Luna didn't sleep that night. She wanted to go out looking for Clem, but didn't know the woods at all, and so knew she'd just get lost and lose Clem again.
Early the next morning, however, she was first up, with her knife on her waistband, gun tucked into the back of her trousers, and backpack on her back, with Croaky back, and her Walkman on her hip, before the sun had even even raised.
Luke and Carlos were down, next, with rifles, and almost shot her when they saw her sharpening her pencils at the kitchen table.
"Luna, we'll send you, Alvin and Luke out," Carlos said. "Has Alvin gotten up yet? ALVIN!"
"I'm here, I'm here!" Alvin groaned. "No need to yell."
"There is if it wakes you up more," Luke said.
"I'm plenty awake!"
"Let's get going," Luna stood up. "They're obviously not going to find themselves."
They set off, leaving Carlos, Sarah and Rebecca at the house. They went through the wood, to a river. It would have been beautiful, if there weren't dead bodies littering the banks.
"Shit," Alvin muttered.
Luna pulled out her knife, walking over to one of the bodies, kicking it over. "Shot through the head."
"Luke, you don't think . . . "
"We need to find something to say who did this," Luke said. "And look out for lurkers. And . . . "
"Yeah," Lune sighed. "I'll look out for them."
They checked the bodies, both walker and human alike, but none of them seemed familiar to anyone. Thankfully.
"I'd say they saw this, headed out," Luke said.
"Or, they were in the crossfire," Luna suggested. "Got taken."
"Can you not?" Alvin said. "Not exactly a nice thought."
"Never said it was."
Luke sighed. "Come on. We've got ground to cover. They probably would have tried to make a run for the house."
"Yeah."
They made their way back into the woods in the direction of the house, when they heard a twig snap.
Each of them froze, pulling out their guns.
Another twig snapped, and they turned to see the back of a man, walking, gun at his waste.
Both Luke and Alvin's eyes went wide.
"We gotta go." Alvin said. "He can't see us."
"But what if he's the one who's got the guys?" Luna asked.
"Then they're fucked." Luke said.
"Well, if he can't see you, I take it he can see me?"
"No! Luna, if he sees you-"
"We need to know! Anyway, we also need to know if he's whoever you think he is. Just stay here. If he kills me, make sure he got the head."
She walked towards him, gun drawn. She hardly ever used her gun, as she usually avoided people. Then she remembed she was a kid, so he probably wouldn't think she was threat. She slipped her gun into the wasteband of her jeans, and walked over to him.
"Sir?"
He froze, and turned to her, eyes narrowed.
"Who're you?" He asked.
"Lolly," She said.
He raised an eyebrow. "Lolly?"
"Well, Lauren, but I like Lolly."
"Hmh," He looked her up and down. "You out here on your own?"
She nodded. "Wanted a walk."
"Who're you with? A group?"
She shook her head, trying to act younger than she felt. "No. I'm with my mom and dad."
"Who're they? What're their names?"
"Kenny and Katjaa," She said.
"Got any siblings?"
She shook her head. "Brother went missing a while ago. Dad wouldn't tell me where he went."
She took in how he looked as he looked her over again. He had a brown coat, greying hair, and a deep voice. He made her feel rather sick.
"What're you doing here?" She asked in a fake excited tone.
He sighed. "Well, I'm looking for my people. Some of them went missing."
"Really?" She furrowed her eyebrows. "Any luck?"
"I don't know. Have you seen them? Looking for seven of them. Two young boys with an older man, a Spanish doctor with her daughter, she's a bit taller than you, a guy and a lovely pregnant lady."
Luna made her face light up. "Pregnant? So she's gonna have a baby?"
He nodded. "Yep. Have you seen them?"
She made her face fall. "No. I wish I did, though. I love babies. Is she going to have the baby soon?"
He nodded. "Probably. But she's mostly on her own out here. If I find her, I can take her back to my place. We have food, and water, and doctors, and we can make her very comfortable while she has the baby. Maybe your parents and you could come, too, if you help me find her."
"I would, but Mum wants me back for lunch."
"Where'd you live?"
She looked around and shrugged. "I dunno. I just go wherever I think it is."
"You just passing through?"
She nodded. "Only got here yesterday."
"How?"
"On a boat. But it got damaged. Dad's fixing it."
"Where're you staying?"
"In a cave, ages away, by the mountains. Over . . . " She looked around, and pointed to the mountains she had drawn, which were pretty far. "There."
"And you walked all this way? On your own?"
She nodded. "I didn't realise I went so far. I was chasing a rabbit."
"You like rabbit?"
"I think they're cute."
He looked her over again.
"So, you haven't found, any of your people?" She asked, still acting like she couldn't quite understand.
He shook his head. "No, none of them. But if you find any, make sure to tell me, okay? I'm in a tent by the river. You can come down on your own, and tell me where you saw them, and we can bring them home together. That sound like a good idea?"
She nodded with a wide smile on her face. "That sounds great! It's like a treasure hunt!"
"Exactly." He smiled, and it made Luna want to puke. "We even have candy at our place. But you can only have it if you help me find my people."
"That sounds like a pretty good deal to me!" She smiled brightly.
"It is, really."
"What's your name, though?" She asked, but he had already started walking towards the lake.
"Have a good day!"
And he vanished.
Luna kept the wide smile on her face as she skipped away from where Luke and Alvin were hiding, and towards the mountains, before she looked up a tree.
She gasped loudly. "Come here, little guy!"
She began climbing the tree, making comments about chasing a squirrel. She got high enough that she could feel the tree moving in the wind. She glanced around, not seeing the man anywhere. She quickly ran along a branch that was strong enough to hold her, jumping on to the next tree, trying to stay high. She made her way over to the tree above Luke and Alvin, who were looking around, muttering, and dropped down right beside them.
They both jumped.
"That guys bad news," Luna said. "Looking for you guys. He's closing in, too."
Luke looked at her. "How old are you?"
She shrugged. "Eleven? Ten? Twelve? I don't know. But that's not the point."
"You look pretty young. Younger than Clementine," Alvin said.
"And I use it to my advantage! Now, we've got to find the other three quickly! Okay? That guy's closing in, I take it you guys know him, and I don't like the way he said 'pretty little pregnant lady', sounded like . . . I don't even know."
"Alright. We've gotta tell the others," Luke said.
"But first find the trio."
"Right."
They made their way towards the mountains, hoping to find them that way. Luke said it was quite a landmark, and so if they were lost they'd probably make their way towards it.
After another hour of walking, they heard growling.
"Walkers," Luna muttered, crouching behind a bush as the other two did the same. Luke raised his rifle, but Luna lowered it. "Are you an idiot?"
The walkers were surrounding a shack, banging on it. Obviously, something had drawn them there.
"What?" Luke questioned.
"That guy's already on your ass, probably mine, too, now. You shoot, he'll know exactly where you are."
Alvin sighed. "Knew I should have taken a knife."
Luna stood up, pulling her own knife off her thigh. "Leave it to me."
"You're a kid-"
"And I've survived on my own."
She counted the walkers quickly. There were about a dozen. She should be able to get through. They were spaced out enough. She spun her knife in her hand, and walked towards the first one, raising her knife and stabbing it through the back of the skull before it knew she was there.
She turned to the next one, stabbing it through the ear, before she felt a walker grab her arm.
"Don't shoot!" She yelled, pulling the knife out of the dead walker's head, and dropping herself to the ground, smashing the Walker's skull on the ground, before pushing it's body off her and getting to her feet, quickly kicking the legs out from under two, stabbing one before stepping on the other, jumping off it's squashed head to stab a walker through the eye. She then used that walker body, throwing it into two other walkers, which fell. She jumped on both their heads, jumping on the back of the next one, making it fall to the ground as she stabbed it through the head.
The remaining four turned to her, groaning. She quickly slashed the knee of one of them, as she stood up, making it fall. She stood on it's head, yelling as she pushed a walker off her back, stabbing it through the eye as she turned. She threw her knife at the next oncoming walker, hitting it right in the head, before grabbing a branch from the ground, and stabbing it through the final walker's chest, and pinning it to the ground.
She panted, blowing her hair out of her face as she walked over to the walker with her knife, pulling it out of it's head, before walking over to the one with the branch through it's chest, stabbing it in the head.
"Alright," She called to the other's, as she wiped the walker blood off on her jeans. "Clear."
Luke and Alvin walked over, eye's wide. But they were now accompanied by Rebecca and Carlos, who wore the same expressions.
"I take it they told you who we bumped into," Luna said.
Rebecca's face suddenly changed from shock to confusion. "What do you mean?"
"We'll explain when we get back," Luke said. "Not saying it twice."
"Say it now," Rebecca said.
"Some creepy guy who looked weird," Luna said. "Knew you guys, was looking for you."
"How do you know?" Carlos said. "Did he say his name?"
"Carlos, it was him," Luke said.
Carlos face dropped. "Did he see you? Is he the one who got the others?"
Luna shook her head. "He saw me. I made sure he saw me heading in another direction from the house. Yelled a bit. Acted like I was way younger than I am and introduced myself as Lolly."
"Lolly?"
"She's a character in a book."
"What did he say?" Rebecca asked. "How do you know he hasn't got the others? Why did you talk to him? What the fuck?"
"I asked. He mentioned you guys, not me. I acted like I had no idea who you were, don't worry. Said he hadn't found any of you. Could be lying, though."
Luke sighed. "Can we all talk about this back at the house? The guys are probably inside this shack."
"Right." Luna walked over, and found the door was locked from the inside. "Guys! Guys, we're here to save you!"
The door opened slightly, Nick's face appearing, before he opened it fully. "I don't know where Pete and Clementine are."
"What?"
"Luna, relax, she's at the house," Carlos said. "We've got to get back."
"What about Pete?" Luke asked.
Carlos' face dropped. "He was bit. Clem knows where he is."
They made their way back to the house, which took a while, Luke bounding into the house, finding Clementine and Sarah in the kitchen.
"Oh, thank God!" Luna pulled Clementine in for a hug.
"Alright," Rebecca sighed. "Tell us exactly what that man was doing."
"What man?" Sarah asked.
"No one, Sarah," Carlos said.
Luna explained what happened, and Sarah seemed to know who she was talking about.
"He was scouting," Carlos said, after Luna had finished. "We're lucky. He wasn't expecting to find us. But he'll be back, with the rest."
"What, you think Luna's act wasn't good enough?" Luke asked.
"He's here. He's got leads," Luna said. "Better if you's head out. It's only a matter of time before he looks here."
"She's right," Carlos said. "We don't have much time."
Luke nodded. "Everyone pack up. We're movin' out!"
Alvin and Rebecca left the room, but everyone else stayed.
"We have to go, now, sweetie," Carlos said to Sarah. "Before he comes with bad guys. But it'll be okay, just go pack your things."
"Why'd you leave his camp?" Clementine asked.
"Because we had to," Carlos said. "Luna, I don't know what he told you, but William Carver is a dangerous man. He's a leader of a camp not far from here, and he's very smart. We were . . . lucky to escape. Look, I'm sorry to involve you, Luna, but now that he's seen you, you're safer with us. Clementine, too. We have to leave."
He and Sarah left the room.
"We have to find Pete," Nick said.
"We'll get him on the way out, Nick," Luke turned to Clem. "You know where he is, right, Clem?"
"Yeah." She said, though she sounded nervous.
"Alright. Everybody grab your stuff. Let's head out!"
* * *
"Now," Luke said, as they walked through the woods, in the direction Clem pointed them in to find Pete. "You said he was right over here?"
"Yeah, just a little ways," Clem said.
Rebecca walked beside Luna. "Hey, Luna, sorry if I gave you some shit back there. I'm just a little on edge. I still don't like what you and Clementine did. Sneaking around on us. But I know you were both in a tough spot. I'll try to cut you some slack."
"It's alright," Luna said. "Why's Carver after you?"
"After me?" She said. "Oh, you mean, after us. Well, he has a hard time letting go."
"I have a hard time letting go," Luna said. "I don't act like he does. Or talk like he does. He reminds me of the people Molly talked about in Crawford."
She was silent for a moment. "I know you did your best back there. You know none of us would make it on our own. Sometimes it's hard knowing just how depended I am on everybody. I'm not used to that. I'm not comfortable with that. I'm supposed to be a mom soon. Guess I need to work on my patience."
"Cut yourself some slack," Luna said. "You're making a whole ass human. Doubt any of the guys could do it."
She laughed. "I guess you're right. Alvin and I still don't know what to call her. Or him, if that man get's his wish, God help me. Any ideas?"
They turned on their path, following Clem and Luke.
Luna shrugged. "It's your baby. You two should choose. I'm not good with names, anyway."
They came upon a delivery truck, the back doors slightly open. The words 'RED & GOLD' Were written on the side, dead walkers surrounding it.
"There," Clem said. "That's where we were."
Nick ran towards the truck as Luna pulled out her knife.
"He's not in here!" He said, looking in the back.
"This was the last place I saw him," Clem said.
Alvin shrugged. "Maybe he's around here, somewhere."
"Keep your eyes open," Carlos said, as everyone began looking around. "And stay insight."
Luna spotted a trail of blood leading to behind a rock. She flipped her knife over in her hands, and followed it, a sense of dread filling her.
She turned and looked behind the rock, and just managed to stop herself from puking. There, Pete lay, arms spread wide, his guts spilling out of his stomach, a dead walker beside him. She could see his ribs.
Luna saw the others walking over, and held up her hand, stomach turning.
"Don't come over," She said. "He's gone."
"What?" Nick said. "What the hell happened?"
He went to walk over, but Luke stopped him.
"It's not a pretty sight, Nick," She said. Then she noticed the bullet shot on his forehead. "He's been shot."
"He didn't have a gun," Clem said. "Who did it?"
Luke pulled Nick into a hug.
"We need to go," Carlos looked around nervously.
They all left the clearing, Nick and Luke taking a moment.
"Tell me," Nick said, after he caught up. "Tell me how it happened."
"The last thing he said was that he wanted to say goodbye to you," Clementine said.
"Fuck . . . "
He fell into a slow step behind everyone else.
Luke shook his head. "I'm worried about that kid. Keep an eye on him for me, will you?"
Clem nodded.
Luke looked from Luna to Clem. "You two sure you still want to come with us? Look, I know we got off to rough start, and I can't promise things won't get rougher. But we all know you now. We may not be perfect, but we all look out for each other."
"I mean, I'm . . . okay with it," Luna said. "It's nice, having people. But . . . I just don't want it to end like last time."
"It won't. I promise."
"I have to look for Christa," Clementine said.
"She was headed north, right?"
"Yeah."
"So are we. Look, you have a better chance of finding her with us than on your own." He pulled a map out of his pocket. "I figure we have about four or five days to reach those mountains. Now, if they're tracking us, we should be able to loose them up there."
"Five days?" Rebecca's eyes widened.
Alvin put a hand on her shoulder. "It's gonna be okay, Bec. "
"We have to keep moving now," Carlos said from the front. "We have no choice."
* * *
The five days were rather calm. Luna was used to camping out, though the group had tents and sleeping bags, which she didn't have. They all slept in them, but Luna felt safer up the tree above them in her sleeping bag. She'd tie a rope around her legs and the branch, tightly, so that she wouldn't fall off, and go to sleep sitting up, using her backpack as a kind of cushion. Though the others tried to get her to sleep in a tent with Clem, she just felt too exposed.
They would have people on shifts for watch. Luna would keep watch from her tree. She hadn't seen any lights, or any other fires, though she didn't take that that there was no one out there.
They had taken plenty of food from the house, and also ate a few of the leaves, flowers and mushrooms Luna told them were edible.
Though Luna enjoyed the thought of having people watch her back, she found it rather annoying, too. They would go around rivers rather then through them, which wasted a lot of time, and mostly Luna would just end up making them a bridge of branches to walk over. Sarah was fine, but Carlos had kept her so sheltered that she had no idea what to do. She was rather loud, didn't have any weapons, and got scared of the tiniest thing. Clem, however, had grown a lot since Luna had last seen her. She seemed well able to take care of herself, and would actually listen to Luna, unlike everyone else.
Luna knew they had to keep an eye on Nick, though. He'd lost Pete, which was heart-breaking, and Luna knew the kind of pain he was in. But he couldn't seem to think of anything else. He was always looking at the ground, walking slowly. It reminded Luna of her dad, when her Mum and brother died. He refused to listen to anyone, and pushed Luna away the same way Nick is pushing Luke away. And Kenny hadn't exactly been the most stable the days following up to his death.
Luke was alright. He listened to Luna and Clem's ideas, even if everyone else ignored them. He asked them a lot about their families, what they'd been doing before hand, how they survived. Alvin was nice, too, and reminded Luna of the days before the world ended, when people were just . . . nice. Of course, not everyone was. Though Rebecca seemed cold and defensive, Luna knew she'd be a great mother, even just from the few days she'd known her. She had a very mother-like air to her, and it wasn't because of her bump.
Luna kept up with writing in her journal. She was working on her handwriting, it was getting rather messy. She still had Clem's old drawings of Lee and Luna's family. She was also working on live sketches, but didn't know who to work on.
When they finally reached the edge of the mountains, five days had passed. Rebecca wasn't doing well. All the walking while carrying not just her own weight but also her baby's was a pain anyways, never mind while pregnant. Luna also noticed that the group were rather unexperienced when it came to walking through the bush. Not that they were dumb and going to get killed, but there were things that were second nature to Luna that they just didn't do, or didn't notice. Then again, maybe they were with this Carver guy for longer than Luna had been with her group. That'd make sense.
The came upon a long, red, metal bridge, that lead across a large chasm, water rushing far below.
Luke pulled out his map as everyone sat down, taking a break. Luna sat on a rock, overlooking the bridge, and began to sketch it.
Clementine tapped her shoulder, and the two of them climbed up onto a rather large rock, laying down, as to not be seen if anyone looks over, and Clem pulled out her binoculars, looking across the chasm.
"See anything?" Luke asked.
Alvin scoffed. "She better see something. We've been walking for a damn week."
"There's a building, on the top of the hill," She said. "It's big."
"Seems like a good place to spend the night," Luke said.
Clem handed the binoculars to Luna, who looked at the large building, looming over the pine trees, far from the bridge.
"I think it's a ski lodge," She said. "If that's what you call them. It's got one of those lift things that you sit on."
"Right, a chair lift," Luke looked down at his map. "Yeah, I'd say you're right. There's a ski resort up there."
"I've never been skiing," Clem said sadly.
Alvin smiled. "Bec and I went once."
Rebecca laughed. "It wasn't pretty."
"I went once, too," Luna said. "Just Mum, Duck and I. Duck almost cut my head off when I tripped, and then he got a bowel infection that made him shit on the chair lifts. And then I split my arm open."
"I'm glad I never went with Duck," Clem chuckled. "Does the bridge look okay from here?"
Luna nodded as she looked through the binoculars. "It doesn't look too damaged. Or blocked. I think it's passable. If that's a word."
"It is," Luke said.
"There's also a little house or something at the end of it," She said. "I'm sure we'd all fit, if we spent the night, but one of you will snore like a pig and no one else will get any sleep."
"That's just rude."
Luna and Clem climbed down from the rock.
"We've got to pass that bridge," Carlos said. "Come on."
"Hold on," Luna said. "Just because it looks okay doesn't mean it is. It could be ruined, or there could be sentries all along it, ready to shoot."
"Luna's right," Luke said. "If we get spotted out there, we're going to be trapped."
"Going around that water will take too long," Carlos said.
"Yeah, but Carver's not the only smart dangerous guy out here," Luna crossed her arms. "We have no idea who's out there."
"I'll sneak across, and make sure it's clear before we bring the whole group over," Luke said.
"I'll go with you," Luna pulled her backpack back on. "If there's anyone, you'll probably need backup. And people tend to hesitate to shoot a kid."
Carlos raised an eyebrow. "You think splitting up the group is a good idea?"
Luke shrugged. "I never said it's a good idea. But it's a whole lot better than sending everyone out there at once."
"What's your plan?" Alvin asked.
"Lu and I can scoot over low and slow and make sure nobody's waiting for us on the other end. "
"We'll have a tough time covering you from back here."
"We don't need cover," Luna made sure her pistol was loaded. "If things go to shit, you all need to go. I'll make sure Luke get's out, but if you're shooting from somewhere they'll find you."
Carlos crossed his arms. "Luna should stay here, Luke. She's . . . "
He raised an eyebrow. "She's what?"
"She's just a little girl."
"She's a valuable little girl."
"I'm a little girl who can handle crossing a bridge," She put her gun in the waistband of her jeans. "You're forgetting I've been on my own through most of this."
"Yeah, she'll be fine," Luke said. "We'll signal you in ten minutes. Just watch for a light on the far side."
"I can go, too," Nick said.
"You stay with the group," Luke said softly.
"I'm fine, Luke."
Carlos shook his head. "I don't like this. "
Luke rolled his eyes and began to walk away. "Yeah, well, when's the last time you ever liked something, Carlos?"
"If something happens I'll cover you," Nick said.
"Come on," Luke gestured for Luna to follow him.
Once they were out of earshot of the group, he spoke.
"Hey, uh, sorry about that. I could just really use your eyes, and, well, to be honest I don't trust Nick to tie his own shoes at the moment. Everyone's just still on edge with the whole Carver thing."
"It's been five days," Luna said. "You seriously think he's following us?"
He was quiet for a moment. "What's the most important thing in this world? What does everyone want? Even the gangs, what do you think they're all after?"
"A family, I guess. I mean, it's the only thing that makes surviving worth it, really, is surviving for others."
"It's a tough world out there without people you can trust," He said.
"I know."
He sighed. "Anyway, you can . . . you can ask Rebecca, okay? I'm not about to get in the middle of it. We've all made mistakes. Done things we regret. It's not my place to talk about someone else's past."
"Seems you already are in the middle of it."
"Yeah, I guess so."
They reached the bridge, two walkers standing there, seeming not to have noticed them. Well, one was standing there. The other was missing it's legs.
"Hm," Luke looked at them. "Can't shoot them. Too much noise."
Luna took out her knife. "Let's get this over with."
He grinned. "I like your style."
They moved a little closer, crouching by a rock.
"I'll take the big one," Luke said. "You take shorty."
"Got it."
He pulled a machete out from a pouch on his back, and they stood up. Luke snuck up behind the large one, as Luna pulled her knife up, and stabbed it straight into the head of the walker, killing it before it had even noticed her.
Luke cut the other walker's head clean in half.
"Nice going, kid."
"Thanks," She pulled her knife out of it's head. "Need to sharpen this."
"What, you got one of those gadgets they used to advertise on the TV for sharpening knives?"
She shook her head as they began walking down the bridge. "No. But that would be useful. I just use rocks, they work. Not that well, thought."
They walked along the edge of the bridge, as it had a track in the middle, with nothing in between the boards, meaning they'd fall to their deaths if they took a wrong step.
They heard growling, and looked up to see an abandoned carriage, with a walker underneath it, crawling towards them, and another beside it, who stumbled as she approached them.
Grabbing her knife, Luna heard another growl from behind them, and turned to see another walker coming towards them.
"Another, Luke. Way we came."
"Shit."
Luke pulled his machete out, and walked towards the one the way they came.
Luna spun her knife in her hand, so that it was in her preferred direction, turning to the two advancing walkers when she heard a loud crash, and Luke yell.
"Luke?"
She quickly ran towards the hole that had just broken in the train track. Luke was now under the bridge, holding on desperately with one foot and one arm to two poles, trying to get away from the walker that fell with him.
"Lu, I'm . . . I'm okay, I'm just," He slipped a bit, but managed to stay on the bridge. "I'm stuck."
Luna glanced around. The walker was stabbed through the chest, keeping it away from Luke, but still . . . one wrong move . . .
"Behind you!"
Luna looked up to see the other two walkers had advanced on her. She quickly stood up.
"Just hold tight, Luke," She said. "I'll help in a second."
"I'll figure something out."
She swung her knife into the head of the oncoming walker, which was running at her. But the weight of it's body made her trip backwards, falling off the edge of the bridge, dropping her knife as she held tightly to the edge.
She pulled herself up, grunting with the effort, getting her feet up on a small ledge. She was outside the barriers, now, and struggling to stay up. She ducked, yelping as the remaining walker went to grab her through the bars.
"Oh, god, this is stupid."
She reached a hand up, grabbing the walker quickly by the hair, and pulling it out from the bars. It made to grab Luna's leg as it fell of the bridge, but Luna quickly kicked her leg, hard, into the side of the bridge, making the walker swing and fall far into the water below.
She quickly slid across the ledge, slipping through the bars and back onto the bridge, ignoring the horrible, searing pain in her leg. She limped over to a pole, grabbing it, and bringing it over to Luke.
"Here!" She passed it down to him. "Use it as a step."
He did as she said, putting it over the two bars he was holding onto and stepping on it. It fell, but he managed to jump up onto the bridge just in time, and Luna pulled him up.
"Oh, shit," He panted. "Let's keep going."
She nodded, pointing to his fallen machete. "Don't forget that."
They made their way around the carriage, Luna limping, and continued down the bridge, when Luke stopped her.
"See him?"
A man was at the end of the bridge, walking towards them, rifle in hand. Luna tensed, fixing her stance.
"Yeah."
"Okay, just play it cool, alright?" He said. "And you do all the talking."
"What? Why me?"
"Cause I don't want a fight. You think he'd shoot a little girl? Just don't make any sudden moves. And don't piss him off. And don't tell him anything."
"I'd shoot me."
"Well, not everyone's as cold as you, then."
The man stopped about ten metres in front of them, rifle raised. "Well? Who are you?"
"Who's asking?" Luke put a hand on his gun.
"I am!"
"We're a little lost," Luna said, elbowing Luke.
"Lost, hey?"
He walked closer, though he was still pretty far.
"You don't look like assholes. Are you assholes? No offence or anything. But you know how it is out here. You run into a lot of assholes."
"I'm not an asshole," Luna said.
"What?" Luke scoffed. "Are you calling me an asshole?"
"Maybe."
The man laughed, lowering his gun and walking closer so Luna could see his features. He had his hood up, and what seemed to be dark hair and a moustache. He had a soft smile on his face, which seemed genuine. Or, Luna hoped so.
"So, are you heading north, like everyone else?" He asked.
Luke raised an eyebrow. "Everyone else?"
"I see about one group a day move through here. You all look the same. It's like a great migration of the dazed and confused."
Luna pointed to Luke. "He may be dazed and confused, but I'm not. I also hate that movie."
He laughed again. "I quite liked it, actually. I gotta say, you two look like shit. I've got some canned food in the station back there if you need any food."
Luna narrowed her eyes. "What's the catch? You stab us on the way in? Poison it? Want our guns?"
"No catch," He said. "I've got plenty."
"Well, thank you," Luke said. "We've been eating her salads for the past week. They're horrible."
"Are not," She sighed.
"Hey, it's no problem. It's nice to run into some friendly faces out here for once."
"Likewise."
"Like I said," He smiled. "I've got food and supplies back in the station. And if you want . . ."
He trailed off, looking behind them at something, eyes wide.
"What the fuck, man?"
They turned to see Nick, running down the bridge, rifle in hand.
Luke looked at him. "What the fuck is he doing?"
He raised his rifle.
The man beside them did the same.
"Wait, no, he's with us!" Luke said, then yelled to Nick. "Nick! No!"
"Put it down!" The man yelled.
"NICK, DON'T SHOO-"
Luke pushed her to the ground as a loud bang was heard, making her ears ring.
Then they heard gurgling.
They looked up, still on the ground, to see the man, trying to steady his gun at Nick, blood squirting from his neck. He stumbled, struggling to stay on his feet, before he toppled over the edge of the bridge.
Luna jumped up, trying to grab him before he fell, but it was too late. She heard a splash, and looked down to see nothing but the rushing water.
"Did it hit him?" Nick asked, waking over. "Where is he?"
Luke glared at him as he turned. "I told you not to shoot. So did Lu."
"What? Who was that guy?"
"Why didn't you wait for a signal?"
"He was going to help us, Nick!" Luna sighed. "And God knows you all need help!"
"How do you know?" Nick asked angrily.
"Because we actually spoke to him! We didn't just shoot, you don't do that!"
"Damnit, Nick, I told you not to shoot!" Luke sighed.
"How was I supposed to hear you?" Nick groaned. "You gave me a clear shot."
"Well, we best get moving," Luna said angrily. "That shot rang out for miles, and we need to be out of here before walkers or Craver show up."
They continued down the bridge, seeing the rest of the group were on their way down already. It only took a few minutes to reach the station. It was a small, old style house, with forest surrounding it.
Rebecca sat down on a log. "Who the fuck was that back there?"
Luke sighed. "I don't know."
"Looked like he had a gun on you," Alvin said.
"That asshole drew on me!" Nick said angrily. "He was going to shoot."
"Only because you had your gun draw!" Luna sighed.
"Everybody calm down!" Clem said.
"What did you see, Lu?" Alvin asked. "Was that guy going to shoot?"
"Fuck you, Luke!" Nick said. "You've been on my case all week!"
"And why do you think that is, Nick?" Luke glared at him.
"Because you're an asshole!"
"That guy wasn't going to do anything," Luna said. "He just wanted to help."
"I know what I saw!" Nick said.
"And so do I."
"Either way," Luke said firmly. "You could've hit one of us."
"Yeah," He rolled his eyes. "but I didn't."
"Look," Luke sighed. "I know Pete was close to you, Nick, but you can't-"
"Don't fucking talk about him!"
"Do you think he was with Carver?" Carlos spoke for the first time since they got there.
"I don't know! I-" Luke lowered his voice. "No, I don't think so. But he fell over."
Alvin's eye widened. "He fell off the damn bridge?"
"We have to keep moving," Carlos said.
"I can't," Rebecca sighed. "I need a minute."
"Fine," Carlos glanced at Nick. "Luke, can I talk to you alone?"
The two of them walked out of earshot of the group, Nick glaring after them.
"Hey, Clem, Lu, you got anything to eat?" Alvin asked. "Bec's dyin' here."
Rebecca sighed. "Alvin, I told you, I'm fine."
"Sorry," Clem said. "I'm out."
"Me, too," Luna said. "I'll keep an eye out for something, though. Apparently there's stuff in the station."
"Mind checking it out?" Alvin asked. "Maybe we could spent the night here. Little small, though."
"You could use a little downsizing," Rebecca said.
"You're one to talk."
"I'll check it out," Luna said, turning towards the station as Alvin sat beside Rebecca.
"Thanks, Lu."
"I'll go, too," Clem said, following Luna.
The two of them made their way into the station. It was small, only a single room. There was an empty fireplace that looked unused on the far wall, and a cot in the centre. A table ran alone the right wall, where a few empty cans sat, and a locked chest sat by the window, another few empty cans laying there.
Luna made her way over to the chest, reaching for her knife to pierce the lock off, but then remembered it had fallen off the bridge.
"For god's sake," She muttered.
"What about this?" Clem held up what looked like a machete, with the holster engraved with the letters 'M.W'. "It should work."
She leaned down beside Luna and shoved the knife into the lock, before popping it off.
They opened the trunk, and found a stack of books, alongside a few cans of food \. Luna picked one up right as Alvin walked into the room.
"God," He said. "And I thought we had it bad. Look at this dump." He looked at the food in Luna's hand. "So he did have food. Man, fuck Nick. He's lost a lot of his people, that's for sure. But that doesn't give him any excuse to go shooting up strangers."
"Give him a break," Clem said. "His uncle just died."
"Yeah, true enough," He scratched the back of his head. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Bec. I'm just saying. Like, have you ever known someone who could do something like that?"
"Yeah," Luna said. "Girl in our old group. Her dad had just died, and then she Just . . . shot a girl in the head."
"Damn. What'd you do?"
"Leave her on the side of the road."
"Damn." He leaned down, grabbing food from the chest, and looking at the illustration of the girl on the front. "Hey, that's funny. She looks just like you, Lu."
It looked nothing like her.
"Hey, Lu, Clem, there's not a lot of food here, and Rebecca . . . well, she's eating for two. Do you think we could keep this just between the two of us? I hate to say it, and I - I'd never go against the group! But I've got to put Bec and the baby first."
"Yeah, she can have it," Luna said.
"We won't say anything," Clem added.
"Thanks," He looked out the window at Nick. "It's a shame. Nick was a good guy. He's still a good guy, but he's loosing it. God knows we're not perfect. I'm just glad we have you two."
He smiled, and turned to leave, when he froze.
"What the hell is that?"
Following his gaze, Luna saw that the bridge was covered in a large hoard of walkers, growling as they came closer.
"Walkers," Clem said.
Luna pushed the door open, and went out to the rest of the group. "Come on, gotta go, guys!"
"Yeah, we saw it," Luke said, as everyone regrouped. "Come on, we're heading up!"
* * *
They finally reached the ski resort about an hour later. They stayed low, and quiet, keeping an eye out for walkers and people.
"What the hell are we waiting for?" Rebecca panted.
"We need to make sure no one's here," Carlos said. "I doubt they'll be friendly."
Alvin tried to pull wooden boards off the windows. "Ugh. They're on there tight. I'll go check around the front."
"I'll go with you," Carlos followed Alvin around the side of the building.
Luna was standing at the edge of the deck outside, standing on the rails, trying to see a little further in the thick trees as Clem stood beside her.
Luke walked over. "Well, it'll be good to know if anybody's actually back there."
"At the bridge?"
"Yeah." He looked at the top of one of the poles for the ski lift. "Could probably get a better look from up top."
"Yeah, alright," Luna climbed off the rails.
"Thanks. It'll be just like climbing a treehouse."
"I had a treehouse, once," Clem said.
"Well, there you go."
"I hated it."
"Oh."
Luna made her way over to the pole, the other two following. She looked up at it, looming above her, probably a hundred feet in the air or so.
"It's much taller here." She said.
"Just take it slow," Luke stood beside her. "And I'll catch you if you fall. Probably."
"She has a fear of heights," Clem said.
Luna began climbing the ladder. "Well, I had to get over it."
"When I was younger," Luke said. "We used to climb rooftops downtown. Now that was fun."
Clem looked at him. "That sounds stupid."
"Yeah," He laughed. "Yeah, it was. Trick was not to look down."
She took another step, and slipped, but managed to catch herself.
"Whoa! Whoa!" Luke put his arms out, in case he had t catch her. "You're okay! Just take it slow! Look at me! You're fine!"
Luna looked down at him, and sniggered.
"What?"
"You look like an idiot," Clem laughed.
He lowered his hands. "Just climb the thing, Lu, and Clementine, stop bullying me."
Luna grinned as she climbed onto the platform at the top, feeling the stucture sway slightly beneath her.
"Made it."
"See anything?"
She pulled out Clementine's binoculars. "I can see the bridge."
Then she noticed lights at the end of the bridge.
"There's a light!" Luna said. "Well, a few. Luke?"
"He's gone!" Clem said. "Quick, come down! Somethings happening!"
She made her way down the ladder, quickly, Clem meeting her at the bottom, and saw that the whole group were on the deck, talking to someone. The pair of them crouched, and quietly made her way towards the group.
"Listen, everyone," Luke was saying. "Just calm down."
"Who are you?" Said a girl with an accent Luna couldn't place. "Are you trying to rob us?"
Rebecca scoffed. "Excuse me, honey, but do I look like a fucking thief?"
"Everyone calm down," A man said, as Clementine and Luna reached the back of the group.
"Hey, man," Alvin stepped forward. "You calm the fuck down."
"Sarah," Carlos said. "Get behind me."
"Just tell us who you are!" The man repeated.
"We're not here to rob nobody," Alvin said. "Put the gun down!"
"Fuck that!" Another man said, and a sense of familiarity shot through Luna at his accent.
Luna and Clem continued sneaking through their group.
"Please, just do what he says," The woman said again.
Luna spotted the man with the rifle aimed at Nick and froze. He was wearing a green coat, and his hair and beard were longer and greyer than last time Luna had seen him. He was still wearing his cap, and when he glanced at her, the angry look on his face vanished, replaced by shock as he lowered his gun.
"Kenny?!" Clem questioned.
"Wait, you know this guy?" Luke asked.
"Clementine . . ?" He looked at her. "Luna . . .?"
Both of them threw their arms around him, hugging him as he hugged back, smiling. Then, he pulled away, crouching in front of both of them and looking at them.
"I'll take that as a yes," The man behind Kenny said.
"These people with you two?" Kenny asked.
They nodded.
Kenny smiled at the group behind Clem and Luna. "We can talk inside."
"Great," The man behind him said. "I just started dinner."
"Are you sure you don't mind?" Carlos asked.
"It's going to storm soon. Please, come inside."