Carley's red-splattered body hit the muddy ground. Similarly, Lee's heart plummeted. He blinked incomprehensively, wondering and hoping this was all just a bad dream; that he would wake up anytime now and he would be back at the Travelier Motel with everyone. His vision went blurry and he realized that he was starting to tear up. Everybody stared at the fresh corpse. Lilly's eyes also went to her victim, her breath heavy and unsteady. Lee could see that her hand was shaking from what she had done. It was getting harder to breath.
..Why? Why? Why? WHY? WHY...?! He thought, snarling as he pinned Lilly's body against the RV's side, shaking the vehicle and rattling the gun. Lee trapped her arms, more so the one holding the cursed weapon, "Drop it!" he half-whispered, half-screamed in her face. Lilly looked dazed. She weakly tilted her head to the side, making sure she still could at least control her hand. Her hand limply released the pistol and it fell loosely to the side. Kenny, Ben and Clementine stood by their murdered comrade's body. "Holy fuck..." Kenny murmured. Ben bent down to see if there was any hope. Any trace of a flicker of life inside the woman's body. Katjaa cried from her passenger seat, hearing the commotion, "Kenny! What's happening?!"
He responded quickly, "Keep Duck away from the windows! Jesus Christ!" Kenny joined Ben's opposite side, also checking. Clementine stood on the lowest step of the door, silently mourning as she gazed at Carley. Kenny suddenly stood, going to Lee and Lilly's position, "Get in. We're leaving this crazy bitch!"
Lilly spoke under her breath, "She couldn't be trusted, Lee. I swear. Please."
Ben looked up from his crouched form, "What are we going to do with her...?"
"Leave her for the walkers." Kenny answered plainly. With the loud noise that Lilly's gun had produced, there was no doubt going to be trouble lurking in the treacherous growth. There were only two choices really, to either let her come with them or to leave her for the walkers. Lee's decision was almost easy in his mood right now. How could he let the killer of Carly just be allowed to live? It was sick. Back in the meat locker with Kenny and Lilly and Larry.. no that was different. Larry was dead. There was no coming back from a heart attack as severe as that and there was no medicine. It was different. Carly was murdered in plain cold blood. Larry was killed for the sake of the group. He pushed himself off of her, "You're not coming with us."
Her face fell, "I'll die out here."
Lee bent down to scoop up Lilly's dropped weapon. He almost cringed at the touch of the thing that killed her, "I don't care." He replied calmly and cold. Now, without a weapon to defend herself, it made her chances of survival even nuller.
Kenny spoke up for Lee's lack of words, "You're a murderer, Lilly. We can't have you with us."
"I'm a murderer?! You've had Lee with you this whole time!" She revealed.
"I don't care what he did before." He snapped back.
The surprise was clear on her face, "You know?" Her expression remained the same as she looked frantically around.
"Yeah he told me. And I don't give a shit. If we keep you two with us, how long until you get me?
"...I was trying to protect all of us..." The deep silence of the two men cued her to continue, "I don't have anything left..."
Kenny stared at her strangely, before ignoring her completely, "Get in, Lee. Let's go you guys."
Lilly looked up sadly. It was saddest Lee had ever seen her look, even more than when her father died. If she was looking for pity from him, then she wasn't going to get any. He couldn't forgive her. She watched as Been re-entered the RV. Lee stood for a few seconds, scrutinizing Lilly. Then he shook his head and started walking back up the steps. He took a quick glance at Carly's corpse, before sighing and closed the door. Kenny started the engine. There was the sound of a walker finally starting to approach the area as they began to drive off. Lee looked though the thin cracks between the blinds of the back window. Lilly got off the side of the road and stood in the middle of it, watching them go. Perhaps she could even see him watching her. Suddenly she spun, realizing the walker's presence and took off, running towards the woods. Her form barely became visible as the RV drove and drove. She was gone.
A voice from the front of the RV called to him, interrupting his thoughts, breaking the silence and lifting up the suffocating atmosphere of their mobile shelter, "Lee? A word please?" It was Katjaa. There was a feeling in her tone that made Lee feel uneasy. As if he couldn't feel worse. Before he went to Katjaa, he turned to Clementine, concerned for the young girl. She had seen the same things as him, but for a young kid like her, it could do some fucked up damage, "You okay?"
She ignored his question, quietly answering, "Katjaa needs you for something."
Lee made his way to the front of the RV, holding onto the side for balance, "What's up?" he solemnly asked. He could see Katjaa's expression in the mirror. Or more like, the lack of it. She looked over to Kenny who glanced back silently. They certainly did not look like bearers of good news. Lee stared at Duck who leaned into Katjaa's lap, he didn't twitch a muscle, "Is Duck feeling all right?"
Katjaa didn't need to reply with words. She robotically moved her hand down towards the em of Duck's shirt. She raised it. Lee felt stunned.
There was a purple, round, bruise-like wound on Duck's waist. Lee knew with no doubt that this was no bruise. Etched around its circumference were red marks that upon closer inspection revealed to definitely be teeth marks. "What the fuck..." Lee whispered in horror. It was like that time back outside the drugstore where Duck had been pursued and pushed down by a walker. Luckily, the walker had been killed and Duck managed to get away physically well but it seemed that his luck had not carried onto today's assault.
"Happened during the raid." Kenny explained quietly, his eyes focused steady on the road up ahead. Lee recalled the walker that had attacked the two of them. He felt guilty and somewhat believed it was his fault for immediately shooting the monster off of them.
"What's the plan? We've never had a bite victim in the group before."
Katjaa responded, "I'm...going to keep and eye on him and see what I can do, from a medical perspective."
Kenny continued, "We keep the same plan unless something changes. East."
It seemed risky and those plans seemed far-fetched. Duck looked pale and his face looked hollow and thin, "Guys..." Lee started before being interrupted by Katjaa, "What else is there to do? We thought you should know."
Kenny took his eyes slowly off the road, turning to look at Lee, "Important to stay honest with each other." He sadly remarked.
Katjaa murmured, "Anyway, if you could tell Clementine..we would appreciate it."
Lee nodded solemnly, turning to Clementine who sat on the brown, fabric, built-in sofa with her knees up against her side. She looked down, lost in her thoughts. At the back, he could see Ben sitting at the far back table with his head in his hands. He looked depressed with the recent occurrences. Lee couldn't blame him. Lee sat down next to the girl on the couch. She leaned into towards him and he put his arm protectively around her small form. Lee looked down at the young girl. It was hard enough to tell her that her friend was bitten. She was already sad. Lee felt adverse to the idea of making her feel worse. But it had to be done. He plainly spoke, "Duck is bit."
She looked up, confused, "Huh?"
"He got bit by a walker trying to escape the motel."
Clementine looked back down, "I...don't feel good..." Lee didn't know what to say. She continued, "What about Carley?"
"Gone. But won't come back."
"Cause she was shot in the head, right?"
"That's right. It's...horrible."
"Yeah, it is."
There was a moment of silence, as they thought of their losses, mourning them.
Lilly was gone. Lee couldn't lie. At first he'd somewhat respected Lilly's courage to attempt to lead the group to safety. He guessed that that courage and strong resolve had slowly begun to crack and dissolve into a shallow cry from what it had once been. It had been destroyed by it all. This hell they were all in now. Lee vaguely recalled the words of the police officer that had been driving him to prison. He found that they perfectly fir for Lilly and perhaps the rest of the group. It goes to show, people will up and go mad when they believe their life is over. And the apocalypse had ruined their life's. Taken it and merely stomped on it to smithereens. Maybe he was part of the reason she had snapped. Kenny too. He and Kenny had put down her father, the only thing she had left. He could understand why she had said those words earlier. Lee didn't want to pity her because of Carly but...it was...difficult. They all needed a break from it all. Lilly included.
Lilly was gone. Just like Carley. Despite her strange personality, Lee had admired her morals. He couldn't remember if he had even thanked Carley for saving them back outside the pharmacy. Without her, and Glenn of course, they would've never made it out of there alive. Then she had agreed to keep his secret of being Lee Everett the Convicted from the others. Carley had helped him out a lot, not including the drugstore, there was the countless of times during the three months they had holed up at the motel, the time during the fight with Andrew, and recently when she told him to tell people about his secret. If he hadn't, Lilly would've revealed it all and everybody would probably hate him for it. Truly, he was thankful.
But...she was gone; left to bleed out on the cold, muddy, wet ground. There had been no time for a proper burial or even time to mourn. His heart ached. Maybe he did like her. Probably. He guessed he liked her smile and the way she could stand up for herself. That was probably one of the reasons why he was so angry.
Lilly was gone. Just like Carley. Just like their home; the Travelier Motel. Even though it was often uncomfortable to go on about life in their make-shift home, they had somehow managed. Everyone was grateful though and didn't complain much, except for Kenny who vowed to head to the coast. But even he couldn't deny that that place was their own little haven that could protect them slightly from the dangers of the undead world. There were those days that Lee would wake up in his firm bed and wonder, where is this? This isn't my home. What the hell? It would then hit him, and he would remember that it wasn't a dream. This is reality and you'd better get used to it. Then the whole process of readjusting to it would repeat. And it was true; the Travelief Motel wasn't his home. It wasn't his home with its TV, radio, stove, refrigerator, internet and all those other little things. But it was now. Well, at least then. But what about now? Now that his home was destroyed, when everything was teared down by bandits and walkers...Where was his home? Where was his little haven? Lee didn't know.
Lilly was gone. Just like Carley. Just like their home. And it was all taken away by this new world. Now, this world was going to take away the son of Kenny and his beloved wife Katjaa; Duck. Lee had to admit, he'd thought Duck to quite the troublesome little kid. He didn't belong in this world. He didn't deserve it. Duck was just a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky, (and maybe a bit dumb) kid. He couldn't hate Duck though. When it had been Lee's turn to stand on watch at evening, Lee had admired the playful chalk drawings that had been done by the two kids in the group. Clementine would often draw pictures of suns and smiles while Duck preferred to draw superheroes and action. On one particular day, he had discovered a drawing. He could tell it was Duck's because of that unique way Duck colored things in; in many dots. Portrayed on one side of the drawing was a massive horde of what appeared to be hungry, chasing walkers. On the other side were the crudely-drawn figures of the group. In the middle, separating the walkers and the group were Kenny and Lee. They were drawn in a way that obviously suggested protection for the group. Below this drawing was another drawing of Kenny and Lee wearing super hero costumes. Kenny was Superman. Lee was Batman. There was another figure in the drawing though. It was Duck , wearing the costume of a sidekick. Lee perceived the drawing as a sign of admiration and found himself chuckling at it.
In a past life, a long time ago from this new one, Lee would often find himself looking in the mirror, pinching at his face and staring at the wrinkles on his skin. Those wrinkles would become even more deepened by the frown on his face. He felt like his time and youth was ticking away. But now, for Duck, even for a little kid like him who was not even half Lee's age, time seemed to be fading from him. Tick. Tick. Tick. The steady drops of water accented the time and also told Lee that time was not only passing, but running out. Tick-drip. Tick-drip. So they would be going east until there was a change. But... wasn't this a change in the plan? Two members gone and a bite victim in the midst? If that wasn't a change, then Lee didn't know what it was. Tick-drip. Tick-drip.
Lee looked down at the little girl in his arms, wondering. She had been through worse. Clementine had told him more about the beginning of all this, because he had missed it during the time of the police car crash. Although he had missed it, he believe himself luckier than if he hadn't. Apparently, Lee had gathered that he had been in the police car from the crash for three days, fallen in and out of consciousness. That would explain why he had been life-threateningly dehydrated when he'd woke up. Then, all that had happened. But Clementine, she had stuck out those three miserable and horrifying days on her own, in her tree house. It seemed like a silly idea, living in a tree house for three days. Lee wondered how she'd managed it. What about food? What about water? She must've heard the screams of her neighbours as they opened their doors to be greeted by the hungry jaws of the dead. Three whole days. Alone. Lee wondered what would've happened if he hadn't found her and shuddered at the idea. Now she was here with the group, still bent on the idea of finding her parents. Lee remembered the answering machine back in her house, the sound of her mother's voice on the verge of tears. It didn't seem likely that her parents were still alive but he would never say it out loud to her. It was a horrible experience for Lee to realize that his family were dead, but for a little girl like Clementine? Clementine was strong. There was no doubt about that.
"I'm glad I have you." Lee spoke up.
"Me too." She smiled, then she started her story, "I heard you outside my tree house that day and thought about dropping a hammer on your head."
"Hm? Why?" Le smirked despite the conditions.
"In case you were up to no good." Clem explained, "Before you, there was this other guy. He was yelling a lot and trying to get into my house. He wanted to take the TV and tried to break the glass door with a rock. Then some walkers came and scared him away."
Lee frowned at the idea before suddenly smiling, "The door was open."
"He was dumb." She grinned.
Then the silence returned, but it was welcomed and seemed a bit more comfortable. Clementine closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Lee looked around in the RV. There was the constant drip drip drip drip of water from the sink. Ben sat depressingly while Ken and Katjaa drove on silently into the night. Duck's legs twitched and Lee worried for a moment.
All of a sudden, there was a quiet moaning sound that increased in volume. The little girl in his arms suddenly snapped back up and threw herself on Lee, snapping her jaws up and down, trying to get a bite, "Clem! FUCK!" He raised his arms, desperately and confusingly trying to push her off, "What the fuck happened?!" Did she get bit as well?! Is that why she said she wasn't feeling well? Even if she was a tiny little undead girl, Lee was having a hard time keeping her off his throat. Then, he lost his grip and she closed in, bringing her mouth to his throat.
He could almost feel her sharp teeth biting into him when Lee jerked awake. He gasped, heaving deeply as he looked around his surroundings. No hungry little, undead girls apparently. It was all just a dream. Lee had apparently fallen asleep along with Clementine. He looked down at his dozing young charge. She smiled in her sleep, hopefully dreaming about a better place than this. He slowly shifted his position, placing her sleeping form gently onto the couch. Light peeking in through the gaps of the shades seeped into the RV, creating interesting patterns on the walls and floor. Lee made his way towards the family in the front, checking up on the situation. They had apparently been driving throughout the whole night. Lee could see the tiredness in the eyes of both of them.
Kenny cursed, "Dammit, road's blocked." The RV slowly came to a stop, "Now we gotta deal with this..."