"I- I'm bit," Sarita muttered, looking at her hand. "Oh, God . . . Luna, it bit me. I'm dead. I'm dead."
"You have to stay calm," Clementine said. "They'll notice you."
"It doesn't matter. I'm bit. Oh, god . . . "
"Oh, God, Sarita!" Kenny ran over, Mike following.
"Oh, God," Mike said. "She's-"
"She's fine. She's gonna be fine. Come on, we have to move, we have to go!"
They ran towards the forest. Luna and Clem grabbed each other's hands and ran after them, only to be blocked by a group of walkers.
One grabbed Clem's arm, and Luna quickly sliced it's arm off before pulling it down, and hitting it in the head, making it drop.
"I'm going after Sarah!" Luke suddenly ran past, Nick right behind him, holding his shoulder.
"Luke," Clem muttered.
Luna pulled her out of the way of another walker, and then pushed her out of the way of another, which was shot, and then fell on Luna.
The pair, with difficulty, pushed it off, and then Clem cut it open, quickly putting more guts of the two of them.
They slowly made their way through the crowd, looking for any familiar face, until someone grabbed Clem, pulling her away from Luna.
"No!" Luna went to stab them, but then she heard their voice.
"Shh!" Rebecca said. "It's me!"
The three of them crouched down on the ground, somehow the walkers not seeing them behind the rock.
"Thank god," Rebecca smiled.
"We can't find anybody," Clem said.
"I know. What do we do? Luke was with me, but I-I can't do this alone."
"Three of us stick together," Luna said. "And make our way to where we're supposed to meet. We'll be fine."
"Right," Rebecca looked at the walkers." They're still heading towards the hardware stone. We just have to stick toge-" Her face scrunched in pain, and she held her stomach. "I'm glad you two are here. We can watch each other's backs."
"We stick together," Clem said.
"Thank you. We can clear a path to the trees. Maybe they're thinning out somewhere. Do you see any openings?"
"There." Clem said.
They got up, but as soon as they entered the herd it got thick again.
"Go back!" Rebecca said.
Luna went to do as she said, and hit into the woman from before.
"Ow, sorry, walker. Oh, it's you."
"Jane. Relax." The woman said. "You just have to walk. Slowly. You'll be fine."
"I can't do this," Rebecca said. "You have to help us. Please."
"We can't clump together like this. It'll be better if we spread out. You three will be fine."
"No, you don't understand. Please help us."
"You'll be fine, just go."
"Shouldn't we stick together?" Clem asked. "Isn't that safer?"
"Exactly the opposite." And she walked off.
Rebecca started panting. "Oh, God. Oh, God."
"We'll be okay," Luna muttered. "We just have to stay calm."
"How do I do that?"
"We're going to have to push through that cluster," Jane suddenly reappeared.
"There's too many," Rebecca stuttered.
"We'll make a co catcher."
"A what?" Clem and Luna asked.
"You'll see." Jane glanced at the walkers, before pointing to one just ahead of her. "There. That one looks light enough to carry. I'm gonna get on the far side of her. I need one of you to get her attention."
"I'll do it." Luna walked over behind the walker, and poked it.
It turned to her, moaning, and went to grab her, but Jane grabbed her arm, first, and cut of her jaw.
Jane grinned. "Not gonna bite anybody now, are ya? Follow me."
She made her way into the hoard, the other three following as she pushed the walker ahead of her.
"Stay close. If you fall behind, I can't come back for you."
They made their way through the hoard. Luna was at the back, Clem in front of her, Rebecca in front of her and then Jane with the walker. After what felt like forever, they reached the trees. Jane threw the walker down, stabbing it in the back of the head.
"Let's go."
* * *
It felt they'd been walking for ages. Luna found it quite refreshing to be walking again. She felt the familiar pain of blisters already, as well as the ache in her thighs and stomach, now, too, as she walk hungry. Her arm was a dull aching, now, but she was used to it after three days. She suspected it was probably infected.
They managed to find a river to wash themselves off in, so they didn't stink anymore. Rebecca wasn't doing to well, panting and walking rather slowly.
"You okay?" Luna asked.
"No. No, I'm not okay," She answered. "But I'll be a lot better when we find the others. I need to make sure everybody else got out. Luke . . . Sarah . . . Kenny . . . goddamn it, what if they aren't there?"
"If they aren't, there's nothing we can do about it," Jane said.
"Don't you dare say things like that."
"Right. Sorry."
"God, I don't even know if we're safe. What if the herd's following us? "
"I think we're alright," Luna said, glancing behind them. "We'd probably here their groaning."
"They're also pretty slow," Clem said.
"We just need to keep up a good pace," Jane didn't even look back.
"I know," Rebecca sighed. "I know. Going as fast as I can. Look, I know I should be happy we made it out, but I can't stop thinking about the others. How did I leave Alvin behind . . ."
"It's the human in you, Rebecca," Luna said. "It's a good thing."
"I know. But it was stupid."
"What?" Jane questioned. "Escaping?"
"Look, I know we agreed to use the herd to get out, but maybe we should have been more patient. Come up with something better."
"It worked!"
"If you could call that working! We could have . . . I don't know . . . "
"Jane saved us," Clem said. "I don't know how we would have gotten out without you."
Jane smiled. "You don't give yourself enough credit. I'm just saying that if people hadn't panicked, things would have turned out differently."
"Of course!" Rebecca exclaimed. "We panicked! We were scared!"
"The plan was good. The execution was the messy part."
"That sounds an awful lot like you're saying it was their fault."
"What? No. No! That's not what I'm saying. Just-"
Rebecca let out a grunt of pain, holding her belly, making them all stop.
"I have to stop," She said. "I'm sorry. I don't want to slow us down. Can I just have a minute?"
"Yeah. Sure," Luna said.
"Thank you," She whimpered. "Alvin was supposed to be here for this."
Jane sighed. "Is Alvin . .. "
"He's dead, is what he is. Thanks to that madman back there."
"My Dad might know what to do," Luna said. "He had me and Duck. Well, Mom did, but he was there. And I know a bit, thanks to mom being a vet and all. Helped a rabbit give birth to five kits once."
"If I have five kids I swear to god . . ."
"Let's hope your dad made it to the meet up point, then," Jane said.
It was quiet for a moment.
"What are you going to do with it?"
Rebecca glared at her. "What do you mean by that?"
"Uhh, sorry. Just making conversation. It was nothing."
"No!" She turned to her. "What do you mean by that? Do with what? My baby!?"
"I'm just looking at the worst case scenario. You, Clem and Luna won't be able to raise a baby by yourselves. Not out here. I just mean, it's going to need food. And you know . . . other stuff . . . "
"Yeah! And?"
"And . . . "
"We'll look after them," Luna said.
"Yeah," Clem nodded. "Together."
"Even if that's the case, you can't always protect everyone."
"Yeah," Luna said. "But you can try."
"So you assume I won't be capable enough," Rebecca scoffed at Jane. "Just because you're some angry loner who cares about nothing but herself doesn't mean you know better than me."
"Hey!" Jane exclaimed. "I've seen it before. Back when it started . . . me and my sister we were - "
"What?! She died?!"
Jane's eyes went wide.
"I don't need your pity!"
Jane's face went from shock to anger. "You don't . . . you don't have the right!"
She turned and walked away.
"Jane!" Clem called.
"Shit," Rebecca sighed. "I didn't mean to . . . shit."
"She didn't mean it!" Clem called, but Jane kept going. " . . . right?"
"Shit."
Soon, the trees thinned, and they came upon a carpark, weeds cracking through the pavement. A single storey building stood ahead of them, a fence surrounding the area.
"We can't just sit here and do nothing!" Mike was saying to Bonnie.
"I know, I know. They'll be here soon."
Mike turned and saw them as they walked over. "Holy shit."
"It had been so long," Bonnie sighed. "We were starting to worry no one else would make it."
"Well. Beside . . ." He looked at a bench behind him, where Kenny sat, Sarita laying with her head on his lap.
"Now hopefully we can figure out a plan."
"How's Sarita?" Clem asked.
They glanced at each other.
"I tried to talk to Kenny and he flipped out on me," Mike said. "Started yellin'. Scary shit."
"I know he probably didn't mean it," Bonnie said. "But it was scary."
Luna sighed as she looked at him. "It's gonna end up the same as when my brother got bit."
"What?"
"He acted the same. Lee distracted me."
Mike sighed. "I hate to say it, but Sarita's on her way out. She's probably going to turn soon."
"Is, uh . . . is he going to take care of her?" Jane asked.
"He took care of Duck," Luna said. "I don't know if he could do it again."
Bonnie crouched in front of her. "Lu, I was thinking, now that you're here, maybe you could go talk to him?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"It's better than leaving him to go through this alone."
"I know it'll be hard," Rebecca said. "But it might be best."
With a sigh, Luna made her way over to Kenny, noticing that he was sitting on the edge of a water fountain, a large memorial statue above him.
"It's okay, Sarita," He was saying. "I'm here with you. I'll be with you. All the way to the end . . . "
Sarita didn't look good. Her once dark skin was now grey, her breathing ragged.
Luna gulped. "Hi."
He looked up at her, the one eye she could see glaring at her, the other still covered with a bloody bandage.
"You think I don't know what y'all are whispering about over there?" He questioned, voice low as the others walked past to sit on the benches further on. "I said we just wanted a little fucking time alone. To say goodbye."
Sarita grunted, jerking slightly.
"Shh, shh, shh . . . it's okay, babe, it's okay . . . We're going to get through this . . . we're going to do what we gotta do . . . gonna play the shit hand the shit world dealt us . . ." He looked up at Luna. "Just leave us alone. Don't you think you and Clem did enough for today?"
Luna sighed. "I tried to save her-"
"Look at her! I said look at her!"
She did as he said, looking at Sarita's pale skin, a bright blood.
"She is going to die. Because of you."
She didn't say anything. She didn't know what she could say.
"You think just because your a little girl you can get people killed and no one will care? That because you're 'sorry' it will all magically go away? Well that's not how it works!" He yelled. "Now for the last time, leave us alone to say goodbye."
Without saying anything else, Luna walked over to the rest of the group, head down. It was her fault Sarita was bitten. If she had been faster, she'd be fine.
"I'm going crazy just sitting her doing nothing," Mike was saying.
"Just give it time, Mike," Bonnie crossed her arms. "It's still early."
"Lu," Rebecca smiled as her. "How'd it go?"
"Not good," She said quietly.
"At least you tried."
"Still," Mike appeared beside her. "It doesn't help with figuring out what we're going to do next. We ain't got no food, no water. And it's getting damn cold, and we're loosing daylight fast."
"When the others get back, they'll know what to do," Bonnie said. "Luke will have a plan."
"And if he doesn't?" Clem raised an eyebrow.
"Clem's got a point," Jane said. "You can't just keep sitting around waiting. Things are difficult enough right now and soon you'll have a baby on your hands, too."
"What, suddenly you're pretending to be concerned?" Rebecca stood up.
"Seeing you people floundering the second things don't go to plan has just got me on edge, all right?"
"Well, I don't exactly see you stepping up to help, either," Mike said.
"We should go find Luke, Sarah and Nick," Clementine said. "If they're in trouble, we might be able to help them."
"Clementine's right," Rebecca said. "After everything, after all this, if there's any chance they're still alive, we need to take it."
"I'll go," Jane said. "Clem can come with me."
"And me," Luna raised her hand slightly.
Clem nodded. "We stick together."
"Okay, then, the three of us can go." Jane put a hand on her hip.
"Thank you," Rebecca smiled.
Jane glanced at Kenny. "Listen, Rebecca, if anything goes wrong here . . . you got something to defend yourself?"
Rebecca held up a revolver. "I've got this. But you don't think I'd need to . . ."
"I don't know. But you better keep that close. Come on, you two."
* * *
"Look," Jane said, as the three of them made their way through the forest fifteen minutes later. "I'm going to level with you two. You should know that finding your friends . . . that's a shot in the dark."
"I don't know about that," Clem said.
"Yeah, we haven't even looked yet," Luna added.
"Okay, but . . . I wanted to talk to you two. Away from them. Neither of you would have made it this far if you weren't smart, but, still . . . I just gotta warn you." Jane stopped walking, the other two standing in front of her. "That group is cracking. I've seen it before. And, well . . . a lot of times, it better to be on your own. "
She started walking again, and the other's followed.
"I know you see what I'm talking about," She continued. "You guys don't want to be there when they start . . . turning on each other. "
"It sucks when you're alone, too," Luna said.
"But your odds are better."
"There's nobody watching your back," Clem said.
Luna nodded. "And when something does happen . . . there's no one there to help you."
Jane sighed. "How much help is Kenny going to be? What he's going through . . . he's more of a liability than anything. And Rebecca's . . . 'situation' isn't making things any better back there. You get enough broken people together . . . and all you're going to get are broken decisions."
"How can you get along without trusting anyone?" Clem asked.
"That's exactly how I get along. For what it's worth," Jane said, as they walked over to a rusted car. "I like most of the people in your crew . . . but groups fall apart. People get killed."
"Then why'd you bring us with you?" Luna asked, as Jane began searching the car.
"I'm just trying to give you two the tools you need to make it. Like, Clem, your jacket. It looks warm. But a walker could bit right through it."
"A walker can bite through most things."
"Not leather. It takes work. You could get them off beforehand. My sister, Jamie, had a good leather one. Wish I still had it. One of you could'a . . . " She sighed, and walked around the car to check the other side.
"What happened your sister?" Clem asked.
Jane chuckled. "Seems we always want to talk about the end, doesn't it?" She stood up and began walking again. "You know, being a big sister . . . it's funny. It's very easy to be mean."
"Oh?"
"You know. Hide her toys. Make fun of her bad haircut. Give her the bad haircut. On purpose. I mean, I did put the gun there. I figured I should get it out. I don't even know why."
"Is that really what it's like having a sister?" Clem asked.
"No. No, it's not all bad. But . . . what could I do? She thought I was her best friend. That couldn't go . . . unpunished." She chuckled. "Every summer we'd go to this amusement park in Virginia." She stopped walking again. "But the best part wasn't the rides . . . it was that nobody knew us there. And I'd . . . I'd pretend we weren't sisters. Just . . . friends."
She coughed.
"There's a caravan motel just there," Luna said, pointing straight ahead.
"Alright! Jackpot!"
They made their way across the road and over to the motel, which was boarded up. Two walkers lay outside it. Jane stabbed one in the head with her knife.
"That guys not coming back. Let's see what he's got."
"Yeah," Clem said. "We should check them out."
"But you know why, right? Only because they're fresh." She crouched by one of the walkers. "Old walkers are a waste of time. They're carrying around old credit cards and busted old pagers. But these one's weren't walkers all that long ago. They were survivors. They might have useful stuff."
Clem searched one of the walkers, finding two drivers licenses and three bullets.
"Well, I guess some people just can't leave the past behind," Jane said.
Clem smirked. "Like Luna."
"How can I not leave the past behind?" Luna asked.
"Croaky."
"How do you know I still have him?"
"I saw him in your bag."
"What were you doing looking in my bag?"
Clem shrugged.
"Smart haircut," Jane said to Clem.
"Thanks."
"Yours-"
"Yeah, I know, it grew out," Luna reached up to her pony tail and twisted it into a knot, so that it was more like a bun. "I didn't really have time to cut it."
"So . . . has your crew always been this dysfunctional? You both fit in there. But you're not like them. It makes me wonder . . ."
"We've only been with them a little while," Clem said. "We don't know what it was like beforehand."
"Kenny's changed," Luna said. "I know that."
"He your dad?" Jane asked.
She nodded.
"That's it," Clem said, standing up.
Jane stood, too, walking over to another walker and stabbing it in the head. "Can never be too sure with these things. Mind helping?"
The three of them flipped the walker onto his back, when Luna spotted something underneath it.
Sarah's broken glasses.
"These are Sarah's!" Clem picked them up.
"Looks like your friend didn't make it," Jane said. "Sorry."
"All we know is that she was here," Luna said. "Not that she died here."
"Don't go getting your hopes up." She stood up. "Look, girls, I know what you want me to say, but-"
"NO! GET OFF!" Yelled a muffled voice.
"GODDAMN IT, SARAH!"
"Shit," Jane muttered. "Okay, come on, we've got to find a way in. Looks like there's an opening over there."
They went around the side of the boarded up fence, but Clem and Luna's hearts dropped as they got around the other side.
"Oh, no," Clem muttered.
There was a hole in the fence that they could use to get in, but a walker hung inside it, growling. Stuck.
Nick.
They stood in front of him, just out of reach.
"It's Nick," Clem said.
"It's your friend," Jane said. "Luna should do it."
"I should? Why me?'
"I'll do it," Clem said.
"No," Luna sighed, pulling out her axe. "I'll so it."
It took her a few minutes to work up the strength, but then, with one high, hard swing, Luna buried her axe in Nick's brain, and he went still.
"It's okay," Jane said. "It's done. If Luke, or Sarah or anyone needs to be put down, you need to be ready for it. No hesitation. From either of you. You know that, right?"
"That's why I'm afraid of," Clem said.
"That hatchet of yours. It seems to get stuck pretty easily."
"I used to have a knife," Luna said. "But I dropped it."
"Here, use this," Jane handed her a screwdriver. "Very affective. Okay. We can do this."
Jane pushed Nick off the fence, and crawled through the hole, Clem and Luna following behind. They could hear Sarah and Luke yelling, still, though it was muffled.
"They don't sound good, do they?" Jane said, as they crouched behind a swing set. "Clock's ticking."
"I'm ready," Clem said.
"I know you ae. We need to get a better look." She looked at the three walkers in front of them. "How about you two take the two just there, and I'll jump the fence for the others."
Luna nodded.
Clem and Luna snuck out. The walker Luna was going for had it's back to her, and she noticed was rather tall. She glanced around, seeing the upturned wheelbarrow beside it, and jumped onto it, before jumping at the walker, stabbing it in the head with her screwdriver, making it fall to the floor, her handing on it.
Clem's fell beside her, almost landing on Luna, who almost laughed.
"Nice work," Jane said, smiling at them. "Now watch this. A nice little addition to your arsenal."
She jumped over the fence, and over to the walker, kicking it in the knee, making it fall to the ground before she stabbed it in the head.
She turned to them, smiling. "Go for the knees, first. Then, put a knife in the back of it's head when it's down. Alright, let's have a look at what we have one deck."
Clem and Luna got over the fence, and followed Jane to the end of the next trailer, poking their heads out to have a look around.
The middle of the 'road' was barricade by couches, tvs and many other things. Two walkers stood there, trying to get over it to where Luke and Sarah's voices could be heard.
"Let's go," Jane muttered.
Luna kicked one walker's knee, and Clem stabbed it in the back of the head as Jane took care of the second one.
"You did the knee thing," She smiled. "Nice trick, huh?"
They looked over the barricade at the trailer they guess Sarah and Luke were in, as they could hear Sarah's sobs. Dozens of walkers stood outside the trailer, banging on the door.
"That's a lot of walkers," Clementine said.
Luna glanced around. "If we make enough noise over here, we could lure them away from there, and sneak in."
"We could use that trailer to get to your friends," Jane said, pointing to one of the trailers.
"Sounds like a plan," Luna said. "How do we make noise, though?"
Clem pointed to a car. "Could us that."
"Needs to last," Luna said. "Could use the horn, since I doubt there's any keys anywhere . . . "
"Put a walker on it!" Clem went over to a walker, stabbing it in the back of the head. "Come on, Lu, help me with this!"
Jane watched as they carried the walker into the truck. "Damn. You two make quite the team."
Clem sighed as she placed the walker down in the car. "You could help."
"Hm." Jane shrugged.
"Okay," Luna held the walker's head up. "I'm gonna drop it. You ready?"
They nodded.
"Three . . . two . . . one!"
As the horn began blaring, they looked to see all the walkers making their way over to them, groaning and stumbling.
"Come on!" Jane said.
They ran into the trailer, finding two walkers inside. They easily took them out, before the horn stopped.
"You've got to be kidding me," Luna groaned, and she looked outside to see the walker had fallen out of the truck.
"Come on!" Jane kicked the door open. "We gotta go!"
They ran over to the trailer Sarah's sobs were coming from, but the door was locked.
"I'll hold them off, just hurry!" Jane yelled.
Luna ran into it, but it didn't budge, as the walkers closed in.
"Come on!" She yelled, kicking it. "Come ON!"
The door burst open with her next kick, and Clem ran inside, Jane and Luna following.
Jane slammed the door shut. "Quick! Help me barricade this thing!"
They pushed a shelf over just as the walkers got to the door, blocking it.
They heard Sarah scream.
"Shh, Sarah, please!" They heard Luke try. They were in a room on the other end of the trailer, door closed. "Who's out there?"
"Luke!" Clem made her way towards the door.
"Clem?" The door opened, and Luke walked out. "Oh, thank God."
They walked over to him.
"Did Nick find you?" Luke asked, holding his side. "He made a run for it, looking for help."
"Luke . . . " Luna said softly, and he seemed to get the hint.
"Fuck," His face fell. "Oh, fuck . . . When I heard y'all bangin' on the door, I thought the walkers were coming in to finish what was left of us."
"Luke, where's Sarah?" Clem asked.
Luke glanced at the room he came out of. "I . . . I don't know what to do about her."
"What's the matter?" Jane asked.
"You gotta help."
He led them into the room, where Sarah was sitting on the flood, panting, face in her knees.
"H-hey, Sarah, look," Luke said. "It's Clem and Luna. They're okay, just like I said."
She didn't look at them.
"Sarah, come on, we've got to go," Luna said.
"Come on!" Clem said much more forcefully.
Jane glanced around. "Guys, we can't do this. We can't stay here."
"I don't know what to do, okay?" Luke said, still holding his side. "alright, I can't snap her out of it, okay? I've tried carrying her, but I . . . I guess Carver messed me up pretty good back there. I don't know, it's just . . . after Carlos, she just started running around the woods like a maniac. I chased her for god knows how long and then, well, she saw this mobile home, made a beeline straight for it. I'm just glad y'all are here."
There was a loud bang outside from a walker.
"We're not out of the woods yet," Jane said.
"What do we do about her?"
"What if we just get her to her feet, you know, just get her moving?" Clem said.
"No, no, it's not going to work, okay? She freaks out any time you get near her."
Jane glanced at the door. "Listen, I, uh .. . they're going to tear this place open pretty soon. We can't stay. So we gotta get her up or we gotta . . . "
"I've been trying! I've been trying for hours, okay? I can't even get her to look at me."
Luna crouched in front of her. "Sarah, I know it may seem like you're alone, but you're not. You've got me, and Luke, and Clem, and Jane and the whole rest of the group. We're your family, now."
She just sobbed.
"Shit!" Jane yelled, as a walker hit the window behind them. "We're surrounded. What about the skylight?"
"All we got," Luke said, looking up at the skylight on the roof.
"Luna, there's no time!"
She looked back at Sarah. "Sarah, you're not a kid anymore, understand? We can't be kids anymore. Or we die. We have no other options."
The door burst open, and Jane ran over, holding it closed. "GET TO THE SKYLIGHT, NOW!"
"Come on, Clem, I'll boost you!" Luke tried, but ended up too weak to lift her.
"What's going on back there?"
"My ribs . . . we're going to need something to stand on."
"Luke! Get over here and help me with this!"
Luke ran over, holding the door closed with Jane.
"Clem, find something to help us out!"
Clem looked at the press they were using to barricade the door. "Could we use that?"
Jane looked at it. "Yeah, that could work . . . "
"Alright, ready?" Clem asked, as Luke moved to help push it.
"On three. One . . . two . . . three!"
Jane pushed the press, and then held the door closed, as Clem and Luke pushed the press into the room, under the skylight.
"It's through!" Clem yelled, as the walkers burst through the door. Jane ran over, slamming the door closed as she pushed the skylight open and got onto the press.
"Luke, you first. We need you up top."
They got Luke up, and then Jane turned to Clem.
"Come on, Clem!"
"Go!" Luna said. "I'll be right behind you, I swear!"
Clem climbed up, leaving Jane, Sarah and Luna.
"Sarah, listen, we're leaving!" She yelled.
"Now, Luna!" Jane yelled. "If she doesn't want to go, you can't make her. Don't let her take you down, too. Not again!"
Luna crouched down by Sarah again.
"I know what you're trying to do, it won't work!"
"I can't, I can't, Dad, I can't!" Sarah shrieked.
"Snap the hell out of it, Sarah!" Luna yelled.
"You can't save her, Luna! Believe me, I know about this!" Jane said.
"Come on!" Clem looked down at them from the top.
Luna slapped Sarah across the face, making her yelp. "MOVE! NOW!"
She grabbed Sarah and pulled her up as the walkers burst through the door.
"Grab her!" She yelled, and Jane helped her up.
Luna climbed up, then, Jane following just in time.
"Come on, let's go!" Jane jumped off the trailer, the others following.
* * *
They walked through the forest, exhausted.
"You've got to start trying, Sarah," Clem said. "If you don't try, no one's going to want to help you."
"But, I'm not okay-"
"Try."
"She just needs a little time, Clem," Jane said. "Let her be for a bit."
Clem walked over to walked alongside Jane and Luna.
"I don't know about this," Jane said. "The way she is, she's going to cause problems."
"What happened in there?" Clem asked. "When we went in there you were ready to help . . . but then something changed."
"Look, I just . . . I'd seen that kind of thing before. I didn't want to stick around to the bitter end. Sorry, I . . . I don't mean to sound harsh. It's just the way things are."
"You really weren't helping back there," Luna said.
"Just because you got her out of there today doesn't mean you saved her. Trust me."
"I know. I'm not an idiot."
"I tried to save Jamie, too, but . . . she gave up."
Luke walked over to walk beside Clem as Luna fell back to her.
"I just . . . I can't believe it," He said. "Soon as you guys said 'go' I was the first one on that roof. Like I had already made up my mind."
"Luke," Jane said. "You can't let it eat away at you."
"Well I can't forget it."
"I dragged my sister across four states. And every morning she'd say she wasn't getting up. So I'd convince her. Or push her. Or goddamn carry her if I had to. Until this time . . . walkers cornered us. Forced us up to the roof. And - And then when they kept coming, I-I couldn't make her jump, couldn't throw her. So I tried something else. I told her she could have what she wanted, and left her there. Jumped to the next building over by myself."
"You left your sister?"
"Jane," Clem said softly. "I'm really sorry."
"Me, too," Luna muttered.
She was quiet for a moment. "It killed me for a long time. But I finally realised I put her on a forced march through hell, when all she really wanted was for me to let her go. Sarah was that way, too."
"Jane," Luke warned.
"No regard for her own safety. Or ours."
"I want her to have a chance to choose," Luna said. "It's grief at the moment. Once she get's over that, then she can decide if she wants to live or not. For now, I just want to do the right thing."
"You did," Luke glanced back at her. "Do the right thing, I mean."
Only a few minutes later, they were looking at Mike's smiling face back at the meet up point.
"Son of a bitch," Mike grinned. "You found 'em!"
"Yeah, I'm a . . . little amazed myself, to tell you the truth," Luke said. "If it weren't for these three, well . . . I don't know what might have happened."
Rebecca walked over, struggling, Bonnie helping her.
"Sarah," She said softly. "How you doin', hon?"
When Sarah didn't say anything, Rebecca reached out, but she pulled away.
"That's okay, sweetie. Whenever you're ready. I'm just glad you're here." She looked at the group. "W-wait, wait. Where's Nick?"
Luke took a breath. "Uh, Rebecca? Why don't we take a walk for a bit?"
"Let's just give them some space," Bonnie said, as the two went out of earshot from the group. "I have something I want to talk to you two about, too."
"No," Rebecca was sobbing. "No. . . "
Bonnie led them a while away. "I'm not even going to sugar coat this. That baby's coming even faster than Rebecca's letting on. But I was hoping you might know . . . does Luke know anything about babies?"
"I know a bit," Luna says. "Dad knows more about humans giving birth, though."
"Humans? What the hell do you know about, then?"
"Animals."
"Oh."
"Where is Kenny?" Clem asked.
Bonnie looked over at a white tent behind her. "He went in there a little after you guys left. With Sarita. I don't know if he's . . . done it yet. Ain't seen him since. I don't think he's doing well."
"We've seen him like this before," Clem said.
"That's why I thought Luna should try talk to him again. I think if it's just her, being his daughter and all, she might be able to get through to him. And I wouldn't ask you to do it, if it weren't for the baby."
Luna sighed. "Alright. If I'm murdered, please make sure I don't turn."
She made her way over to the tent, and pushing it open. Kenny was sitting there, staring at the wall, Sarita's grey body laying beside him, blood on her forehead.
Luna stayed quiet.
"She didn't want me to wait," He said quietly, not looking back at her. "But I had to. Just in case by some crazy chance . . . she didn't come back . . . that beautiful face . . . so I waited . . . "
"Sarita was a good person," Luna muttered. "I really liked her."
"Do you know what it feels like to be beaten almost to death? Peaceful. It feels peaceful. It was like I was floating away. Watching the whole thing happen me. And then I woke up again, and nothin's changed. I'm still taking a beating. Every damned day. Duck. Katjaa. Sarita. No rest. The punches just keep coming. Why the hell couldn't Carver had just finished me off? Obviously I ain't helping anybody by being here."
"You help me," Luna said. "I need you here."
"I've seen you take care of yourself more than three adults put together. But . . . thanks for saying that."
Luna sat beside him, and looked at his eye.
"Ah, don't you worry about this. It's nothing. Hasn't killed me yet anyway."
"Don't be an ass. It could be infected. It's not really bandaged that well. Do you mind?"
"Go ahead."
She lifted the bandage to look at his eye. It looked rather disgusting. It was basically just a mess of blood and muscle.
"Well?" Kenny asked, as she placed the bandage back down.
"Oh, shit!" They heard Luke yell. "Does that mean what I think it does?"
"We best go see what's going on," Kenny said, standing up.
They left the tent, and so everyone around Rebecca who was doubled over, holding Bonnie's hand.
"How does it feel?" Mike asked.
"Wet. That's how it feels!" Rebecca said.
"What's going on?" Clem asked.
Bonnie sighed. "Rebecca's water just broke."
"What do we do?" Luna hurried over.
"Kenny, thank God. I think the baby's coming. What do we do?"
Kenny stood with his back to everyone else. "Alright, alright, give me a second . . . "
"Rebecca can't travel like this," Luke said.
Jane nodded. "He's right. And she'll make a lot of noise. They'll be able to smell her, too. NOw all you can do is lock down and ride it out."
"It hurts more than before," Rebecca said. "Is that normal? Is something wrong? Oh, god . . . "
"This doesn't seem like a safe place for a baby to be born," Clem noted.
"That map shows a couple of buildings nearby," Mike said. "Maybe one of those will do the trick."
Everyone split into groups to search for everything they needed for Rebecca. Bonnie, Clem and Mike were going to check out the museum, while Luke made sure no walkers got in. Sarah was staying with Rebecca and Kenny until they found where they would be spending the night, while Jane and Luna went to check out the building by the river.
Luna climbed the steps up to the second level, as the lower lever was entirely locked up. There was an observation deck, with binoculars and a large cannon. A shutter door kept the building cut off, but Jane pulled out a nail file.
"I'll have this off in a second. Sit tight and look out, will you?"
Luna nodded. "Okay."
She sat on the edge of the deck, legs dangling over the edge. She pulled her jacket off, and then her hoodie, before rolling up her sweater on her left arm, and looking at the bloody bandage around her arm.
She'd had the cut for four days and still hadn't gotten the chance to look at it. She untied the bandage, thankful it wasn't hurting so much, and unrolled it, revealing her wound.
It was disgusting. A number of zits and bruises lay on her forearm, just below her elbow. There were red and purple dots in the centre, in a shape Luna couldn't even lie to herself in.
A bite.
She'd been bitten. She'd been bitten and not even realised it.
But that didn't make sense. People turn within 24 hours, unless it's been cut off. She'd had this for four days. And it had healed. Taking a closer look, she saw that the bite marks from the teeth were scabs.
She quickly tied her arm back up, pulling her jacket and hoodie on. She'd deal with that later. She didn't feel any different to normal. She didn't have a fever. It had been four days, she should have turned by now. Lee couldn't even stand properly an hour after being bitten.
She looked over the ground around her. She'd be fine. She'd work it out. Make sure everyone's safe and then work it out. She-
A man was limping in their direction, carrying a bag. He had thick glasses, and looked rather nervous.
"Jane!"
"What?"
"There's a guy down there."
Staying low, Jane crouched towards the stairs that lead up to the deck, looking down at the limping man.
"Shit, shit, shit," She muttered. "He's coming this way. And who knows if he has friends nearby."
"We don't hurt him unless we have to," Luna said. "Still act like you will, though. He doesn't know if we'll hurt him or not."
"Right. Scope him out and see what he's up to. I don't like some stranger sneaking around so close to the others. We've got enough on our plates with the baby coming. Last thing we need is someone telling their friends about the new easy targets in the neighbourhood."
"Then it may be better if we stay hidden," Luna said. "If he has no idea anyone's here, he's got nothing to tell his friends."
"Good call." Jane looked at the stairs as the man limped up them. "Shit, hide!"
Luna hid behind the large cannon as Jane hid behind a bin next to the second lot of staircases. The man limped up, holding a large bag in his hand, the metal leg brace on his right leg squeaking.
Luna made her way around the cannon as he walked past, keeping out of sight. He began looking in his bag for something, but then jumped as he spotted Luna, and pulled out a revolver.
He said something in a language Luna didn't know.
Luna raised her hands. "Don't shoot me. I'm just a kid."
He kept his shaking gun on her.
"What's your name?"
He took a moment before answering in a thick accent. "I am Arvo. I am going to go now. I don't want to shoot."
Jane appeared behind him, staying quiet.
"I don't want to shoot anyone. Especially малышка . . . uh, little girl."
Before Luna could say anything, Jane tackled the gun off Arvo, pushing him back and aiming the gun at him.
"Back up. Put the bag down."
With his eyebrows furrowed behind his large, cracked glasses, Arvo threw the bag at Jane's feet.
"Lu, make sure he has no more weapons in there."
Luna leaned down, and unzipped the bag, but she didn't find guns.
She found meds.
"No," Arvo was saying. "I 'ave no more guns!"
"We just need to make sure you're not a threat," Jane said. "Lu, anything?"
Luna held up a bottle of meds to show her.
"Holy shit. That's a whole stash of meds."
"No, no, no," Arvo said. "Take whatever you want, but don't take that medicine. It's for my sister. My older sister. She's sick. The pain makes her cry, and that's when those things come. Please. That medicine is all she has."
"Sister or not, we could really use that stuff," Jane said.
"No. You are not nice people. You already left me defenceless, and now you take my sister's medicine? You are-" He said something in another language.
"Hey, we've got people who are suffering. Who need this medicine. Luke's still a wreak after Carver's, Kenny's a mess, Rebecca's in pain . . . Look at all of it. Luna, we need that stuff."
"Other people are suffering just as much as yours. You're not special." He looked at Luna. "Eh, 'Luna', was it? You must believe me-"
"Don't believe a word this asshole says," Jane said. "You know what I think? I don't think you have a sick sister. I think you're just some junkie. Know what that word means?"
"Don't be an ass, Jane," Luna stood up. "He's right. We're not special, and neither is he. Nothing gives us the right to live more than him or his sister."
"Lu, we need this-"
"And so does he. I don't rob," She zipped the bag back up. "Let him go, Jane."
"Thank you, Luna, thank you." Arvo smiled.
Jane suddenly grabbed him by the shirt, and pushed him up against the rails of the deck, holding a gun to his head.
"What are you doing? You don't have to do this, just let me go."
"I said let him go, Jane," Luna said forcefully.
"Don't you EVER come around here again," Jane said. "If I see you again, sick sister or not, you won't just be walking away."
She pushed him over to the stairway.
"Leave."
He grabbed his bag, and limped down the stairs.
"I can't believe I've gotten into this mess," Jane threw the gun on the ground.
"Threatening some stupid kid . . . "
"I better go bet the others. Baby could be here any second, or we could be waiting till tomorrow. Best be ready for either."
"I'll get this thing open," Jane leaned down, and began picking the lock again. "You go get the others."
Luna made her way down the stairs, and saw Luke walking towards her, crossbow in hand.
She noticed the limp he had, the dried blood on his lip, bruise on his cheek. Those meds could have helped. A lot. But she had to stick by a code. She'd never stolen - from anyone. Unless she had to, and only if she knew they wouldn't miss whatever she stole. Those meds . . . she could heal Kenny and Luke without them. She could even deal with Rebecca without them. Even before the world ended, heaps of people had babies naturally, without meds. They'd be fine. Would things be easier with them? Yes, but she wasn't going to destroy Arvo and his sister's live just to make her's and the other's more berable.
"Lu, hey, Lu," Luke smiled at her as he walked over. "Any luck with the observation deck? I was just talking to Kenny and Rebecca and they said they hadn't heard from you in a while."
"Yeah, Jane thinks it'll be a good spot for Rebecca," Luna glanced behind her. "She's pretty mad, though. We came across a guy, he had heaps of medicine. She wanted to take it, but I let him leave with it."
"Good." Luke said. "You gotta have a line."
Luna nodded. "But . . . I'm sorry I can't make anything easier for you or Kenny or Rebecca without it."
"It's fine, Lu. We'll be okay."
"I hope so."
"Jane still up there now?"
Luna nodded. "She's trying to get the giftshop open."
"You know, I really can't figure her out," Luke looked up at the observation deck. "I mean, she really lays it on the line, but . . . at the same time, she doesn't really show you anything that counts. And I don't know if she just doesn't like people, or plain doesn't like me."
"She's alright," Luna said. "It's just hard to get used to people again sometimes. She's been on her own for a while."
"Yeah, I guess so. Jane seems like the kind of person who gets tempered by hardship, you know? But when I look at Kenny, he just seems broken. And broken people tend to get reckless, you know? Look, I know he's your dad and all, and I'm know saying he's a bad guy. But I think he's been hit with more than he can handle."
"He'll be okay," Luna said. "It's just . . . with loosing Mom and Duck, and now Sarita . . . He just can't face things sometimes."
"I used to think that," He sighed. "That maybe, all the horror hadn't gotten to you yet. But . . . I don't know, with what Clem was saying happened at the start of things . . . I guess you can't really ignore it."
She shook her head lightly. "The world sucks, Clem and I learnt that pretty early on."
They were quiet for a moment.
"I better go tell the others about the deck."
"Right. I'll check on Jane."
Luna made her way back to the entry of the memorial, where she heard Rebecca yell. She ran over, seeing Kenny trying to help, Bonnie standing beside them, Mike and Clem off to the side, and Sarah hyperventilating as she watched the large amount of walkers come out of the forest.
"Guys!" Luna ran over. "Walkers. Anyone got a knife or something?"
"How'd they get that close without anyone seeing?" Mike questioned. "Where the hell's Luke?"
"How's the observation deck?" Clem asked.
"Good. Just gotta hope Jane got it open." Luna said. "We should head there. Maybe, I don't know, break the stairway. Then there's no way for them to get up."
"Good thinking," Bonnie said.
Kenny picked up the crowbar he used on Carver. "You just look after that baby."
"Kenny, we can't stay here."
Kenny walked towards the walkers.
"Mike, the water!" Clem said.
"On it!" He ran off.
"Someone help me up," Rebecca said, and Bonnie helped her up.
Luna grabbed Sarah's arm. "Come on, Sarah.'
They made their way back to the observation deck, while Kenny hit a single walker in the head. Over. And over. And over.
"Luna, I don't think he's okay," Bonnie said. "He's losing it. I mean . . . that- that isn't."
"Let's go, please," Rebecca panted.
"Let's just go," Luna said. "Now's not the time."
They hurried to the observation deck, Luna and Clem running ahead. She ran up the stairs, to find Luke and Jane sitting in the now open gift shop.
" . . . That's the most human I've felt in a long time," Luke was saying. "I'd almost forgotten what- Clementine! Luna! J-Jesus, guys, it- it's not . . . um."
Jane pulled her boot on.
"What's going on?" Clem asked, as Luna just looked at the two in confusion.
"Um, well-"
"Let's get you in here," Bonnie said, as she helped Rebecca into the gift shop. "Let's get you comfortable."
Kenny ran up. "What the fuck are you two doing up here?"
"Kenny!" Luke stood up, scratching the back of his neck. "What's going on?"
"We've got god knows how many walkers out there, which YOU were supposed to be keeping and eye out for!"
"Hey, hold on a second-"
Mike pulled the shutter over the second staircase down.
"Tell me what's going on."
"What's going on is you're a reckless fucking moron," Kenny said.
"I'm reckless? You know, you've got a lot of nerve, Kenny-"
"Now's not the time!" Luna sighed. "Rebecca needs help, so stop bickering for once and actually help!"
Rebecca let out a scream.
"There's still the stairs," Jane said.
"Alright, Luke, Jane, Mike, Clem and I will go keep the walkers off. Dad, Bonnie, Sarah, you stay with Rebecca. Make her as comfortable as possible, and make this and quick as possible. Don't worry about the walkers, none of them will get in."
"Got it."
Everyone hurried to their positions, Luke handing Clem and Luna guns.
"We cannot let them in here!" Luke yelled.
Luna pushed the metal gate on the stairs closed, right as walkers began piling up the stairs. As she stepped back, everyone began shooting, walker bodies falling by the door.
"Keep going!"
"That door's not gonna-" Before she even finished, the door burst open. Luna and Mike ran over, throwing their weight against the door and closing it.
"Find something to block this gate!" Mike yelled.
Luna grabbed her screwdriver, stabbing walkers through the door as Clem and Luke grabbed the cannon, pushing it over to block the door.
"M- Luna!" Clem grabbed Luna and pulled her out of the way, right as the cannon fell through the deck, making most of it collapse, including the stairs.
"MOVE!" Luna yelled, as the suppord cords for the deck fell from the wall, making almost the entire thing collapse. Jane fell, but Luke caught her. Sarah, however, fell to the ground below, parts of the deck falling on her, pinning her to the ground as she yelled.
"Jane, help Sarah!" Clem yelled.
"Are you kidding me? She's not getting out of that, pull me up! It's suicide. Just pull me up. Please, Clementine. Luna."
"We can't leave her without even trying," Luna said.
"Just go!" Clem added.
Jane rolled her eyes, and let go of Luke.
She ran over to Sarah, who was screaming under the debris, drawing more walkers to her position.
Luna grabbed her gun, taking out the walkers that got too close to them.
Jane pulled the debris up. "Go! Get out!"
"I can't! I can't!" Sarah screamed. "Somebody help me!"
"I'm trying! You have to listen to me!"
"Sarah, listen-" Luna shot another walker. "Listen to Jane!"
"NO! NO! NO! DAD! NO!"
"Jane, look-"
A piece of wood fell on Jane's head, making her fall over. She got up a second later, but the walkers were already on Sarah.
"NO! NO! NO!" She screamed. "NO! DAD! NO! NO!NO!"
Her screams went silent under the group of walkers.
Jane climbed back up the half collapsed deck, Clem and Luna watching the group eat Sarah.
"I'm sorry, guys," Jane walked over to them. "I tried. I did."
"Thank you for going down there," Clem said, in a quiet voice.
"It wasn't your fault," Luna added.
Rebecca let out another loud scream.
"Oh, buttholes!" Luna yelled, as she shot more walkers. "They're climbing. They're gonna get up here!"
"FUCK!" Kenny yelled. "Does this shit never end?"
"We need to break the rest of the deck," Clem said.
"She's right," Luke nodded. "She's right. Drop the whole deck!"
"How the hell do we do that?" Bonnie yelled.
"What about that?" Luna pointed at the second support.
"That could work," Luke appeared beside her. "Take that out, it takes the whole thing down."
"Give me a boost!"
Mike lifted her onto her shoulders, and she pulled out her axe. It only took three hits, and the whole deck fell with a thundering crash. A few planks stayed on, which they were all standing on.
Mike put Luna down, who looked over the edge at all the walkers.
Then she realised how quiet it was.
"No," Bonnie muttered, standing in the gift shop and looking at Kenny and Rebecca. "oh, no."
Everyone hurried over. Rebecca was laying on the ground, panting. Kenny was holding a tiny human in his hand, only a little larger than his hand. Unmoving. Covered in a strange substance.
Rebecca began sobbing, as Luna and Clem walked closer, and Kenny shook his head.
Then the baby coughed, and began crying.
"Oh," Kenny chuckled. "Oh!"
He was okay.
* * *
Luna woke that night as Clem sat up. They'd both fallen asleep sitting against the wall, and as the pair woke, they both saw Rebecca across the room from there, smiling down at her baby.
Rebecca smiled as she saw them. "Hello, girls."
"Hey," Clem stood up.
"How's he doing?" Luna followed.
She smiled down at her son. "He's perfect. Who's a perfect little man? Who's the most perfect little man in the world? You are. That's right, you are!"
They both sat in front of her, smiling.
"He looks like Alvin," Clementine said.
"You think so?"
"Definitely," Luna said.
"Thank you." She smiled at them. "Would . . . you guys like to hold him?"
"Can we?" Luna smiled.
"Of course. You're family."
She handed the baby to Clem, who smiled down at him. Then he began crying.
"Shh, it's okay, little man," Luna whispered.
"You two are naturals," Rebecca smiled.
Kenny walked into the room. "Look at you two. Like big sisters."
Rebecca let out a hollow cough.
"Here, I'll take him," Kenny took the baby from Clem. "You three should rest. Especially you, Rebecca."
"When's the last time you slept, Kenny?"
"About two years ago. I'm fine," He smiled at the baby. "But somebody's got to watch you while Mama is getting her beauty sleep." He sniffed the baby. "You never forget that smell."
He walked away with the baby as Rebecca fell asleep.
"What's Jane doing?" Clem asked, looking out at the ruined deck.
They both made their way out, and found Jane looking through the shutter door.
"Ah, shit," She muttered, when she saw them.
"What're you doing?" Luna asked.
"Listen, I'm sorry. I've got to go." She pulled the shutter open.
"What about Luke?" Clem asked.
"What about him?"
"Aren't you guys . . . ?"
"Look, Luke's a nice guy, but it's not like that, and it'll never be like that."
"Oh."
"Well, that's it then," She sighed. "You know Jamie . . . Sarah . . . I'm not gonna stick around and . . . watch it happen to you two, too. YOu know the score. You're both smart kids."
"We'll be okay," Luna said.
"Sure. But give it enough time, and everyone's luck runs out."
She went to leave, and stopped at the top of the staircase.
"Listen, when the shit hits the fan, cause it always does, remember that you two can make it on your own. Not everyone has that option. If things start heading south, don't let them drag you down with them. You don't owe them anything. They'll make you feel like you do. Like it's all one happy family. But when push comes to shove . . . you'll see."
"I owe these people everything," Clem said. "They've kept me safe, looked out for me. If it wasn't for them, I never would have found Luna."
"Well, they can't keep you safe forever."
"No one's safe forever," Luna said.
"You two take care of yourselves. I mean that. Here," She handed them a nail file. "Versatility is not overrated."
"Keep it," Clem said.
She put it back in her pocket. "I, um. . . I gotta go."
She turned, and made her way down the staircase. Leaving.
Luna sat down by the railing for the stairs, legs hanging off the edge, and Clem sat beside her.
"Clem," Luna said quietly a few minutes later. "I have something to tell you."
She furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"
She pulled her sleeve up, over her elbow, and took the filthy bandage off, showing Clem the bite mark.
Clem looked from the bite to Luna and back again. "Is that . . . "
She nodded.
"Did it happen earlier? With the walkers?"
She shook her head. "It happened back at the lodge. I didn't notice it. Carlos . . . he gave me the bandage. I didn't know it was a bite."
Clem looked at the cysts and bruises. "But . . . everyone turns within 24 hours or something, right?"
Luna nodded. "I don't feel sick or anything. I mean, it hurt when it first happened, and for a few days afterwards, but now . . . it just hurts when I touch it."
She poked it and yelped.
"Shouldn't have done that."
"Why're you telling me?"
"Cause someone needs to know, Clem. I mean, it's a bite. I'm . . . I'm gonna turn at some stage, even if it's later than most people. Maybe it's cause I'm a kid."
"But Duck was less than a day. Sarita, too. And Lee."
"I know. I'll . . . I'll keep and eye on it."
They heard footsteps behind them, and Luna quickly wrapped her arm back up, pulling her sleeve down.
"I won't say anything," Clem said, as Luke leaned on the rails beside them.
"Hey. Would've thought you two were asleep by now," Luke said. "You two okay?"
"We're fine," Clem said quickly.
"Good. Okay. Hell of a night, though . . . " He sighed. "Temperature's dropping. We're low on food. I think we have to stay put for a while, you know, for Rebecca and the baby. So, i'm thinking first thing tomorrow, Jane and I will head out, explore, see if we can find some place to scavenge."
"Jane's gone. For good." Luna said.
"What? Are you serious? When'd she leave?"
"Just now."
"She didn't say anything about leaving to me. What the fuck?!" He punched the wall. "Damnit!"
"Hey, keep it down," Kenny appeared, still holding the baby.
"Sorry! I just . . . sorry. Jane's gone."
"Really? Luke? Of all the childish bullshit!"
"Childish?" Luke went to walk around him. "Goddamn it, Kenny, just lay off!"
"No!" Kenny said, as Luna and Clem stood up. "You put our lives a risk, this baby's life at risk, so that you two could go rolling around like fucking teenagers!"
"Look, I made a mistake, alright?" Luke said, over the baby's crying.
"No, it's not alright!"
"What do you want from me?"
"You're both acting like jerks," Luna said.
"All you do is fight," Clem added.
"Look, okay, I'm sorry! I fucked up!" Luke said. "But Jane, you know, she made an offer and . . . Jesus Christ I needed it, okay? I mean, look around you! Everything is shit! Forgive me for wanting to enjoy ONE moment of somethin' else!"
"Fine!" Kenny growled. "But this baby . . . he's what matters now, got it? So get your shit together!"
"Is everything alright?" Mike asked, walking out.
"Everything's fine," Luke walked into the gift shop.
"We're going to need a good place to raise him," Kenny said, walking after him. "Which isn't here. We have to push on."
"No, we need to stay," Luna said. "Rebecca is not at all well enough to travel yet, and we need more for that baby before we travel, too."
"Shut it, Luna," Kenny said. "We go north. To Wellington. That's our best shot."
"And if Wellington's gone?" Luna crossed her arms. "If it's like ever other settlement I've been to and gone?"
"It won't be."
"Kenny!" Rebecca snapped.
"Right, sorry," He handed her the baby, who stopped crying instantly.
"There's a town across the river," Clem said. "We could go there."
"Well, it's probably not a bad stop along the way."
"Clem's got a point," Bonnie said. "It could be a whole town full of supplies."
"Right," Kenny said. "We leave at first light."
"Whoa, whoa," Luke sighed. "What are you talking about? Rebecca needs rest, okay? At least a few days. Luna's right."
"We've got that baby formula," Bonnie said.
Mike scoffed. "That won't help the rest of us. And what about shelter? We'll freeze to death here."
"She needs rest," Luna said.
Clem nodded. "Luna and Luke are right. She needs rest. We wait a few days."
"Yeah," Bonnie said. "We don't want to push Rebecca too hard."
"Just give me a day or two, Kenny," Rebecca said. "I'll be fine."
"This is a mistake." Kenny growled.
* * * TWO DAYS LATER * * *
They walked along the frozen ground, snow falling from the sky. Luna shivered in her raincoat and knitted jumper, missing her hoodie, which she had given to the baby to keep him warm. Rebecca wasn't doing well. Even as they walked by the snow covered stone wall, she tripped, Bonnie helping her back up.
"How's your arm?" Clementine asked for what felt like the four thousandth time.
"Still fine." Luna answered, biting some dry skin off her lips.
Bonnie helped Rebecca up from another fall. "You alright?"
"She's exhausted," Luke glared at Kenny. "We all are."
Kenny just continued walking.
"I can keep going," Rebecca said in a quiet voice.
"We shoulda left days ago," Kenny said, as everyone began walking again. "We could have food and been someplace warm says ago."
"We did the right thing," Luke said. "She was in no condition to move."
"She's worse now."
"We can still turn back."
"That's not an option. Everyone hang in there! We gotta keep moving if we're gonna make it to that town before nightfall."
"You don't even listen to anyone else! You just go on barking orders! You gotta lighten up! Okay, you're pushing them too hard!"
"I'm just doing what needs to be done. Like always. Keeping everything alive!"
"Arguing isn't going to change a thing!" Luna snapped. "So both of you just shut up!"
"Well, don't forget you agreed with me about staying in the camp the other day." Luke said.
"Yeah? Doesn't mean you shouldn't shut the fuck up."
Rebecca collapsed.
"You okay?" Bonnie helped her up again.
"Here," Mike gestured to a tire propped against a rock. "A place to sit."
Rebecca sat in it, face pale.
"Rebecca," Kenny said. "Let me take the baby."
"It's okay, I've got him."
"No," Kenny walked over. "You need rest. I'll watch him."
"Back off, Kenny," Luke said. "She said she was okay. Don't be weird about it, okay?"
"I ain't being weird about it!"
"Yeah, you kind of have been! And not just now."
"Both of you, stop!" Luna groaned, crossing her arms. "You're both being weird about everything!"
"HELLO!"
They looked in the distance, to see a figure walking towards them, though the snow. A creaking noise with each step.
"Who's this?" Mike asked.
Luna narrowed her eye as the figure spoke in another language.
"Wait, Arvo?"
Bonnie turned to her. "Arvo?"
"Jane and I met him on the observation deck. Before everyone else came."
"That's the guy?" Luke asked.
Kenny turned to Luna. "You know this son of a bitch? What's he want?"
"He's fine. I think. Or, he should be. Jane wanted to steal his meds and threatened him, but I talked her out of it. Let him go with his meds."
He walked over. "Hello. You are Luna."
She nodded as some of the others pulled their guns out, keeping them behind their backs.
"Hi, Arvo," She waved awkwardly as Clem held her arm. "How're you?"
"Good, good," He smiled.
"Hey, buddy," Kenny said. "You're not out here on your own, are you? Where're your friends?"
People came out of the bushes all around them, one going to stand beside Arvo. Each of them holding guns.
"These are my friends," Arvo said. "We stay hidden for safety. But you we know. We know Luna."
They started speaking in another language.
"What're they saying, Arvo?" Luna asked.
"I told them you are the one who threatened me. They think it's funny you're only a little girl."
"But I didn't threaten you," Luna said. "I told Jane to back off, and leave you with your meds."
They spoke in the other language again.
"What're they saying now?" Luna asked.
"They are saying your friends should put down their guns so that we can take your things."
"What? You're not taking shit!" Luna was very aware of the multiple guns on them. "Arvo, we didn't do anything!"
"Yes, but we need doctor."
"So?"
"After watching, we know you are doctor."
"So?"
They spoke in another language again.
"They want to take you with us."
"Take her my ass!" Luke raised his gun, as the others did the same, everyone aiming guns at each other.
There was yelling in whatever language they spoke, as well as yelling from the group.
"Kenny, don't!"
"Arvo, мы должны просто стрелять в них!"
"No! No!"
"Put your gun down!"
"I'll shoot you motherfuckers! I swear! I'll shoot you! Then you! Then you!"
"Пусть нам девочку отдадут, и мы пойдем!"
"Speak fucking English!"
"Everyone just calm down!"
"Don't get excited!"
Clem pulled Luna's arm.
"What?"
She pointed to Rebecca, who was laying, limp, over the crying baby.
As the yelling continued, she began breathing raggedly, twitching.
She'd turned.
As she sat up, the crying baby on her lap, Clem pulled out her gun, and shot.
"NO!" Luke yelled.
And with the dozens of gun shots, everything went black.