes his head.
David looks away.
"Not anymore, you're not. Now leave."
Lee grips his fists.

Ava sighs.
"Let them say goodbye…we owe them that at least…" she mumbles,
Looking over at AJ who has been passed onto Lingard.
David deeply sighs and looks at them.
"Fine. You heard her. Don't make me regret this."

All 3 of them walk slowly up to him, his little lip quivering and his eyes still shimmering like the stars.

Clementine goes first.

She gives AJ a gently kiss on the forehead and a hug.
"I love you AJ…I love you…" she chokes to a sob, turning away and not being able to look back, looking down at the floor.

Sarah goes up next and already has started sobbing.

She hugs him tightly.
"Stay strong for me AJ…I hope you'll be okay…I know I won't be without you but…I'll try to smile like how you make me" she breaks a smile through the tears.
She then turns away and buries her face into her hands.

Clementine consults her,
whilst Lee walks up to AJ.

"Hey little man…" he began,
"I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry we have to leave you…but if we can…we will come and see you again. We love you…keep safe and out of trouble…goofball" Lee smiles at him, patting his head.
He turns around and hugs Clementine and Sarah, both still balling their eyes out.

"Come on.." David mumbles.
He places a hand on Sarah's shoulder, but she shoves his hand away.
He slightly lowers his head, leading them out of the camp.
AJ looks on at them with a frown lip and sad eyes.

"Fam..Family…" his little voice echoes.

They try not to cry even more.

—

They make it back to the small cabin they found before they met Ava.
The forest is completely deprived of walkers, which Lee inside felt a slight sense of relief, but of course he knew it didn't outweigh how low all 3 of them felt.
They close the door and all sit down, they continue to quietly sob over AJ.
Him no longer being in their arms.
"I…I can't…" Sarah sobs,
"I can't go on without him…my goofball…"
"None of us can go without him…" Clementine chokes,
"They're fucking cruel Sarah…fucking Cruel…"
"Damn right…" Lee mumbles,
"AJ was the only one we had left…the only piece we had of Kenny…Rebecca…Alvin…all of our past and our hope for the future."

They hear a rustling sound.

Lee gets up and gets out his screwdriver.
He slightly opens the door in caution.
He frowns as he scans the area.

Ava slowly walks out of the trees towards him with a bag in hand. The other hand slowly raised tk his slight aggression.
"Woah woah…it's just me, Lee."
Lee puts his screwdriver away and looks away from her, lowering his head.
"What the hell do you want…?"
Ava sighs.
"I'm.. glad I found you guys again…I was worried."
Lee doesn't respond.
"...I know this is hard. I'm so sorry that this happened. Really."
Lee glares at her.
"If you're so sorry…give him back to us. Please. He NEEDS us. And we need him…" He slightly pleads with a tear.
Ava shakes her head.
"You know that can't be done Lee…"

They stay in a moment of tense silence.

Ava breathes.
"It's not much but…here."
She tosses the bag on the ground, it hitting the grass with a gentle thud and clutter.
He stares at it before looking up at her, slowly crouching down to it.
He then opens it to see food, water and bandages with medicine too.
Clementine and Sarah slowly look out and, at first, glare at Ava, but then look down at what Lee sees.

A drawing.

He picks it up, a beautiful drawing of Scribbles of all different colours.
He tries to not cry at it.
Clem and Sarah the same.
"David wanted you to have it…" Ava states.
Sarah shakes her head.
"No…I know AJ would've wanted us to have this" She corrects her.
Ava shrugs.
"Whatever works for you Sarah."

Lee closes up the bag and stands back up.
"Look…it's dangerous out here, and you all are…hurting" Ava sighs,
"Try not to let what happened get to you. You need to plan ahead for your own futures."
Sarah lowers her head and goes off inside, not wanting to listen to any more.
Lee and Clementine look at each other.
"I guess the only thing we can do is to look for others…" Lee mumbles.
Clementine nods.
"Yeah. Everyone fits in somewhere right?" Ava slightly smiles,
"Even if you didn't fit with us doesn't mean you won't somewhere else. Like staying alive for me was finding people I could trust. Just as kuchen as I trusted them."
She paces.
"That's what the New Frontier has been for me:
A silver lining.
It made me feel worth a damn.
Kept me going, even at the worst of times."
She turns around and faces them.
"You will find yours. And I know you will."
They glare at her.
"You stole ours…" Lee growls,
"You know that!-"
"You need to find something new!" She interrupts.
"Shut the hell up!" Clementine snaps.
Ava sighs for a moment.

"If it's good people you want…there's an old airfield about 10 miles south from here. Prescott.
They have some good people there you'll find" She instructs,
"I um…I need to get back before anyone notices I'm gone. I'll…I'll miss having you guys around" Ava holds out her hand for Lee to take.
He sighs and takes her hand, shaking it.
"...You're a good guy Lee. And you and Sarah are tough kids. Don't change" she smiles.
Lee nods.
"You're a good one Ava…"
They take in a moment of silence, as Ava starts to walk away.

"You'll be okay. Good luck out there" she smiles warmly, before walking away into the darkness, Clementine and Lee watching.

—

Most memories they'd wish to forget.

The New Frontier was pretty hard to erase from their minds after finding Javier, David's brother.
But luckily…both Clementine, Lee and Sarah took a liking to him.
Especially since they learned that he is nothing like the cold, hard hitting man that was David.
Along with David's family: Gabe, Kate and Marianna.

Lee eventually told Clementine about the changes to her body, with the help of Sarah's experience, such as her period.
Javier walked in on it and…it was kind of awkward to explain after that.

Many adventures on the way…and big problems, as always, and brutal and maybe justified deaths, they finally made Richmond, the New Frontier's city basically, a better place for everybody.
Though the destruction and walkers taking over some of the wall wasn't the intention…
They still need to find where on earth Gabe and David have gone, along with Kate.

Javier is stuck on what to do.

"I'll go and find Gabe And David" Clementine states,
"Kate may need help clearing up Richmond."
Sarah pulls out her gun.
"I'll help on that part. Javi, Lee, you should go with Clem."
"Are you sure?" Javi questions,
"I don't wanna come back and see you or Kate hurt."
Sarah nods.
"We'll be fine!"
"Sarah-"
"Go!" She presses.
Before Lee could say anything more than her name, she rushes off shooting walkers and slowly scrambling to Kate in the meantime.
Clementine looks at a motorbike and eyes both Javi and Lee.

"Alright…how long may it take to find them?" Lee mumbles.
"Could take ages. They're way ahead of us" Clem shakes her head.
Javi firmly revs up the motorbike's engine, quickly speeding up.
"Keep hold of your hat. Don't want it flyin' off."
She does just that as they speed by a bunch of buildings and walkers.

Eventually, they stumble upon a car.
A crashed car, SWARMING with Walker's surrounding it.
Lee and Clementine look at the mass amount of them, already getting ready to fight.
Javi…was more focused on the fact he could hear Gabe. Screaming for his life inside.
He stops the motorbike and gets out his bat, still in good condition.
"Get to the car" he firmly states,
"David and Gabe are in there."
They nod firmly.
All at once, Lee kicks down the knees of some walkers for Clementine and stabs others in the head and they eyes, Clementine takes Lee's kicks and slashes all of them dead, along with owning a few of them with mere hits of a rock.
Javi swung his bat with furry, knocking each of them over and beating them to nothing but blood, even hitting one so hard in the head, it's head came clean off.
Lee chuckles slightly.
"Home run."
Javi slightly smiles at him before dropping it again.
"Baseball instinct. It's a habit" he shrugs.
Picking off the last few, Clem and Lee open the car door presumably where David is, whilst Javi gets Gabe.
"David…you okay?" Lee questions.
He huffs as he gets out of the car, his eyes saying everything other than he was fine.
"Yeah…Yeah I'm fine…" he grumbles.
They both glare at him as he sighs.
"I'm sorry…"
They all look at Gabe, his head slightly bleeding. Javi sets him down as Lee stabs another walker.
"Are you bitten? Are you okay?"
"I'm okay…I'm not bitten.." Gabe utters.
Javi nods.
"Good…Good. Thank god."
Gabe starts sobbing.
"I…Tried to stop him Javi. That's…why we crashed" he shakes his head.
David looks at Gabe before turning away.
"I'm…Im sorry…" he sobs,
"I'm sorry for everything I've done.."
Javi scrunches his face, Lee does the same.
"What are you talkin' about?" Javi mutters.
"I was arguing, and making life harder.
For everyone. And I was just…a bad son…I would've never come out here for me."
Javi arched his brows.
"You had your moments from time to time,
but it wasn't anything I could handle," Javi gently smiles.
Gabe nods slightly with a smile peeking through.
"I'll…I'll be better from now on, I swear!"
Lee and Clementine walk over.
Clem kneels down with a slight concerned look.
"Gabe, are you okay?"
He Scoffs with a smile.
"Yeah, thank to you guys."
"We won't leave you behind" Lee smiles.
He helps Gabe up to his feet as David looks between them all then finally at Javi.

"I thought we were done…brother" He Mumbles.
"Always take care of each other, that's what pa said to me once."
"That's what he said to me too…" David sighs,
"I wonder what he'd say to me now…I wonder that a lot actually…"
Lee folds his arm and nub.
Javi sighs and shakes his head.
"He'd, He'd probably be ashamed.
Too ashamed to speak."
David lowers his head and turns around.
Lee glares at him as Clem makes sure Gabe is okay standing.
"I can't change…Javi. I want to but we're caught in a war that's never gonna end."
David clenches his fists, looking at the light the sun provided through the small drops of rain.
"We are never going home.
That hope died the moment we left the house. The day that pa died…" he chokes,
"And that was the last lesson Pa taught me…I had to teach it to my son too. Someone had to-"
"It nearly killed both you and your son" Lee interrupts, slight annoyance on his face but still keeping it cool,
"Hope that lesson was worth it to you."
David stares at him.
"I'm not wrong."

They let the silence kick in, slightly broken by the patters of rain.

Javi turns around.
"Come on, we need to go back to Richmond.
Help Kate and Sarah" He states.
Clem, Gabe and Lee look at him with a look of encouragement or determination.
David looks away.
"I'm not, Javi."
Javi turns around and Sees his back facing him.
"...David…?"
"I can't face Kate with that different look in her eyes…or yours."
He starts walking away.
Javi folds his arms, lowering his head.
"Nobody's stopping you."
David doesn't reply.
"Legacy, David. It's all anyone leaves behind. I'm sure you'll find yours and make it stay someday" Javi calls on after him.
David looks back.
Then keep on walking.

Javi sighs.
"Okay. We need to get back…come on" he utters.
They all nod silently and start heading back.

They finally are back in Richmond, Sarah and Kate are staring off at all the progress happening, as Jesus and some of his people on horseback, smash the rest of the walkers down to nothing.
Some of the children are running around, knowing that it is safe now.
Javi smiles warmly, seeing Kate again.
"Kate! Sarah!" Javi calls over.
They look over.
They both gasp as Sarah runs over and hugs Lee and Clementine tightly.
"You're okay!" She beams.
Lee chuckles.
"We're okay Kiddo. I see you are as well."
Sarah nods frantically and also hugs Gabe.
"Gabe, thank god you're okay too…I was worried!"
He nervously chuckles.
"Y.Yeah yeah I'm fine Sarah-!"
"Your bleeding though…here let me take care of that for you!"
Gabe slightly smiles.
"Really? You can do that?"
"Of course, I've learnt a thing or two. My dad was a doctor and with the heightened help of Linguard and Eleanor, I feel like I can take of care of you nicely. If you'll let me."
Gabe nods and they both walk off so Sarah can get him the care he needs.
Kate watches off after them.
"I think Gabe's made a friend" Javi smiles.
Lee nods.
"Yeah. I think so too."
Javi gives Kate a kiss.
"We managed to stop the muertos from coming in any further. Especially with the help of Jesus" Kate chuckles,
"Now we should begin on helping rebuild. This place is a wreck…also…Where's David?"
Javi deeply sighs.
"He's left…Kate. Went away."
She stutters.
"W.Went away?? Went away where?!"
"He didn't say…all he said was he couldn't stand to look in our eyes anymore."
Kate lowers her head.
Lee puts his hand on her shoulder.
"Hey…It's okay. With David, he's a man that needs to find who he is after all he's been through. Trust me, my dad was just the same" Lee explains,
"I think it's better to leave him be."
Kate silently nods.
"Yeah…Yeah that sounds like David."

They leave a moment of silence.

Javi looks at Lee and Clementine.
"So, What are you guys planning on doing? Leavin' too like Jesus?"
Lee nods.
"We have to find AJ…we've waited so long to see him and now we have where he is, we can't waste more time" he firmly concludes.
He looks at Clementine.
"However…I have one question. Do you have a pair of scissors around here? I need to do one thing before we go."
They look at each other.

Clementine has her hat off and is sitting still, as Lee carefully cuts her hair with a smile on his face.
Javi is watching with his arms folded.
He slightly chuckles.
"I used to cut my niece's hair."
"Really?"
"She never thought I was any good at it though."
"Were you?" Clementine questions.
Javi shrugs.
"Depends on your definition of good" he smirks.
Lee shakes his head as he continues snipping away at Clementine's hair, which definitely grew from the last time he had cut her hair all the way back on the train.
Clementine slightly lowers her head.
"I'll miss Gabe. Having someone to talk to" she sighs,
"Yeah, he's a total dork but…I've gotten used to having him around."
Lee nods.
"Yeah, he's a sweet boy. Sarah certainly feels the same as you, Clem."
Javi nods.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him."
"I'm not worrying, Gabe couldn't be in better hands."

…

"I hope AJ is okay…will…will he even remember us?" Clementine utters.
Lee sighs.
"Of course he will remember us. His first ever word is a word he said to us Clem…Family. We were with him from the moment he lay in Kenny's arms."
Clementine nods, trying not to think of Kenny's name, or his face.
Javi gets off the wall and puts his hands on his hips.
"How could anyone forget you guys? No one who knew you I guarantee it" he grins,
"You will always be remembered here if that means anything."
Lee nods.
"Thanks man."
Lee does a few more snips and then hands over her hat.
She puts it on and then smiles at both Lee and Javi.
"Well, how's it look?"
Lee smiles and Javi raises a brow.
"The hat definitely helps," Javi nods.
"Hey!" Lee stubbornly replies.
Clementine chuckles slightly, as Javi looks at the hat.
"Heh…I remember this team. Your dad ever taught you about baseball?"
She shakes her head.
"Not really."
"Well, if you swing around again. I'll tell you about it" he smiles.
Lee puts his hand on her shoulder and looks over at the gate.
"We should get goin'...Sarah!!" Lee shouts over,
"We need to go!"
She perks up, along with Gabe as well.
"Oh! Almost done Lee!"

After a moment, she jogs over along with Gabe who now has stopped bleeding from his head.
He is shown with a goofy smile.
"Come on. Let's see 'em out Gabe."
He nods and smiles at Clementine and Sarah.

As the gate opens and they walk through, Lee, Clementine and Sarah separate from Javi and Gabe.
Gabe gives both Sarah and Clementine a big hug.

"Well, until we meet again Javi" Lee smiles,
"Take care of Kate and the others!"
"I will."
"Bye Gabe!" Sarah waves.
Gabe waves back and Clementine of course does the same.

They all wave their goodbyes as Lee, Clem and Sarah start walking off into the sunrisen mist of the forest.

Chapter Text

—Present time—

The car rolls along the road, slightly bumpy and cracked, but still smooth enough it doesn't throw someone off balance.
Clementine in the driver seat, still nervous on the last time she driven a car, Lee next to her,
Sarah in the back with AJ.
Lee adjusts the rear view mirror and looks at AJ and Sarah messing together and giggling.

"What are you two goofballs doin'?" He smirks with a tease.
AJ and Sarah tone down the laughter.
"Oh nothing old man, just enjoying some time together!"
"Old man? Excuse me missy, who you callin' old man?"
Clementine looks at him with a knowing eye.
Lee looks at her back.
"...What? And eyes on the road Clem. Rule one."
"I know…I know…"
Lee looks out the window.
"I ain't old…"
Sarah watches as AJ pulls out his gun and messes with it, spinning the ammunition insert.
"Goofball, remember our rule of no guns in the car?" Sarah gently reminds him.
He sighs.
"It's not like we have any bullets anyway…" he sighs.
Sarah wraps her arms around him.
"Hey it's okay…we'll find some soon. How about a game, Goofball?"
"I don't like goofball…" he looks away, pouting.
Lee raises a brow.
"Oh? Now who's suddenly more mature?"
AJ grins.
"Me."
Sarah giggles.
"Well you'll always be MY goofball!" She starts tickling him, making him laugh as well.
Clementine slightly swerves and stops for a moment, breathing.
She looks back at them.
"Sarah…"
"Sorry…Sorry…"
Clementine sighs and starts driving again.
"Don't wanna ruin your fun Goofball, but we need more food soon…and maybe a place to stay other than the car."
AJ nods and looks out to the trees.
"That would be nice…"
"If you don't like goofball…hmm…what else could we call you" Clementine thinks.
She chuckles.
"What?" Lee raises a brow.
Clem shakes her head.
"Nothing…Nothing-"
"Say it."
"Fine. How about Shitbird?"
AJ gasps.
"That's a swear!"
"It is AJ. Maybe not that, Clem."
"Clementine…"
"...You said for me to say it-"
"We are not usin' Shitbird."
Clementine chuckles.
"Kenny used it many times before!"
"Yeah well Kenny is an adult and only used that name to the people he really hated" Lee looks out the window,
"No Shitbird naming."
Clem rolls her eyes.
"Okay, Okay. Sorry."

They let a moment of silence take them.

AJ eyes the wheel.
"Can I try?"
Lee chuckles.
"Maybe when you're older AJ. But not now."
He lowers his head and nods.
"Okay…"
"Don't worry AJ, I still don't know how to drive either" Sarah smiles.
Lee Scoffs with a smile.
"That's because you, if I remember rightly, were recovering from a fracture, and Kenny refused for you to learn because you'd have strained it."
Sarah folds her arms.
"I can learn to drive now, my leg has been fine for years."
Lee shakes his head.
"Maybe in a few days' time. I promise, okay?"
Eventually she agrees.
AJ holds a hand to his stomach with arched brows.
Clementine looks in the rear view mirror.
"...What's wrong AJ?"
..
"Hungry.." He utters.
Lee sighs and looks at what they have.
"Umm…here, practise your reading!" Lee hands him a book,
"It'll keep your mind off your stomach. Even if only for a lil' while."
AJ sighs.
"But I don't wanna…"
"AJ.." Sarah says expectantly.
He sighs again.
"Okay, Okay."
He flips to one of the pages.

"Pre-Heat..Oven. V-a-nilla bea- beans! Into a sauce pan and bring to a…boi-ill-"

"You know actually…maybe let's just stop there for readin' practice today bud.." Lee nervously chuckles, grabbing back the book.
He sighs and looks at the last piece of food they have.
He grabs the chip packet and hands it to him.
"Here…this is the last bit we have."
AJ looks at it and then back at them.
"B.But…what about you a.and Clem and Sarah?" He asks sadly,
"Won't you be hungry too?"
Lee smiles gently.
"Go for it. We'll find somethin' else soon.."
Lee and Clementine look at each other worried that may be an overstatement, while Sarah nods and Pat's AJ's shoulder.
"Yeah, it's okay Goofball. We can last."
He nods and starts slowly snacking on it.
The car rolls on for a few more hours, the sun still hanging in the sky and the trees still gently swaying in the wind.
"At least we're out of the snow now," Sarah smiles.
Lee nods.
"Thank god…"

The car slowly starts to stop.
"Okay, this is something" Clementine states, her voice full of hope.
As they screech to a halt, Clementine gives AJ a small sharp blade.
He takes it and smiles.
"We're going in?"
"We're goin' in" Lee smirks back,
"Remember what we said when we go to places like this?"
As they get out of the car and Clementine hands Lee the crowbar, AJ looks up at him.
"I…I stay near Clementine, and keep out of sight. Unless there is a monster, and I stay away," he recites.
Lee nods.
"That's right."
Clementine grabs a small canteen bottle and puts it in Lee's bag she is holding onto, and halts it over her shoulder.
"Alright, let's go. Stay alert and stay close" She states.
Sarah gets out her pocket knife and Lee keeps ahold of the crowbar.
AJ wearily holds his small blade, along with his small empty gun in his pocket.

They look up at a bunch of train carts that have been overgrown and trashed, leading up to,
what they assume to be, maybe a station of sorts.
A very run down one.
Sarah eyes the bell and the sign, looking at it closer and adjusting her glasses.
"If you're friendly…ring the bell."
AJ tilts his head.
"What does that mean?"
Clementine looks at him sternly.
"It means whoever is here, shoots first."
He nods, as they all slowly start heading towards the station.
Its old wood looked rotten in the sunlight, the overgrowth of plants and leaves not making it look any more appealing.
They slightly jump back at the sound of a growl as they turn the corner, to see one lone walker.
Swiftly stumbling at them.
AJ steps back near Sarah as Clementine kicks in its knees and stabs it in the head.
Sarah stabs it again just for good measure and searches its pockets.
She sighs.
"Nothing..."
"Maybe there's something good in here. I hope there is…" Clementine puts her hands on her hips,
"Could really use some good food right now…"
Sarah nods.
"Maybe more medical supplies too. Or ammo."
AJ nods at that one.
He then perks up his head and runs over to a tire on a rope, hanging on a tree.
Clementine, Lee and Sarah watch him and slowly follow on, slightly amused at the boy.
"What is it?" He questions,
"A monster trap?"
Clementine shakes her head with a chuckle.
"It's a swing, you swing on it for fun!" She beams,
"I used to have one in my back garden when I was a little girl."
Lee nods.
"A very nice one underneath her tree house."
AJ's eyes light up slightly.
"Oh! I..I wanna try" he smiles,
"A.After we clear this place…"
Sarah giggles.
"Come on AJ, just a moment of fun."
She holds out her hand with a gentle smile, he sighs and takes her hand and proceeds to help him position himself in the tire.
"Prepare for lift off Captain AJ!" She exaggerates, before starting to push him and rocking the tire swing back and forth.
Clementine and Lee watching with untameable smiles.
Watching as AJ giggles and opens out his arms, enjoying the breeze as Sarah pushes him and giggles along with him.
Lee shakes his head.
"Sometimes I can't tell that Sarah is the oldest of you 3.."
Clementine Scoffs.
"I can't tell either. Come on you two, we need to scout out this place" she reminds them.
Slowly, Sarah stops the swing and let's AJ get out.
He bounces up and down on the spot, excited.
"That was fun!" He grins,
"I hope wherever we go there will be another tire swing!"
Lee chuckles.
"We'll see."
They all walk to the entrance of the station and Sarah tries to open the door.
It doesn't budge.
Lee grips the crowbar and jams it into the edge of the door, heaving with it and trying to split it open.
Eventually, it caves in, busting the edge of the door and swinging slightly open.
He sighs and looks to AJ.

"Alright AJ, what did Clem say to do when we explore a new place?"
AJ looks away for a moment before looking at Lee and Clementine.
"We listen for monsters" he recites.
"...And?" Clementine smirks,
"Come on Goofball, you remember…we…"
..
"Check the-"
"Check the windows" he says with her.
They nod.
"That's right, you got it kiddo."

"Okay…sounds pretty clear in there..I think" Sarah utters.
Lee slightly opens up the door more to peek inside, to see 2 walkers sitting on chairs next to each other, tied to the backs.
"It's okay. There are 2 walkers but they can't reach us" he states.
They all shuffle inside and aJ looks at the walls around him.
"The windows are boarded," he smiles.
Clem nods at him and pat's his head.
"Good eye."
Sarah tries pushing and pulling on a certain door, only for it to not move an inch.
She sighs and looks at Clementine.
"It's locked…security door maybe?" She folds her arms.
Clementine nods.
"Yeah…we can't pry that open. There'll probably be some other way to get in" she explains.
Lee puts the crowbar on the table next to a bunch of bottles and plates.
"Man…they sure ate well for their last meals…" he mumbles,
"Let's hope they saved some of the food too somewhere" he looks at AJ.
He nods.
"Yeah…"
Lee sighs and crouches down to eye level with him and gives him a hopeful smile.
"Hey…we know you're hungry bud, we all are. But I promise you, we will find somethin' sooner or later."
AJ takes a moment to look in his eyes and then he nods with a determined grin.
"Yeah. Okay."

As Clementine tries to look for a way to get past the security door, Sarah looks around the small space they are in.
She finds a thick looking book with a small pencil next to it. Surprisingly, the pencil's tip isn't broken.
She picks up the book and opens it to see only 1 page is supposedly filled with what these people wrote into it. The rest of the pages are blank.
She also picks up the pencil and keeps the book under her arm.
"I'm keeping you…" she smiles to herself.
"Hey guys…I think I've found 2 ways" Clementine calls over,
"2 ways to get into that room."
They all clamber over.
She points to a small opening next to the door, and also the walkers.
"This small opening is probably big enough to fit AJ through, not sure any of us could fit though…and those walkers…they may have a key to open up the security door."
Lee walks over to the walkers, still trying to reach him as they growl and gargle away.
He looks down at a piece of paper that falls off one of the walker's laps.
"..Please leave us alone. This is what we wanted" Lee reads off.
He looks up at the girls and AJ, their faces displaying exactly his thoughts.
He then sees a bottle on the floor next to the other walker.
He picks up and looks at it.
"Poison…"
"I guess they wanted to leave this world together" Clementine folds her arms,
"Holding hands, sitting together, in their own home."
"Will…Will we have a home?" AJ looks between them.
They look at each other and Lee gently smiles.
"I think we'll work on finding that AJ. I think we can find that."
Clementine reluctantly nods.
"A key.." Sarah stutters.
"Hm?"
"There, on the walker's leg."
She points to the walker that had the note fall off their lap.
There indeed is a key hanging out its pocket, slowly easing onto its leg.
But it is very clear that the keys are within the walker's reaching distance.

"That ain't safe to grab…it could grab us too" Lee shakes his head, getting up,
"We'll take the chance of letting AJ through."
"What?!"
"AJ can't go in alone!" Clementine raises her voice,
"What if there's walkers in there he can't deal with?"
Lee lets the silence sombre, the slight groans of the walker couple in the background.
Nothing more.
"I don't hear no more walkers. Sounds safe to me" Lee responds with a firm look,
"I think this will be a great show of independence for the lil' guy."
He looks at AJ with a smile.
"Alright lil' man. It's okay to be scared, but if we have a chance of getting food, it's a risk any of us should be willing to take."
He slightly shakes.
Sarah nods with Lee.
"Goofball. You need to be brave, okay? If there's any danger then you can run out of their reach or stab them if you have to. Unlock the door and let us in, okay?" She smiles.
AJ takes a deep long breath.
"Okay. I can be brave. Help me up."
Sarah puts her hands underneath his armpits and heaves him up, letting him scramble into the small space in which he fits perfectly.
He squeezes through and waves to them on the other side.
He then walks away out of their view.
Lee raises a brow at Sarah.
"Whatcha got there?" He asks, gesturing to the book.
"O.Oh! I found an empty notebook. I thought I might take it with me since…I really wanted a way to put my thoughts down on something for a while now. Now that I have this, I can write all of my experiences down."
Lee lightly laughs.
"Good for you Kiddo."
The security door makes a small clicking noise and then it opens like magic, AJ appearing on the other side.
"Guys…you have to see this" his eyes sparkle.
They all run inside.

They are greeted with shelves stacked with little boxes and papers, along with a desk and a rug slightly covered by a damp, ripped mattress.
The desk is littered with bottles and some jars that are labelled, with some slightly crushed cans beside it.
All their eyes widen slightly.
"Wow…they had a good thing going here" Clementine utters.
Sarah nods, speechless, picking up one of the bottles and looking at it.
"Can we stay here?" AJ smiles, bouncing up and down.
Lee opens his mouth to speak, but he slowly backs down, dropping the attempt.
"Eh…We'll see Buddy."
AJ sighs.
"But no one's here. Nobody is anywhere" he lowers his head, looking out of the window,
"It's always just…Monsters."
Sarah sighs, putting down the bottle and giving him a sweet little hug before rubbing his back.
"Hey…we're here with you Goofball. Are we not someone?"
"Th-That's not what I meant…" AJ awkwardly looks away.
He perks up and runs over near the small opening, spotting a few bits of ammunition lying there.
He pops it into his gun and grins.
"Only a few. But it'll do."
Clementine nods.

"Remember what we said when it comes to guns?" Lee questions.
AJ stops for a moment, looking at his gun.
Lee chuckles.
"Always aim for the head.
And in the roughest moments…never hesitate."
AJ nods.
"Yeah. Yeah I remember."

Sarah lowers her head slightly with a sigh, holding a bunch of the cans.
"Damn…these are LONG gone" she mumbles,
"I really hope we're not too late if there's any other food."
Lee nods.
"Fuck…" AJ mumbles.
Lee shakes his head.
"Watch the swears AJ."
"I…I meant shoot…" he corrects himself, folding his arms.
Lee slightly chuckles.
"Only when I feel you're ready to use 'em."
AJ picks up a jar from the desk and looks at it.
"...Is this edible?"
Lee looks at the jar.
"Of course the Jar isn't edible AJ" Sarah shakes her head,
"Unless you want your mouth to bleed-"
"He meant…is the food inside it in date, Sarah" Lee slightly snorts.
Sarah blinks.
"Oh."
"And, Yeah AJ. This is some food that we can eat."
AJ high fives Lee.
"Yes!"
The sound of the mattress hitting the floor catches all of their attention, they see Clementine looking at it and scrunching her face at the rug.

"What's up Clem?" Lee questions, putting the food into the bag on her back.

She stares for a moment.

She kicks off the rug and a metal trapdoor in the floor greets them.
AJ looks at it curiously.
"A floor door?"
"Must've wanted to hide something" Clem states, gripping onto the handle.
She heaves and tries pulling it back, eventually getting it open.
They hear the clink of a chain hitting the door as their sight is revelling before them.
Tons and tons of jars and bottles fill their vision, all of them gleaming amazed at their find.
"Woah!" "That's a lot of food."
"We can last for weeks with this much, maybe months!" Lee beams.

All at once, Lee watches Clementine's face contort from pure joy to horror.
She slams the metal door down and launches herself at all 3 of them, hearing a massive explosion sound and white noise following after.
Lee opens his eyes to see he is on the floor out of the security guarded space with Sarah and AJ, along with Clementine who is still heavily breathing.
She hugs them all.
"Oh thank god…" She huffs.
"What happened?" Sarah questions.
"It was rigged…with a grenade" she shakes her head,
"We've probably lost most of it."
AJ sighs.
"Shoot…"
"We can still grab some of it if we're-"

They stop.

Hearing more than the groans from the walker couple.
It sounds more distant, but is definitely drawing closer.
"Monsters…" AJ utters.
"We need to go" Sarah states.
"What about the food?" AJ stands up.
"We need to leave it, got no choice!" Lee shouts, grabbing the crowbar from the table and rushing back to them.
Clementine kicks down the door and gets out her knife, Sarah brings out the pocket knife again after putting her book and pencil in Lee's bag.
"Alright AJ, stick to the sides while me, Lee and Aarah clear the path. We are getting back to the car" Clementine firmly instructs.
AJ nods and runs to the side of them, hiding beside some random piles of garbage.

Lee whacks one walker, the edge of the Crowbar sticking into his cranium and out near its eyes.
Sarah kicks in the second walker's knees and stabs it in the head, as per usual,
And Clementine sticks her knife in their eye and finally their head and kicks the body to the floor.
AJ has trapped a fourth walker beneath a filthy wooden door.
Lee stomps on the walker's head, crushing it under his heel's strength.

"Alright, get AJ to the car Sarah!" Lee huffs, Sarah Nodding with no question and grabbing AJ's hand.
She runs and stabs some other walkers while making her way there.

Lee and Clementine continue to whack and stab walkers, trying to clear them enough to make a getaway.
Clementine chuck's Lee's bag in with Sarah and AJ and gets tackled by a walker.
Lee manages to crowbar it off her and shoves it down.
Clementine gets in, putting the key in ignition, and Lee finally closes the car door, sitting in the driver's seat.
Growling and groaning still remain close to them as Walkers bang up against the back of the car, slowly moving to the sides.
As Lee gets the car engine revving, he reverses, running over some of them and getting away from some of the trees in front of them.
He slowly starts moving forward, Sarah, AJ and Clementine putting on seat belts.
"Try to remain calm! I can't drive that wellbeing we'll be okay-!" Lee says out of breath, starting to correct the car onto the road again.

Just as they start to drive off a walker gets whacked onto the hood of the car, blocking Lee's view.
They all start screaming, as they crash down near the trees, flopping the car over nearly to its sides, but ultimately ending with it upside down.
They still hear groans of the walkers behind them.

Lee gets the light knocked out his vision.
As he tries to open his eyes again, all he sees is a blurry haze.
The walkers have some arrows in them…and he sees Clementine slowly get moved.
He couldn't see Sarah nor AJ.

"D..Don't…Don't take Th.Them…please…" he manages to utter before his whole vision goes black.

Chapter Text

His eyes slowly open.

Knowing he's been in this position probably too many times…
When he first started this nightmare, at Carver's, At the Cabin near Wellington, and a few other times nearly scaring the girls half to death.

He lies there a minute, his head absolutely pounding.
He then remembers…
"AJ!" He perks up, before bouncing back from something on his wrist restraining him.
A…piece of duct tape?
He looks around the room He is now in, another bunk bed across from him with Clementine on it and Sarah above her.
However, no AJ to be seen.
He takes the duct tape off his wrist and sits up.
As he reaches his head, he feels bandages wrapped around it and a small damp area to the left of his head.
Blood.
All different types of Medication lie on the drawers next to them, along with bandages and, non surprisingly, a roll of duct tape.
He notices Celemntine and Sarah have the duct tape to their wrist too.

"C.Clem…? Sarah? You girls awake?" He utters.
He looks around him again, squinting at it.
"...What is this place?"

Clementine grunts and almost immediately gets up, of course, being restrained by the duct tape.
Lee takes it off for her and also goes up Sarah's ladder to take off her duct tape too.
"L…Lee?" Clementine utters.
Lee smiles.
"Yeah, it's me Clem."
"Where are we? Wh..What happened to you?" She slowly questions, sitting herself upright, looking slightly dazed.
"I don't know…tryin' to figure that out myself. Last thing I remember is…I crashed the damn car…probably the last one on this earth" he sighs.
Clementine shrugs, she then flinches, noticing she has a covered up bit of her shoulder, blood and bruising slightly underneath it. She also has a slight scar just above her eye which now has been slightly stitched.
"...At least it's better than my driving…" She mumbles,
"Especially with one arm."

"L…Lee? Clem?" Sarah utters, groaning.
She seethes through her teeth as she gets up, looking at her hand that is wrapped in bandages.
"Why does my hand hurt so much…what happened? Where are we?"
Lee sighs and helps her down to the floor.
"I don't know where we are. But all I know, is I fucked up the car, we are here now. Wherever…here is.
And I have no idea where AJ is."
The girls look around and start to panic.
"What if someone took him?!" Clementine breathes,
"We can't let that happen again!!"
"Yeah, that isn't happening again!" Sarah nods.
Lee tries to calm them both.
"I know, I know. Let's get out of this room, and see exactly where we are first."
Eventually, they both nod and head towards the door.
Lee tries it, but it is firmly shut.
"Damn…locked."
Sarah opens something resembling a closet.
They Walk over and see some boxes just filled with stuff not really useful.
Clementine eyes a box with stickers on it.
"That. That might have something useful" she points.
She tries to reach for it, but isn't tall enough to reach.
She tries jumping for it, and going on the tip toes of her boots.
Nothing.
Lee immediately grabs it and puts it on the desk next to Lee's bunk bed.
Clementine sighs and eyes him, opening up the box.
A palette knife is inside, scattered along some colour pencils and a few pieces of paper.
Clementine grabs it.
She jogs over to the door, and twiddles it inside the lock.
After a moment, they hear a click.
Sarah claps excitedly, as Clementine cautiously opens the door as it creaks open.

A long hall greets them: a red-brown tinted floorboard pattern lies beneath their feet with a bunch of scattered lockers and wooden pieces, windows line the walls with wooden boards blocking out some of the light.
Another hallway, as long as the one they first see is seen when they peek around the corner.
At the end, there are double doors.

They open.

"Ah shit…someone's coming.." Clementine utters.
All 3 of them hide.
Lee behind one of the pillars, Sarah behind Lee and Clementine behind one of the locker piles that have fallen over.

They see a little boy with a raw looking burn running up his face and a small knife in his hands, looking a little scared as he slowly reaches for the door.
The door to the room they were taped and locked inside.
Clementine looks at Lee for confirmation on her instinct.
He looks back and shrugs.
Swiftly she grabs the boy, and holds the Palette knife up to his throat.
"What were you gonna do?!" She questions firmly.
The boy trembles slightly, blinking at her,
"Drop. the. knife."
Sarah and Lee come out of hiding.
"Clem…easy. It's just a kid-"
"Not until he drops the knife, Sarah."
"I say that you do the same" a voice states.

They all look over at the hallway again, to see a figure with a bow drawn.
"We have your boy. He's safe. We can take you to see him, if you just put the knife down."
Clementine lets go of the boy and slowly drops the knife, knowing she wants nothing more than to see AJ.
"Yeah. Good, Good. No hard feelings here. That's good."
"Now your turn" Lee stares.
Slowly, the figure retracts the bow.
He slowly walks forward out of the shadow as he puts his bow back.
A boy with a blonde mullet steps into the light with a badged up jacket.
"There. Nobody gets hurt."
He puts his hands on his hips.

"I'm Marlon. This is Tennessee" he puts his hand on the boy's shoulder,
"We call him Tenn for short. He's the one that's been takin' care of you 3."
Sarah slightly waves.
Tenn slightly waves back.
Marlon chuckles slightly.
"He uh…doesn't talk much."
Lee holds out his hand.
"I'm Lee. This is Sarah and Clementine, Clem for short" he smiles.
Marlon is hesitant at first to grab his hand.
After a moment, he shakes his hand.
Marlon sighs.
"Sorry about…lockin' the door and..taping your wrists to the bed and all" he nervously expresses,
"You guys were in rough shape when we found you. We didn't know whether you were gonna make it and…just had to take precautions."
"No need to explain. We understand" Lee nods,
"We were in a tough spot."
Marlon Scoffs.
"Yeah, to say the very least."
He looks out the window.
"Must've been tough out there…for all of you. Sorry if we scared you. We're just very cautious."

A moment of silence.

"Thank you" Sarah utters.
Marlon and Tenn look at her and slightly smile.
"All thanks to Tenn, You're all alright now.
You're safe. Now, let's go and see your boy."
Marlon starts to walk off, Clementine shortly going after.
Tenn then runs off past Marlon and Sarah and Lee follow on last.

As Marlon opens the doors for them, they are greeted with quite a wondrous sight:
A massive building towering over them, a small empty fountain and benches everywhere, a massive wall surrounding them along with the budding top of the trees, welcoming them with the birds chirping.
They see some other people, sitting around: one reading, another setting up what looks like a pot to cook in, and some others roaming around.

"So…you've been survivin' out there a while huh?" Marlon brings up.
Lee nods.
"Yeah…been on the road for a long time."
"I'd say that all of you know how to handle yourselves? I don't see many people around my age out in the wild, especially 2 of them."
Clementine folds her arms.
"Sure. Me and Sarah do what we can to get by" she shrugs.
Sarah nods.
"Yeah, let's just say it took…a lot of work to get to where I am now in survival."
Marlon Scoffs a bit again.
"I can't imagine what that must've been like for you guys. Growing up through all this…"
"We manage," Lee says with a smile.
"Don't worry. We all do what we have to do"
Marlon silently nods, and proceeds to walk on, leading them to follow.
"We're very lucky to have found you when we did" Marlon begins,
"It was rough getting all 4 of you out of that wreckage. With the walkers and all that."
"Yeah…sorry if it caused you any trouble" Lee sighs.
"NoNo, it's fine. Really. At least you guys are safe now."
"Thanks, we…appreciate it" Sarah murmurs, slowing down as one of the kids stares at her and Clementine.
"I don't know what we would've done if we hadn't seen the smoke…" Marlon goes on.
The kid then goes from staring at the girls to backing away from Lee, noticing he is looking at him too.
"Um…Hi there?" Lee awkwardly waves.
The kid then runs away, passing him with a slight scared expression.
Lee grows confused.
"Uhh…What's his problem?"
"Yeah…the whole..staring.." Clem mumbles.
Marlon sighs with a gentle smile.
"You're just new. We haven't seen anything like you guys since…forever. Especially you, Lee. An adult around here has been…hard to come by."
They all raise a brow to that.
Eventually, Sarah draws her eyes back to the building.
"What is this place?" She questions.
"Well as you can probably tell, it used to be a school" he explains,
"And now it's whatever we want it to be."
"And…who's in charge?" Clementine brings up.
Marlon awkwardly stutters.
"Well uh…I am. Probably sounds strange…kids run by a kid. We do alright for ourselves though: good supplies, good defences."
"For real? No adults?" Lee says in slight shock,
"Where'd they go?"
Marlon sighs.
"That's a story for another day…but it wasn't always like this. People leave, they die.
Bad things all around."
Silence.
"Nobody really comes this way out anymore so we're pretty hidden. Got a perfect little camp for ourselves."
He breathes in and opens out his arms.

"Let me make it formal:

Welcome to Ericson's Boarding school for Troubled Youth!

Seems your boy and you, Clem, fit that description."

Lee looks at Clementine.
"Well…I was a pretty good kid before everything changed.." she tries to justify.
Lee nods in agreement to that.
"We all had to grow up fast. I guess that goes double for your boy" Marlon folds his arms,
"He's been a little terror ever since he arrived."
Lee perks up.
"E..Excuse me?"
"Let's just say he hasn't been happy…without you guys there."
"YO MARLON! WE GOT WALKERS ON THE FENCE!!" The kid from before yells to him.
Marlon sighs firmly and looks at them.
"I gotta take care of this…knowing Willy it's probably 2 grandma walkers and an angry squirrel. Your boy will be inside, probably with Louis!"
"Louis?"
"Oh, just listen for the music, you'll find him!"
He shouts before running off towards the kid supposedly named "Willy".
"Get a move on Willy! Where's your damn weapon?" He shouts in the distance, as Clementine Gazes at yet another kid, looking a small bit younger than Marlon.
She is staring at them with a slight glare, but Clementine couldn't exactly tell because of her being far away.
"Come on Clem, AJ" Lee reminds her.
She nods and they start to walk to a different part of the building.

They Walk into the main double doors next to the big pillars, and are greeted with quite the messy sight, but a grand one they haven't seen: specifically the staircase, winding up to the second floor.
They Walk along and see an open small hallway to the side, where they hear faint piano music elegantly whisking along to their ears.
They follow.

"Argh! You motherfucker!!" A voice snaps.
They then see a woman holding her wrist with a scowl on her face. A red-headed girl.
She looks at them with wide eyes and then a scowl too.
"IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU 3 WOKE UP. YOUR LITTLE BOY JUST BIT ME!!" She yells, showing quite the gruesome bite mark on the side of her palm.
"S..Sorry about that. Really we are" Lee sighs,
"He does that sometimes and we're workin' on it."
"Well you better. He's lucky to not have my boot to his head!" She stubbornly replies,
"Nearly took a chunk outta me. He needs to be taught respect."
She slowly walks away, Sarah slightly reaches out after her.
"H.Hey…need some help cleaning that up? I can help with that" Sarah offers, she wanders off with the girl leaving Clementine and Lee to follow on with the music.

As they walk in a room, they see a piano with the one apparently named "Louis" according to Marlon, playing it very nicely.
AJ is listening intently before his eye catches on Clementine and Lee.
He gasps.
"Clem! Lee!" He beams.
He runs over and hugs them both tightly.
"You're okay!"
"Yeah goofball we are…careful of the shoulder" Clem chuckles.
AJ gets off slightly.
"Wh..Where's Sarah?"
"She went off with that girl," Lee smiles, before slowly changing to a raised brow.
"That girl said that you bit her…is that true?"
AJ lowers his head slightly with a slight quivered lip.
Clementine eyes him.
"AJ…"
"She snuck up on me! I didn't mean to.." He folds his arms.
Lee sighs and shakes his head.
"Still, that ain't good to do to the ones that helped us Kiddo. No more bites."
AJ sighs.
"No more bites…"
Clementine nods.
"That's a good boy."

"You guys aren't dead, that's good" Louis grins, slowly stopping his melody,
"I watched your kid for ya!"
"My name is AJ."
He puts his hand to his chest.
"Well excuse me. I watched AJ for you."
"Thanks, we really appreciate it" Lee smiles, Clem nods as well.
"No problem. Well…not- NO problem..he was a bit of a handful" Louis scratches his neck awkwardly,
"But I got off light compared to Ruby."
Lee sighs.
"He doesn't like people coming up behind him is all."
"Yeah…we think it may just be paranoia from the walkers but…we're working on it" Clementine adds.
AJ nods.
"Yeah…"
Louis grins at him.
"Well as long as you don't do it again Kid! Then I'm good."
He begins to play that sweet melody again.
He gives a charming smile and flicks his hair back.
"I'm Louis."
Clementine smiles.
"Clementine."
"Lee."
He smiles at both of them, Nodding.
He perks up.
"Oh, Yeah, nearly forgot. They left your bags in here somewhere."
"Yeah, I see it. Thanks" Clementine nods, before going and picking up Lee's bag and also Clementine's bag that was put into the trunk of the car.
She gives Lee's bag to…Lee. Obviously.
She opens her bag and gets out her knife, putting it back in its place and also the hat.
Lee gets it off her and puts it on her himself.
Adjusting it to be just right.
He smiles at her.
"There we go, that's my girl Sweet Pea" he chuckles.
Clementine rolls her eyes.
"Please, I'm too old for Sweet Pea now" she shakes her head.
He laughs and grabs his screwdriver out his bag, putting it back in his pocket, along with spotting the jar of food is missing, along with the crowbar and Sarah's book and pencil still lounging around in there, along with some bandages and that's it. The crutches were also nowhere to be found.
Clementine grabs AJ's gun and gives it back to him, still keeping the knife he used back at the station in her bag.
Louis stops.
"Um…Double um…"
He watches in slight concern as AJ spins the ammunition insert around and puts it in his pocket.
"I'll clean it later. Back it goes."
"Where it belongs," Clementine smiles.
He looks between them.
"Dude…that- that can't be a good idea! Does he even know what that is??"
Lee Scoffs.
"I bet he's a greater shot than you" He folds his arm and nub as he gets up.
Louis Scoffs back and nervously looks away.
"I don't use guns often okay…you guys do your thing I guess" he Mumbles, going back to his piano and playing that melody once again.
Lee raises a brow.
"Do you know any others?"
Louis looks at him with a smile.
"Well…there's one. It depends whether Clementine there, will stab me if I play it or not. You're armed."

They stare at each other, making Louis sigh with a smile and start playing the other melody.

"~🎶Oh my Darlin', Oh my Darlin',
Oh my Daaarrrlin' Clementine!
You are lost and Gone forever…
Dreadful Sorry, Clementine~🎶"

"I love that song!" Clementine utters.
Lee nods.
"Me too..!"

"~🎶Light she was and like a fairy,
And her shoes were number nine!
Herring boxes without topses,
Sandals were for Clementine~🎶"

They all clap as AJ chuckles.
"What do you think, AJ?" Clementine smiles.
AJ blinks at it.
"I don't know…it's…loud."
"It is."
"And..loud is bad."
Lee shakes his head with a chuckle.
"Not always."
Louis moves aside, making a space on the seat.
"Here. Press a key."
AJ looks up at Lee and Clementine, looking slightly worried.
Lee smiles.
"Go on AJ. Press it!"
AJ slowly inches towards Louis, Louis calmly letting out a hand to gesture to the piano.
"Press….this one for me" Louis grins.
AJ presses a key, then another, then another.
He then makes a little melody with the keys he just used.
"You're a natural," Louis smiles.
AJ goofily grins.
"Hey!" Marlon calls. They all turn around.
"Have you seen Rosie?"
Louis shakes his head.
"Uh..no."
Marlon sighs.
"Ah shit…We've got a bit of a situation out there…" he sighs,
"I know that you guys just came to and all but…we could really use a hand out there."
Marlon looks between them.
"You up for takin' out a few deadheads?"
Clementine and Lee nod.
They all start quickening their pace, Marlon stays a bit behind.
"You too Louis!" He calls.
Louis slightly groans.
"Ugh…fine…"

As they rush outside, Marlon grunts in frustration.
"Where's Rosie Goddammit…" he sighs,
"Louis. You give their weapons back?"
Louis nods as Clementine gets out her knife, Lee gets out his trusty screwdriver and Louis whacks a chair leg on his shoulders.
Marlon nods.
"Good. You need to put it to good use. Our hunting party has been blocked off by walkers.. seems there are more of them than usual."
One of the girls folds their arms and looks away.
"Almost like something loud drew their attention like…I don't know. An explosion, or a car crash" she stubbornly states.
Marlon sighs.
"Vi…"
"What? I'm just saying there's some explanation…"
"We didn't know any of that was gonna happen…we're sorry if it caused you any trouble" Clementine Mumbles.
Louis raises a brow with a sigh.
"Hello Clementine, Hello Lee. I'm violet, nice to meet you."
Violet glares at Lee.
"What he said…"
Willy leans over the wall's ledge.
"Alright boys and girls, they're startin' to fill in!" He yells.
"Good luck" Violet murmurs.
Marlon gets his bow ready, grabbing an arrow.
"Stay safe out there."
Louis walks towards the gate, catching Lee eyeing the chair leg.
"Oh! This? This is Chairles the chair leg" he grins.
He sighs.
"Don't worry about Violet…she grows on you. I promise."
They all rush out of the gate, closing it behind AJ.
Clementine hesitates.
"We…really shouldn't bring AJ…"
"He can help. He can be our eyes from the side and I think it's time he kills his second few walkers" Lee smiles.
"B.But-!"
"Trust me Clem."
She eyes him and then looks to AJ.
"It's okay Clem. I can help" AJ smiles.
She sighs deeply.
"Okay…stay near me."
AJ nods with a grin.