Savannah was deserted.
There were no walkers. No people. No tires on cars.
Luna walked beside Kenny, who still wouldn't look at her. Omid had hurt his leg pretty bad from the fall from the train. Luna had bandaged it up best she could, but though her mother taught her how to mend things, she didn't teach her much.
Kenny was hellbent on getting a boat and getting out to see. Luna, however, thought that was a bad idea. People had probably thought of it before, and taken their boats and left. And even then, what would they do when they were out there? How would they cook the fish they've caught? How would they get supplies like water and clothes?
Suddenly, as they walked through the abandoned streets, a bell began ringing.
"Maybe this city isn't as dead as we thought," Christa said.
"Keep moving," Kenny said. "No one's ringing that bell. It's automatic. On a timer."
Lee glanced at his watch. "What kind of bell goes off at twenty past the hour?"
Everyone was silent.
"Someone's up there!" Lee suddenly said.
"Are you sure?" Ben asked. "I don't see anything."
"I know what I saw! I'm telling you, there's someone up in that bell tower! Someone alive!"
Clem's walkie talkie suddenly made a static noise from Lee's belt.
"I'd get out of the street, if I were you . . . "
"I thought you said that thing didn't work?" Christa raised an eyebrow.
Lee ignored her as he spoke into the walkie talkie. "Who the hell is this? Hello? Hello? I said answer me!"
It was silent.
"What the hell was that?" Omid questioned, as the bell stopped. "Is someone trying to fuck with us?"
"Sounds more like a warning," Ben said.
Chuck glanced down the street. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls . . ."
Kenny turned to him. "What the hell are you yammering about?"
They all followed his gaze, and saw dozens of zombies walking towards them, attracted by the bell.
"It tolls for thee."
"Everybody run!" Lee yelled, and they did just that. Clem and Luna grabbed each other's hands so that they'd stick together, stay close to Lee's side. But then, they heard a yelp.
Kenny was on the ground, ankle grabbed by a walker. Lee pulled out his gun and ran towards them, shooting the walker.
"A little too close, don't you think?" Kenny said.
But Clem, Luna and Ben were stuck in a group of walkers, slowly closing in.
"Ben!" Lee yelled. "Help them!"
But Ben just looked from Luna and Clem, to the walkers, and ran, leaving them there.
"Goddamn it!" Lee yelled, trying to get through the crowd to them.
Clem yelped as walkers went to grab her arm, but it fell to the ground as a shovel hit it in the side of the head, Chuck appearing in it's place.
Chuck looked at Lee as he ran over. "Get them the hell out of here. I'll catch up with you."
Lee nodded, and grabbed Luna and Clem's hands, running towards Kenny with them.
"Move your asses!" Kenny yelled. "River streets right up ahead!"
"That's not all," Ben said.
Another large group of walkers was coming that way, groaning.
"Aw, give me a fucking break!" Kenny yelled.
"Wait," Christa looked around. "Where's Chuck?"
They looked over to see him knocking down walkers in the middle of a crowd.
"Shit, he's in trouble," Omid said. "We've got to help him!"
But the amount of walkers was too much. They couldn't get through.
"There's too many!" Kenny yelled. "We gotta get out of here, now!"
"I'll be fine!" Chuck knocked down another one. "Just go!"
They ran down a street, turning into a small alley that led to the backyard of a boarded up house. Kenny ran at the door, knocking it open.
"Come on, come on, everyone inside!"
Everyone hurried in, and he slammed the door behind them.
It seemed deserted, and there seemed to be nothing there other than the furniture. The cabinets were open and empty, a bag of dog food sat on the kitchen counter, dust collecting atop it.
"Seems okay enough," Kenny said.
"Should we look to see if anyone's here?" Luna asked.
Lee nodded. "Good thinking, Lu."
"Lee, you take downstairs, Ben and I can do upstairs," Kenny said, pulling out his gun. "Make sure you check every locked door, understand?"
"Then we can get Omid fixed up," Clementine said, looking over at Omid, who was laying on the couch, pain written all over his face.
"Yeah, maybe," Kenny made his way upstairs.
"Can I help?" Clem asked.
Lee smiled down at her. "Why don't you go on over to Christa and Omid and see if you can help?"
They sat with Christa and Omid, Lee being called upstairs to help Kenny with something. When he came back down, he had a young, skinny boy in his arms. A walker. Christa moved Luna's eyes away from him before she got a good look, but she could hear Lee burying the boy outside.
"Hey!" They heard him yell suddenly. "YOU COME BACK HERE, I'LL KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME? I'LL KILL YOU!"
Christa, Clem and Luna hurried out, Ben on their tail.
"What's going on?" Ben asked. "Who're you yelling at?"
Lee was facing the fence, but turned to them as they spoke. "Someone was out there. Watching us."
"Walker?"
"No. Too fast. Took off like a bat when they knew I spotted them."
Christa narrowed her eyes. "Was it a man or a woman?"
"What's it matter?" Ben scoffed. "Someone's watching us!"
"I want to know if it's the same guy who was on the radio. Who's been messing with us."
"Didn't get a good enough look," Lee said.
Kenny walked out of the house, looking rather down. "What's all this ruckus?"
"Kenny," Lee looked at him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, just answer my question."
"Lee saw someone watching us from outside the wall!" Ben said quickly.
"What?" Kenny's eyes widened. "Who was it?"
"Can't be sure, they took off too fast," Lee said.
"I don't like this one bit," Ben said. "Not one bit."
"Me either," Christa crossed her arms. "Walkers are one thing. But the thought of someone out there, actually watching us . . . "
"Alright, that's enough!" Kenny said. "We've stuck around here long enough! It's about time we get back on track and get down to the river and find ourselves a boat!"
"I don't know if Omid's well enough yet."
"Well, he better be," Kenny stepped forward. "Cause I'm going down now to find us a boat. And as soon as she's ready to go, we're moving out!"
"I'm with Kenny," Lee said. "The sooner we get the hell out of here, the better."
"Well then, hell, what are we waiting for?" Kenny questioned.
Ben smiled. "I'll go get my stuff."
"No, Ben, you'll only slow us down. Lee and I will go scout out the river while the rest of you get ready to go. You stay here with Omid and Christa."
"Wait, can't I come?" Clem asked. "My mom and dad can't be close now, maybe I can see if they're by the river."
"We can't right now," Lee sighed.
"But Lee, you promised we'd go looking for them as soon as we got here," Luna said.
"On the train, you promised," Clem pouted.
"I know I did, sweet pea. I haven't forgotten," Lee said. "But Savannah's a lot more dangerous than I thought it would be. We all need to stick together as a group."
"Okay."
"Daylight's burning," Kenny said. "I'll go grab my gear, and then we're out of here."
"Come on, Clementine and Luna," Christa said. "Let's go see if Omid needs anything."
They followed her inside. Omid was looking worse. He was pale, eyes closed, laying on the couch.
Ben came in a second later, fuming.
"They won't let me go," Ben said, as he sat down.
Christa furrowed her eyebrows. "Why not?"
"Says I need to stay here and keep an eye on you guys."
Kenny came down the staircase, gun in hand.
"Well, I'll see ya's."
He hurried outside, where Lee was waiting, without even looking at Luna.
"I just don't understand!" Ben continued. "How am I supposed to learn if they never bring me?"
He continued rambling as Clem poked Luna's arm.
"Hm?" She questioned.
Clem whispered, glancing at the door. "I think we should go after Lee."
"Why? He's got dad with him."
"We're a team, remember?" Clem smiled. "We have to stick together."
Luna sighed. "Alright. Let me grab my bag."
And so, five minutes later, they were back out of the streets of Savannah. It was easy to slip out, as Ben wasn't paying attention to anything as he rambled, and Christa was too worried about Omid to notice.
Clem held a pencil, as did Luna, as they had no weapons, and thought it was better than nothing, though they didn't want to use it.
A bell rang in the distance.
"It's the bell again!" Clem said. "What if more walkers come again?"
Luna shook her head. "It sounds further away. Maybe it'll make them go away."
"Shh!" Clem pulled Luna behind a car, just in time, as a group of Walkers walked past, groaning.
They stayed hidden until the group passed, and they couldn't hear them anymore.
"Come on," Clem whispered. "I think it's clear."
They stayed low, and made their way down the street. It was empty, which Luna was thankful for, as the stripped cars didn't serve as much cover.
When they finally reached the river, they saw that all the boats were gone, other than one, which was stuck on a spike in the water that went through the bottom of it, making it unusable. But they didn't take note of this, as Lee was on top of a hooded figure, gun to their head.
"Lee?" Clem questioned.
He looked back at her. "Clem? Luna?"
The person underneath him pulled down their hood, revealing their short blonde hair and dirty surgical mask.
"You're not from Crawford," She said.
"And you're not the guy who's been fucking with us."
"I'm not a guy at all. A plus observation skills," She sighed. "Now, can you let me get up?"
Lee kept his gun aimed at her head. "Slowly."
He stood up, her following, dusting off her red jacket. She pulled off her mask, giving Lee a small smile as he lowered his gun slightly.
Then Kenny came out behind her from an alleyway, holding his gun to the back of her head.
"Kenny, don't!" Lee tried.
But he didn't listen, and before they knew it, he was on the ground, gun firing but missing it's target, and the woman going to swing her climbing axe at him.
"Don't!" Lee said. "He's with us!"
The girl glanced at them and put her axe away, lingering on Clem and Luna.
"Who the hell are you people?"
"I asked you first," Lee said.
She turned to him. "The name's Molly."
"Molly, I'm Lee, This is Kenny, Clementine and Luna. We don't want any trouble."
"Hi," Clem smiled at her, as Luna waved.
Molly looked at them. "You guy's really aren't from Crawford, are you?"
"No," Lee said. "I'm from Macon. Kenny here's from Florida."
"She didn't ask for our life stories, Lee!" Kenny said. "What's the deal with this Crawford place?"
"You really want to know?" Molly asked.
Kenny nodded.
"When everything started going to shit, some people closed off that whole neighbourhood. People who will do anything to stay alive, try to keep the dead out. I try to avoid them. "
"Why?"
"Let's just say they have a zero-tolerance policy for people who won't - or can't - live by their rules. "
"So how'd you know we weren't them?"
Molly turned to look at Clem and Luna, with a sad look upon her face. "Because there are no children in Crawford. Not anymore."
"What do you mean 'no children'?" Lee asked. "Why not?"
"No children, no elderly, no one with an advanced medical condition," Molly walked over to what Luna thought was a wall, but was actually a large barricade of dead bodies, walkers hanging on spikes above it. "Basically no one who will be a burden on the community. That' s how they survived, while the rest of the world went to shit around them."
Kenny sighed. "Jesus Christ . . . "
"Well, just the opposite, when you think about it."
"What exactly did Crawford do with with all these 'burdens'?" Lee asked. "What happened to them?"
Molly gestured to the walkers. "Well, you met some of them already."
Kenny shook his head. "Fuck me . . ."
"Yeah. Anyone who got sick. Anyone they thought was too old. Anyone they figured wasn't strong enough to survive. To them, those people were just mouths to feed. A drain on their precious resources."
Lee looked at her suspiciously. "How do you know all this?"
"Everyone in Savannah knew what was going on in Crawford. It was past around like a ghost story," She turned away from the walkers, walking down the street as the others followed. "Except this one was true."
"Any idea who was ringing those bells all over town?" Lee asked.
"Yeah. That would be me."
Kenny's face scrunched up in anger. "I knew it! Lee, I knew she was the one watching us, fucking with us!"
"Get that finger out of my face, grandpa, before I shove it up your ass. I haven't been watching you, hell, I don't even know who you people are."
"Relax, Kenny," Lee said. "The guy on the radio was a guy, remember?"
"Yeah, well," Kenny turned back to Molly. "Ringing that bell this morning almost got us all killed. Raised the dead all around us."
"That's the idea, genius," Molly said. "I ring the bell in one neighbourhood to get all the local geeks towards it, then it buys me some time to scavenge the areas they cleared out."
"Geeks?" Kenny scoffed. "Is that what you call them?"
"Yeah, you know, like the the carnival. They'll eat anything, alive or dead."
"That's pretty smart," Lee said. "What you do with the bells."
"It doesn't take much to outsmart the dead, they're a bunch of dumbasses. Just gotta make sure you clear out, get in and out quickly, before they wander back again," She crossed her arms. "Now. I'm going to ask you people one last time: if you're not from Crawford, who the hell are you? And what are you doing here?"
"Down here looking for a boat," Lee said. "Hoping to get our people out of here, get them someplace safe."
She scoffed. "Yeah, good luck with that. Those who had boats got out of here as soon as people started eating each other. Any that got left behind got stripped for parts. Cars too."
Kenny crossed his arms. "There's got to be something."
"If there was, do you think I'd still be here? I've been over every inch of this city, it's picked clean."
"Goddamn it!" Kenny yelled. "Fuck!"
"Hey, moron, want to think about keeping your voice down?"
Kenny looked down at the ground. "Shit."
"Since you folks aren't getting on any boat," Molly turned to Lee and the kids. "I'd advise you to head back to where you came from, before-"
Groans came from behind them, walkers walking on to the street.
"Great," Molly sighed. "Just great."
Kenny looked at them. "Shit. Isn't that the-"
"Way we came?" Lee finished. "Yeah."
"Isn't there another way back to the house?" Clem asked.
"Molly," Lee turned to her. "Is there a-"
But she was already running, vanishing into an alley, and when they followed her, she was climbing up a fire escape.
"Hey!" Lee looked up at her. "You just going to leave us here?"
"Sorry, I must have missed that part of our conversation where you became my problem!"
"Please don't leave us!" Luna called up.
"You have to help us, please!" Clem said.
Molly looked down at them. "Fine. But make it quick."
Lee got Luna and Clem up, first, before Kenny followed. But when they tried to get Lee up, Kenny couldn't hold him, and he fell.
"Lee, you need to get out of there!" Kenny said, as more walkers closed in.
He pushed a dumpster, only to find more walkers on that side.
"The manhole cover!" Luna yelled, and Lee pulled it, but couldn't get it off.
"Here!" Molly threw her axe down. "Use this to pry it off!"
Lee did, and crawled down it, right as the walkers closed down on either side.
"Lee!" Clem squealed.
"He'll be alright," Kenny said, but he sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
Molly began climbing up to the roof. "Best we can do is get you back to the house. Where is it?"
They climbed over differnt roofs, Molly having made a path over it with wood and tables before hand, and before they knew it, they were in a bedroom in the house. They made their way downstairs, to see Christa and Ben still by Omid.
"Clementine! Luna!" Christa sighed. "We couldn't find you! Don't sneak off like that!"
"Who're you?" Ben looked at Molly, who scratched her neck awkwardly.
"Um . . . Molly."
"She's cool," Clem said, as Luna looked at Omid. "She helped us escape."
Christa looked at Kenny, who sat in one of the armchairs. "So . . . I take it there were no boats?"
Luna shook her head.
"Fuck."
"There's a bedroom upstairs," Luna said. "I think Omid would be more comfortable up there, but we're going to need medicine to get him better."
Christa looked at Molly hopefully, who shook her head.
"Sorry," Molly said. "Eh, only place you're going to find medicine is Crawford."
"Which is out of the picture," Luna said.
"Why?"
"Bad place."
Christa sighed. "What're we going to do, then?"
"We can move him upstairs, and work it out from there," Luna said. "If I get the stuff I know how to fix him."
And so, they brought him upstairs and into one of the bedrooms. He didn't wake up, though his eyes rolled open every once and a while.
Christa sighed, eyes glossy as she looked at Omid. "What're we going to do?"
Luna put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll work it out."
Luna gave Omid's wound a clean, and by time she finished Lee had gotten back, with a doctor.
"He's going to need antibiotics," The man said. "Without them . . . "
"Yeah, we get it," Luna said. "It's a bad infection."
The man narrowed his eyes at her. "How old are you?"
She crossed her arms. "Eight. Why? I don't see how that helps Omid."
"I doesn't. Just strange . . . they looking after you right?"
"We're looking after her just fine," Christa stood up. "Now, we-"
"Luna!" Clementine burst into the room, smiling brightly. "Luna, guess what!"
"What?"
"I found a boat!"
* * *
Kenny took quite a while to check out the boat to see if it worked. Molly stayed, as did the doctor, Vernon. They were all sitting downstairs in the living room.
"Will you quit pacing?" Molly said to Lee. "You're stressing everyone out?"
"Why are you even still here?" Christa looked at Molly.
"Hey, if your friend really can get that boat working, you're taking me with you as payment for saving your asses. I figure that's fair enough, don't you?"
"Yes," Luna said.
The front door opened, and everyone looked at Kenny and Ben walked in.
"Well?" Lee asked.
Kenny sighed. "You want the good news, or the bad news?"
"Bad news," Luna said. "Always best to get it out of the way."
"Well, she's not taking us anywhere the shape she's in now. Gas tank's empty, and the battery's dead. "
Christa looked back at him. "So what's the good news?"
"That's it. That's all she needs. Some gas and a battery and she'll be good. "
"And how are we supposed to find that stuff?"
Everyone was silent.
"I think we need to try Crawford," Luna said. "I know it's not a great place, but they took everything in the city, Molly said so. So, if we sneak in, grab a battery, and gas, and some antibiotics for Omid, we'll be good to go. We just need to-"
"Now hold on a minute," Vernon growled.
"Surely we have to try," Christa stood up. "If there are people in this city - alive- with supplies, what harm can it do to ask?"
"That's not what I-" Luna was interrupted by Vernon.
"You don't know these people," He said. "I do. Showing up with a wounded man? You might as well put a noose around his neck. They don't exactly welcome children with open arms, either."
"What the hell type of a place are we talking about here?" Christa asked.
"The worst kind," Molly said. "But Luna's right, I don't think we have any other choice."
"And just how exactly do you suppose we do this?" Kenny questioned.
"Sneaking," Luna said. "Like they do in Spy Kids."
"How're we supposed to do that?" Kenny asked.
"I might know a way," Vernon said. "I know the sewer system like the back of my hand. Y'all wouldn't happen to have a map by any chance?"
"Yeah, actually," Lee took the map of Savannah out of his pocket, unfolding it and putting it on the table for everyone to see.
"I think I could lead us through so that we could get right under the perimeter and to the centre, where they keep their supplies." Vernon said. "We come up beneath them, take them by surprise, take what we need and get the hell out of there before they know what hit them."
"That's actually not the worst idea I've ever heard," Molly said. "I mean, it's close but . . . not bad."
"I've thought about it before, just never had the people to do it. I think if we all work together, we might be able to pull it off."
"And what do you want in return for your generous offer?" Kenny asked sarcastically.
"Crawford doesn't just have what you need, it's well stocked with medicine, like the kid said. Medicine that my people could use, just like yours."
"We can do this!" Christa said. "We have to!"
"So?" Kenny raised an eyebrow. "It's decided then? We're going to Crawford?"
"Anyone else got a problem with this plan?" Lee asked. "Cause we're gonna need everyone of us to pull this off."
Ben shook his head. "Man, I don't know . . . "
"I don't know about you, kid, but I'd rather do something than sit around here and wait to die!" Kenny said. "That boat out there is an answered prayer, we've just got to push it a little farther. So, are you in or out?"
Ben stayed silent as he looked down at the floor.
"We should go tonight," Vernon said. "Under the cover of dark. I'll let my people know, give them time to prepare. I'll be back before midnight."
"Be careful," Christa said.
"That's how I stayed alive," He made his way out the back door.
Luna made her way over to the staircase, where Clementine was sitting.
Lee, who was behind Luna, furrowed his eyebrows. "How long have you been there? I thought I told you to stay in your room."
"Is it going to be dangerous?" She asked.
"Is what going to be dangerous?"
". . . Crawford."
"No, don't worry," He said. "We have a good plan and good people. We'll be in and out before they even knew we were there. You trust me, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"That's my girl."
She stood up. "Well, come on, Luna. I guess we should go get ready."
"Yeah."
"Uh, say what now?" Lee's eyes widened.
"You said you'd need all of us to do this. And you said I'm a big help, remember?" Clem said.
Lee was silent.
"Molly said that Crawford is the only place left in Savannah that still has people. That means it must be where my Mom and Dad are, right?"
"Where I'm going it's just too dangerous," Lee said. "For children especially."
"You said we're supposed to stick together," Luna said, going up to stand beside Clem. "We're a team, remember?"
"Can't we come with you?" Clem asked.
Lee sighed. "Okay. You can come. But you both have to promise to stay quiet and do exactly what you're told the whole time we're there."
"Okay!" Clem grabbed Luna's hand and pulled her up the stairs. "Come on! We've got to go get ready!"
* * *
Late that night, they made their way out to the backyard with Lee.
Kenny looked over at them from his spot in the shed with the boat. "Luna, are you coming?"
She nodded. "I'll be good."
He nodded. "Everyone grab the things you need from the shed, there's hacksaws, screwdrivers - they'll probably be useful on our little break in."
Everyone nodded and made their way over to grab things.
"Luna," Kenny crouched in front of her. "You do exactly as I say, okay? Stick with Clementine, and either me or Lee, unless I say otherwise. Aliright?"
"Got it."
He ruffled her hair. "I like it short, by the way. Suits you."
She smiled. "Thanks."
He looked at Lee, who was standing behind her. "Lee, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Yeah." The two of them made their way out of earshot.
Luna walked over to Clem, who was standing looking at the Map of Savannah with Molly.
"Do you think we should get something?" Clem asked. "I don't want to."
Luna shook her head. "Me neither. We'll just stick by the guys. Lee, Dad and Christa have guns."
They heard the gate open, and looked over to see Vernon with a woman with ginger hair, and a heart necklace.
"Who the hell is this?" Kenny asked.
"This is Brie," Vernon told them. "She can help us."
"Good," Lee said. "We're going to need all the help we can get."
"I was a student at the school where Crawford keeps their supplies," She said. "I know the layout."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Molly asked, pulling her hood up. "Let's get moving."
Luna pulled the hood of her own knitted jacket over her head.
Everyone followed her out.
"Hold on just a second," Lee crouched in front of the girls. "You ready?"
"Ready." They both said.
"Whoa, hang on a minute," Vernon said. "You're not taking them with us. Did you not hear anything I said about the kind of place Crawford is? If you take them in there and they find her-"
"These little girls aren't just excess baggage," Lee said. "They've gotten us out of tight spots more than once. They're coming. Deal with it."
"You heard the man," Kenny said. "Let's head out."
And so, they made their way out of the garden, and onto the streets.
* * *
"This should be it," Vernon said, looking up a ladder in the sewers. "We right beneath the centre of old Crawford. The school should be right above us."
"Okay, people!" Lee turned to everyone. "This is it. Remember the plan. We get in, we get out, we stay silent and hidden, and are out before anyone knows we were there. Got it?"
Everyone nodded.
"And that part about staying close?" Lee looked down at Luna and Clem. "That goes double for you two."
Luna held up their joint hands. "We'll stick together."
Lee smiled at them, and climbed up the ladder, pushing the manhole cover off.
"Come on."
Everyone followed him up, Luna and Clem going first, and emerged on a large, empty street, almost impossible to see in the dark blanket that lay over it. The stars were particularly bright, and Luna felt her heart hurt as she remembered Duck talking about wanting to be an astronaut.
"Where is everyone?" Vernon said. "There should be guards patrolling."
"What?" Kenny crawled behind the bush they were all hiding behind. "You complaining?"
"No, just strange is all."
"I think I see one," Christa whispered. "Over there, by the door."
"Okay," Lee pulled out a small axe. "Kenny and I will sneak up behind him, try to take him by surprise. None of you come until we signal that it's okay. Everybody got it?"
Everyone nodded.
"Okay, Kenny, let's do this. No shooting unless there's no other choice."
Kenny cocked his rifle. "Right behind you."
Lee crouched and walked over, Kenny right behind him. He got behind the man, raised his axe, when, suddenly, the man turned around.
"What the FUCK?"
It was a walker, which growled at Lee before he buried the axe in his head.
Molly walked over, seeming unable to believe there was a walker there.
"What the fuck is a walker doing inside here?" Lee asked.
They heard more growls, and looked to see that all around them, Walkers were closing in, growling.
"Everyone, get inside!" Lee yelled. "Now!"
Everyone ran after him as he ran into the school, Lee and Kenny slamming the door shut behind them. They ran up to the second floor, where Brie and Vernon leaned against the doors, just in case the Walkers got in.
"Fuck! Fuck!" Kenny groaned. "Do you think they saw us come in here?"
Lee sighed. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Luna and Clem had their hands over their ears, trying to steady their breathing.
"What the hell happened here?" Christa wondered. "I thought this place was supposed to be secure!"
"What always happens, I guess," Molly said. "In the end, the dead always win."
"Oh, man, we are so screwed," Ben started pacing.
"No," Vernon stepped forward. "This is good."
"Vernon's right," Lee said. "We can deal with walkers better than armed guards."
"I agree," Kenny said. "As long as we make sure they don't box us in, we'll still be able to pull this off. The plan hasn't changed."
"The plan hasn't changed?" Ben scoffed. "Every time walkers show up the plan changes. Do you even have any idea how many of them are out there?"
"No!" Christa glared at him. "Want to do a headcount? Or do you want to get what we need, and get the hell out of here?"
"Come on," Brie started walking down the locker lined hall. "I think I know which way to head."
They made their way down the hallway, after Brie, and into the doorway at the end. There were doors boarded off with large red 'X' painted on them, they could hear walkers behind them. The room they ended up in was a first graders room, with childish paintings over the walls of fish and stick figured people. It made Luna feel oldly nostalgic. It had only been three months, but it felt like a lifetime ago when she was last in her own classroom. They had paintings of her favourite flowers on the wall, sunflowers, and even let her paint Croaky onto the wall.
A door on the far side of the room had cardboard tapped onto it, with the words 'Armory,' drawn on it. Lee tried to open it, but it was locked.
"Figures."
"Looks like they were using this room as some kind of command centre," Kenny said, looking up at the chalkboard, which had a drawing of the entire school on it, with labelled rooms and what you could find there.
"Okay, so now what?" Molly asked. "Where do we start looking?"
The devised a plan - Lee and Molly were going to the auto shop to find a battery, Kenny and Brie were going to maintenance the shed for fuel, Vernon and Christa were going to the nurse's office for medicine, and Ben was staying in the classroom, to try and get the armoury open.
"What about us?" Luna asked, still holding Clem's hand.
"What can we do?" Clem looked up at Lee, as everyone left, and Lee crouched down to them.
"I need you two to watch over Ben and look after our command centre. I'm putting you both in charge of it, okay?"
Clem and Luna glanced at Ben, who was trying to get the door open, remembering how he left them on the street.
"You're leaving us with Ben?" Luna sighed.
"No. I'm leaving him with you. Understand?"
Clem smiled. "Oh. Okay."
Lee grinned as he stood up. "Back before you know it."
Clem and Luna sat at two of the small desks in the room, and Luna began writing in her journal. She put a note of basic guitar cords that Chuck had taught her in, as well as a drawing of Lee she did the day before. But then, she overheard Lee and Ben.
"No offence, Ben, but are you out of your motherfucking mind?" Lee was saying. "We need Kenny! He's holding on by a thread! If you tell him that, he'll be gone! You need to put the group first!"
"I know, but everytime I look at him, I feel like I'm lying to him! I've been helping him with the boat, and I've really gotten to know him, and he's a good guy, you know? And it's so hard to keep the truth from him-"
"Keep you voice down, damnit!"
"Right, walkers, but-"
"No, not walkers, Luna! She'll tear your ear off if she knows! And Kenny will do the same!"
"I know, I've thought about that, but I don't know how long I can keep the truth from him! If I didn't fuck up at the motel, Duck and Katjaa would still be-"
Lee covered his mouth. "Don't you say that! She'll hear you!"
But Luna'd already heard. And put the pieces together. Ben's nervousness around Kenny, and when Lilly was accusing him of stealing supplies. It had been him.
Ben was the reason Duck was bit.
Ben was the reason her Mom was dead.
Ben was the reason Kenny could hardly look at her.
Luna was more angry than she'd ever been, but didn't know what to do. What did Ben get out of helping the bandits? Why? Why'd he put everyone at risk?
It was about fifteen minutes later when Kenny, Lee and Brie got back, Kenny holding a large bottle of fuel.
"You're back!" Clem smiled at them as the pair ran over to them.
"Yeah," Kenny said. "And we made it out pretty well, too."
"Great job, Kenny," Ben said.
"How're you doing with that door?"
"Not so good."
"Here," Kenny walked over to him. "Let me give you a hand. Did you get that battery yet?"
"Yeah," Lee said. "Molly has it. She should be back here soon."
"She'd better be."
But Kenny didn't have any more luck than Ben did. Vernon and Christa had gotten back by time he came up with an idea.
"Hey, kid, head out and see if you can find something to bust it open with," Kenny said after about twenty minutes of trying to get it open.
"Okay!"
Ben hurried out of the room, and a few minutes later, a bell chimed in the distance.
"What's the kid fucked up this time?" Kenny sighed.
Luna stood up, and made her way out of the room, Clem following.
"Oh, shit." They heard Lee say at the end of the hallway.
Lee was there, gun aimed, but not shooting, trying to get a clear shot of a walker that as stuck on Molly's axe, without hitting Molly.
Clem aimed her gun, and took the shot. She'd gotten the gun from Kenny, without him knowing.
The walker fell to the ground.
"Thanks," Molly said to Lee, as she ran over.
"It wasn't me."
"Good shot, kid," Molly ruffled Clem's hair, as she stood, frozen.
"Thanks . . . "
Lee smiled down at her.
"Come on!" Luna pointed to the large amount of walkers that were coming in through the doors they'd come in through, all of them groaning as they went after them.
They ran back to the classroom, where Brie was holding the door open for them. She slammed it shut as soon as they entered.
"What the fuck is going on?" Kenny turned to face them.
Lee ran over to him. "They're coming."
"Oh, shit."
"That ought to hold 'em," Vernon said, looking over at Brie, who was leaning against the door, trying to keep it closed.
"Sure, but now how do we get out?" Brie questioned.
"Through the armory!" Kenny started beating the door with his shoulder. "If we could just get this damn door open!"
Ben gave Lee the small axe, which he then ran over to the armoury door with.
"This is my fault," Ben said. "This is all my fault."
"What is he blabbering about?" Christa asked.
"Ben," Lee warned. "We talked about this."
"Wait, no, I want to know what he's talking about," Christa said. "And why's Luna looking at him like that?"
Ben took a step away from Luna as he saw the scowl she was sending her way. "Kenny, Luna, I'm so sorry. So sorry, man."
"Kid!" Kenny shoved his shoulder into the door. "This isn't the best time! Whatever you did! Save it for later!"
"I opened the door . . . I let them in . . . "
"I said save it for after we get out of here!"
"Ben," Lee tried again. "We don't have time for this right now."
"I'm sorry, Lee, I can't do this anymore," Ben sighed. "He's got a right to know."
"What does he mean?" Christa was still looking at Luna, who's hands had balled into fists.
"It's been me all along!" Be said. "I've been putting us in danger. Katjaa and Duck . . . It was all my fault."
Kenny finally kicked the door open, but then froze. "Wait a minute . . . what are you saying?"
"It was me who made the deal with the bandits at the motor inn, slipping them supplies. I thought maybe it would keep us safe. Keep them off our backs. When it got discovered, that's when they attacked. That's when Duck . . . "
As Kenny dived for Ben, Lee and Vernon caught him, holding him back. Luna went to dive at him, too, but Christa seemed to already know she was going to, and had crouched beside her, putting an arm around her middle and holding her back.
"I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!" Kenny yelled. "YOU KILLED THEM! MY WIFE AND CH- CHILD! THEY'RE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU KILLED THEM!"
"Kenny, calm the fuck down!" Lee struggled to hold him back. "It was a mistake! Ben didn't mean anything."
"YOU'RE DEAD, YOU HEAR ME? DEAD! There isn't enough room on that boat, we're leaving you behind!"
"Kenny, we'll work this all out when we get out of here!"
"Work what out?" Kenny pulled away from their grip. "I just said what's happening! He can rot for all I care!"
"I hate to say it, but I vote we leave him behind, too," Christa said, standing up as Luna calmed down. "I'm sorry, Ben, but all I want is to get back to Omid, and you put that at risk."
"Don't we get votes?" Clementine asked.
"Of course you do," Lee said.
"Well, Ben's my friend, and we don't leave friends behind. So that's my vote."
Christa gulped. "On second thoughts, I'm gonna abstain. "
Luna glared at Ben. "I'm not friends with people who kill my family."
Lee sighed. "I'm sorry, Ben, but I have to do what's best for the group."
"What about the rest of us?" Brie asked from her spot holding the door closed. "Don't we get a say in-"
Brie screamed as a hand shot through the window of the door, grabbing her and pulling it open before the walker bit into her shoulder. She looked at it in horror, as another walker bit into her leg. Then, another one grabbed her by the head, as another bit into her stomach, her guts spilling out.
"Brie!" Vernon gapped at her.
"Now can we go?" Molly asked, backing away to the door.
"Damn right!" Lee yelled. "Vernon, come on!"
They ran into the armoury, which was actually the clocktower, and slammed the door closed behind them. But it wouldn't close.
"So much for the armoury," Kenny scoffed.
"A few rounds," Christa said. "That's it."
"It's more rounds than we had before," Luna said, now glaring up at Ben again.
"Can you please stop looking at me like that? It's terrifying!" He tried.
"That's the point."
"Come on," Kenny made his way down the stairs, the others following. "There has to be away out this way."
But when they opened the door at the bottom of the stairs, they found the whole hall swarming with Walkers.
"Back upstairs!" Kenny yelled. "This won't hold!"
Everyone hurried up the stairs, shooting and kicking walkers off the stairs as they got in the way, until they got to the top, where they found a window, with a ladder that lead to the roof below.
"You didn't come in by the railroad by any chance, did you?" Vernon asked.
Luna furrowed her eyebrows. She was standing beside him, but was too short to see over the window. "We did. Why?"
"Nevermind. Hey, I can see the sewer we climbed up throough from here. We should be able to get there."
"Well let's fucking go, then!" Kenny said.
Vernon went first, climbing down a ladder from the window to the roof below, Christa following, with Clem, then Molly.
"You go first," Luna said to Kenny.
"No, you-"
"If I fall, you've got to catch me!"
He rolled his eyes as he climbed over the window sill.
"They're getting closer," Luna said, looking at the staircase, where she could hear walkers coming near.
"Come on, Ben, let's go!" Lee said.
The bell began to ring, making them all cover their ears, as the sound was ear piercing. Then, the walker who was hanging from the bell grabbed Ben, making him yelp. Lee instantly shot the Walker's head off, making it fall, dragging Ben down with it.
He hung from the platform they were on, before his hand slipped, but Lee managed to grab him before he fell.
"Hold on, Ben! I've got you!" Lee yelled, as thousands of walkers surrounded underneath him. "Come on, climb up, Ben, you can do this!"
"There's no time!" Ben said bitterly. "You've got to go! Now!"
"Stop being stupid, damnit!"
"Let me go! Get Clem and the others out of here!"
"Lee," Luna said worriedly. She didn't want to leave him behind, but could see the walkers coming up the stairs. "They're almost here."
"Lee," Ben said. "We both know. Just let me go."
With a glance at the oncoming walkers, and a grunt of pain, Lee pulled Ben up.
"Why?" Ben said.
"Go!" Lee pushed him towards the ladder at the Walkers walked up onto the level they were on. "Luna!"
He picked her up, somehow flipping her around so that she was clinging to his back, as he climbed down the ladder, right as the walkers growled and almost grabbed him.
* * *
Finally, they made it back to the house.
"Omid!" Christa threw herself at Omid's bedside, sobbing beside his still form. "I never should have left you! Omid!"
"Christa, stay back!" Lee said, putting a protective arm in front of Clementine and Luna.
Vernon nodded. "Get away from him, Christa!"
Omid choked and coughed, making everyone jumped back, before he spotted Christa and smiled.
"Oh, hey. Back already?"
Christa let out a sob of relief. "We got you medicine."
"Good," He smiled as Vernon put them in his mouth. "I feel like I could use some."
Everyone walked into the room. Other than Molly. Omid looked at Ben.
"You alright, kid? You look worse than I do."
"We almost didn't make it out alive because of this asshole," Kenny said. "Should've left him behind when we had the chance."
"Guys," Omid said worriedly. "What the hell happened out there?"
"Let someone else tell ya. I've got work to do," Kenny left the room.
"Okay," Vernon stood up. "With a bit of luck, you should be feeling better in a few hours. I'll stay her for a while to keep an eye on him. Let me know if you need anything."
"Thanks, doc," Omid lay back down.
Christa smiled. "Yes. Thank you so much."
Vernon looked at Lee. "Maybe now's the time for you and me to have a little talk. In private."
Everyone made their way out of the room, other than Christa. Clem went into the office, and sat on the window seat, looking at Kenny as he worked on the boat, but Luna went to sit by the door, just a wall between her, Lee and Vernon, listening in.
"Listen, about what happened to Brie-" Lee started.
"Please," Vernon scoffed. "Save your sympathy for someone who buys it."
"What?"
"You don't think that by now I don't have you figured? You don't exactly strike me as someone who cares much about others. Look at what you did to get me to come here in the first place - you expect me to believe you give a shit that it wound up costing Brie her life?"
"Now, you listen-"
"No, you listen. You've got some good people here and they look to you as their leader. Well, I'm here to tell you the kind of leader you are, they're not going to make it very far. And you're kidding yourself if you think that putting all of them on a boat is going to save anything. Now, you may not care much about anyone else, but I know you care about those little girls. Which is why I'm going to make you an offer."
Lee was silent for a moment, but when he did speak, he sounded angry. "What kind of offer?"
"I'll take them off your hands. Take them back with me, to my people. We're well supplied, well hidden, and there's a lot of us that have had kids of our own. And now Crawford's fallen we have nothing more to fear from them. They'll be safer with us- safer than they will be with you, I promise you. That's what you want for them, isn't it? To be safe?"
"You're coming at me with a lot here, Vernon. I need to think it over."
Luna felt her heart sink. Lee wouldn't give them to Vernon, would he? She didn't like him much. She really liked Lee. She felt much safer with him that she did with most people. She didn't want to go with Vernon.
"Of course," Vernon was saying. "Take your time. But I want you to think about some things. The way you've treated me hasn't exactly inspired confidence in me to think you're a good guardian for those girls. I don't like being threatened. I don't like being lied to. And I doubt Clementine or Luna would much like that either. And it's a shorter trip from me to her than you might imagine."
She watched as Vernon made his way downstairs, and got up, sitting by Clem on the window seat.
"My parents weren't in Crawford," She said. "And if they were . . . "
"It'll be okay, Clem," Luna said. "You've made it this far, I'm sure they have, too."
The door opened, and Lee walked over, standing behind them.
"Hey, you two."
"Kenny's working on the boat," Clem said.
"I know."
Luna turned to him. "After he fixes it, where are we going to go? We can't live on a boat forever."
He crouched so that he was at eye level with them both as Clem turned to face him, too.
"Someplace else. Someplace better." He said. "Clem, honey, what's wrong?"
"Is Ben going to be okay?" She asked. "He doesn't seem the same since we got back."
"Ben's a good kid. I just think he's feeling guilty about some of the decisions he's made. He's gotten a feeling like he's a burden on the rest of us."
"Before we leave tomorrow, will we have time to look for my parents?"
"Sure, we'll ,er, look before we leave."
Clem raised an eyebrow. "Really? We'll go to Crawford and look for my parents?"
He didn't say anything.
"I knew you didn't really mean it."
Clem sniffed, and turned away, as she began crying. Lee didn't say anything. He just stood up with a heavy sigh, and sat on the nearby couch.
Luna turned to Clem, holding her arms out, and Clem sobbed into her shoulder.
That's when Luna realised things weren't going to get better. She had to stick by her people if she wanted them to survive, and if things changed, they'd only get worse.
But, she hoped. that she would have Clem throughout it.
She hoped she'd have Clementine with her, for them to watch each others backs, for them to have someone to rely on, someone to relate to.
Oh, how mistaken she was.
* * *
Luna woke up on her own.
Clementine was gone. And so was Lee. She could see him in the garden below, holding Clem's hat. She got up, and made her way downstairs and into the garden. She saw Lee was outside the fence, and climbed over it. He was doubled over, looking at something.
"Lee?" Luna asked. "Are you okay?"
Kenny, Christa and Omid appeared behind her, obviously already being on their way out.
"Lee?" Omid questioned. "What's going on? Where's Clementine? She's not in her room."
"And Vernon's gone, too," Kenny growled.
Luna noticed blood on the ground and on Clem's hat, which Lee was holding, and got a horrible, light but heavy sick feeling in her stomach.
"Lee," She said slowly. "Who's blood is that?"
He turned around. "Mine."
Luna felt like her heart or stomach had fallen out, and wanted to burst into tears, but she couldn't.
There it was.
On his forearm.
"Oh, no," Kenny said hopelessly. "Oh, Jesus, no. Fuck no! No fucking way!"
Lee'd been bitten.
"There's no time to worry about me," He said. "Clementine's gone."
"There's no chance she didn't just wander off on her own?" Omid asked.
Luna shook her head. "Clem hates being alone."
"Then who the hell took her?" Kenny questioned.
"I bet it was Vernon," Luna said. "He said he wanted to take us."
"The fuck he say?" Kenny sighed. "Son of a bitch. I knew we couldn't trust that fucker."
"Me, too."
"Wherever she is," Lee said. "I have to find her."
"Okay," Christa said softly. "What do you need from us?"
"Clem may not have much time," He said. "We have a much better chance of finding her if we all go together. Who's with me?"
"Me," Luna put her hand up. "I'm going."
"You're going to need all of our help," Christa said. "And in your condition, Clementine needs us, too."
"Hell yeah," Omid grinned. "So, what're we waiting for?"
Lee turned to Kenny.
Kenny sighed. "I don't know, Lee. I mean, there's been plenty of times I've needed you to put your life on the line for me and you haven't."
"But Clementine's my family, Kenny," He said. "She's everything to me. I need your help."
"Yeah," Kenny glanced at Luna. "And I guess family's all that matters, now."
Lee smiled, and looked to Ben, who had appeared behind them. "What about you, Ben?"
"Oh, shit, no!" Kenny said. "If that shitbird's going, Luna and I aren't. If you want Clementine to survive, don't bring him. He fucks up everything he touches!"
Ben sighed. "I don't know . . . whatever you think is best."
"Ben," Lee said. "Clem stood up for you in Crawford when no one else would. Now you need to step up, and stand up for her. She deserves that much."
Ben nodded. "Alright, then. I owe her. But I also owe Kenny and Luna. I need to make it right with them."
"So?" Luna asked. "Where's Vernon?"
* * *
Turns out Vernon and his crew lived in the sewers.
Luna was getting rather sick of the smell and look of the sewers. Her sneakers were rather wet, now and dirty. She needed to keep an eye out for more, but that was the last thing on her mind.
Lee pushed a large sheet of metal away, to reveal a hole in the wall, which he climbed through. It led to what looked like a supply room, with empty shelves.
Lee pulled out his gun, and walked over to the door on the far side of the room, and burst the door open.
The other side was empty. They were in a morgue, which Luna felt was a bad place to be, considering the dead were walking. But there were no walkers.
And on Clementine.
"Where the hell are they?" Lee walked further into the large room, voice echoing.
"Looks like they left in a hurry," Kenny said, a protective arm over Luna.
"Vernon! Come out!" Lee yelled. "There doesn't have to be any trouble! Just give me the girl! Give her back and nobody needs to be hurt!"
Everyone was quiet for a moment, as Lee leaned down on a table, holding his head.
"I don't think anyone's here, Lee," Luna said.
They heard what sounded like millions of voices talking over each other. They looked up at the windows, high above them, and saw the stream of bright light being blocked by moving shadows.
Walkers.
Thousands of them.
"Lee?"
Lee grabbed the walkie talkie at the speed of light.
"Clementine? A-Are you alright? Where are you?"
There was no answer.
"Vernon, you son of a bitch!"
"Hello, Lee."
Luna didn't recognise the voice, and it seemed neither did anyone else. It was a deep, chilling voice. And Luna didn't like it.
"Where have you taken her?" Lee growled.
"This isn't Vernon. And you should really watch your tone. Clementine's fine. But if I were you, I'd choose my next words very carefully."
"You're fucking dead!" Lee yelled. "I don't know who you are, but I'm going to fucking kill you, you hear? I'll fucking kill you!"
"I know you will. She knows you will. Say goodbye."
Clem's voice came through, again. Much sadder than before.
"Goodbye-"
It cut off.
Luna felt sick.
"Just hold on, Clementine," Lee said. "I'm coming for you."
"It's alright, buddy," Kenny said. "We'll find her."
Lee turned, and Omid looked at the bite on his arm.
"How's it feeling?" Luna asked.
"It doesn't matter," He said. "It is what it is."
"We don't have much time," Christa said.
They heard growling from behind them, and saw walkers crawling over through the way they came in.
"And we're running out," Kenny ran over and held the door closed. "You're still the smartest fucker out of all of us, try to find another way out of here."
Everyone got ready for if the walkers got through the door. Christa crouching by the door, gun aimed, Ben around the corner, muttering to himself, Omid behind a bed, gun aimed, and Kenny holding the door closed.
"Luna, honey," Christa smiled at her. "Why don't you keep an eye on Lee?"
Luna nodded. Then thought for a moment. "I don't want this to happen again."
She smiled sympathetically her. "I know."
Luna sat on the counter on the other side of the room, where Lee was looking around for things to get the door open. She began writing in her notebook, when she heard him groan.
"Lee?" She put her book back in her bag, and walked around the counter and up a ramp to him. "Lee? Are you okay?"
He held his head. "Lu . . . "
He fell to the ground.
"DAD!"