Chapter Text
[October 16th, 2010 / 1 month in]
[Travelier Motel, Macon]
[Pov: Doug]
Doug finally did it; after three days of trial and error, he finally made a brace that would help Mark walk normally again. He wouldn’t be running marathons, but at least he will have a better chance at survival. That’s at least what Doug hopes will happen; he wasn’t the one with the busted kneecap, so any tests he did until now were theoretical at best. He built it to take the weight off the knee, but only Mark could confirm if it was working or helping in any way. He would have to talk to the military man. They didn’t talk that much, but Mark seemed like a friendly guy.
“Uh, hey, Mark!” Doug said after knocking on the doors. “Mind if I, uh… come in? Just for a sec?”
“Sure thing, man.” Mark said as Doug entered the room.
Walking inside, he could see a well-organized room with gear and supplies arranged in proper military order, or at least that’s the impression Doug got looking at it. Everything was well maintained, the bed made as if they had access to an iron or electricity; it looked cleaner than most of the group. Mark, on the other hand, looked tired, using a walking crutch and having to keep your leg bent all the time; it didn’t look easy.
“What’s this about?” Mark asked, walking up to him.
"So, the last couple of days I’ve been, uh… tinkering with something." Doug said, he was holding the brace wrapped in a cloth.
"Tinkering?" Mark asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. I made this leg brace thing.” Doug said with a nod before unwrapping his creation. “The idea is, it’ll help support your weight so you can move around without needing the crutch all the time."
“You sure it’ll work?” Mark asked, looking over the brace.
“Well… ‘sure’ is a strong word.” Doug said, crashing the back of his head, he just hoped that his uncertainty wouldn’t discourage Mark. “I won’t really know unless you try it.”
“Alright, let’s do this.” Mark said with a nod.
“You sure?” Doug said, he was hopeful, but he really wanted to make sure Mark was ready for it. “I can’t promise anything.”
“You don’t have to worry about me.” Mark said without a hesitation. “Just put that thing on me, man.”
Walking up to Mark, he kneeled down and began attaching the straps, he could hear him hissing in pain, but Doug continued his work anyway. Finishing his work, he gave Mark some space, and as the man stood up, he almost tripped but caught himself on a nightstand. Trying once again, Mark managed to walk the length of the room without tripping, but not without almost losing his balance.
“Whoa.” Mark said, sitting down on the bed once again.
“So, how is it?” Doug asked, hoping for some constructive criticism.
“It’s fine.” Mark said, still looking at his leg. “A bit stiff, but it doesn’t hurt. Not more than using the crutch, but easier to use.”
“That’s good to know.” Doug said, satisfied that the thing worked as planned. “I’ll try to work on that. But just so you know, I can’t guarantee it won’t break under high stress, so I would discourage running if you can help it.”
“Thanks, Doug.” Mark said with a smile before standing up and shaking Doug’s hand.
“No need, Mark.” Doug said, similarly happy as he shook the other man’s hand before adding. “Just tell me if anything goes wrong.”
“Will do.” Mark said with a nod.
“I’m… gonna go now.” Doug said, walking away towards the exit. “See ya later, man.”
“Sure thing.” Mark said, following Doug to the exit. “Stay safe out there, Doug.”
As Doug walked out, he saw the door close behind him and finally let out a sigh of relief. It was nerve-racking; he was really worried that it wouldn’t work or even that it would make things worse. But thankfully everything went as planned; now he would have to wait until it inevitably breaks or something. While the brace worked, it wasn’t expertly made, so he doubted that it would do well under real stress. But maybe it would surprise him again; here’s hoping.
[October 16th, 2010 / 1 month in]
[Macon, Georgia]
[Pov: Larry]
Larry looked at the bush; another erratic movement, he was almost certain that it had to be someone. Lifting the pickaxe up, he got ready to swing as soon as he saw whoever it was; he couldn’t allow the motel to be known to the bandits. So slowly making his way towards the bush, he got ready, knowing what he must do to protect his people. And as he jumped through the bush, all that he saw was a wild dog with a dead bunny in between its jaws. The animal immediately bolted away after seeing him, causing him to lower his weapon; it was nothing after all. Letting out a sigh, Larry looked around, hoping he didn’t just get baited by a wild animal, but he saw nothing except maybe one or two walkers in the distance.
Shaking his head, he walked back to the asphalt road, only to be met with an unsightly sight. A pair of severed hands lying on a handkerchief in the middle of the road, no blood around, and Larry was pretty sure they weren’t there before. Slowly and with no little amount of uncertainty, he walked up to them, and once close enough, he looked around. He didn’t see anybody on either side of the woods, but once he turned around, he saw someone or something standing in the road.
“What the-” Larry said, stunned and confused at what was happening.
He tried to see if he could recognize them, but they looked and acted nothing like the bandits, not that he could see much from this far away. It sure as hell couldn't be a walker; those things couldn't stay still for a second unless you put a bullet in between their eyes. They could have been anyone, so he slowly began walking towards them, but all they did was stare at him.
“Who the hell are you?!” Larry shouted, he was ready to run towards them, but before he could do that, they legged it into the woods to his left.
Looking back at the hands, he couldn’t be certain what it meant. It could be a warning from the bandits or simply a crazy person from the woods or even one of those cannibals that Lilly told him about, or hell, it could even be some other group of nutty people. Feeling thoroughly creeped out and incredibly tired from killing all the walkers, Larry decided to take the easy way out and forget about it. The only thing right now that he wanted to do was get into his bed and relax, so without much deliberation he walked back to the motel, his pace faster than usual.
[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]
[Travelier Motel, Macon]
[Pov: Lee Everett]
Lee had a good and long night's rest after he and Kenny returned from the police station; he just had this nagging feeling that they would have a busy next few days. Might be something to do with that weird feeling of being watched, but he wasn’t gonna let paranoia dictate his life, so he simply let it go. It was a good thing that he was well rested, as the next three days were nothing but work. While he was a history teacher, he was also fit enough for this new world, but the things Lilly got them doing tested that strength.
The first thing they did was set up the traps all over East Macon, grenades were fine, but Lilly said something about preferring landmines. That was the first time that Lee had to endure Kenny and Lilly’s arguing, and it was relentless; it was obvious that the two wouldn’t like each other. What were they arguing about? Mostly about where they would set the trap, Kenny wanted them to secure the surrounding area next to the motel, but Lilly wanted to set them up near the bridge where the bandits were more likely to get caught by them. It took both Lee and Katjaa intervening before they finally came to a compromise and split the traps between the two places. It was mostly trip wires and stuff like that, and they ran out of explosives pretty fast, but at least it would keep them safer.
Second thing that Lilly had them do was take their military truck, the one they used to bring the food from the air base, and park it in a way that would block the road. It wasn’t much since anyone could just walk around it through the woods, Kenny said, and almost started another argument if not for Lee getting in between them. He proposed that they build a fence along the treeline using whatever furniture was unnecessary for survival and any wood they could scavenge. So, while Lee and Lilly got the truck in place, others were either building the wooden fence or ripping apart unnecessary furniture for those that were building that fence. They even added wooden panels to the truck so that no one could sneak under the vehicle or through it; they even took out the truck's battery just to be sure.
It took a whole day of work, but after the whole thing was done, the area of their home was nearly doubled, the kids had more space to play, and things didn’t feel so cramped. Lee was resting in his chair; he took it outside to get some fresh air, he watched from the second floor as the kids played with some new toys he found hidden in one of the unused rooms. Looking to his left, he saw Larry sitting on a folding chair, rifle in hand, standing on guard. Kenny and Carley were out scavenging some houses to their east; those were some fancy, upper-middle-class, big houses, hidden in the woods and only accessible through a single road. Lilly was busy taking stock of their guns and ammo, while Katjaa was sewing up some tattered clothes. Doug was cooped up in his room doing some maintenance on their gear, while Mark was getting used to his new leg brace thing. Things were calm; Lee could even say he felt content and satisfied, but the looming threat of those bandits always brought the mood down.
While they were ready for an attack from the bandits, everyone was a little on edge, but there was nothing they could do except wait for them. Looking to his side, he left his axe that was leaning against the armchair; picking it up, he examined the weapon. It got him out of numerous tough situations before, but now it was showing the signs of it. The blade was chipped in a few spots; it wasn’t something to worry about for now, but soon the weapon would break. Sadly, they had no tools that could be used to restore the blade, not that they would even know how to do that to begin with.
Just as he was about to put it down and get back to relaxing, he noticed that the kids were nowhere to be seen. Getting out of his chair, Lee decided to have a look around, there was no need to be worried since they would hear if anything happened; the world was very quiet after the end. Still no reason not to be careful; these days it was easier to die and easier to get killed, Lee wasn’t about to take chances on the kids' lives. Walking down the stairs, he saw the kids walking back from one of the blind spots they have yet to patch up; it looked like their toy rolled over there. For a second it seemed like there was nothing to worry about, until he saw two people grab them from behind and snatch them.
“Wha-” Lee was flabbergasted and almost lost his composure before turning towards the other and yelling. “SOMEONE'S TAKING THE KIDS!”
Lee wasted no time and ran towards the blind spot, not seeing anybody there, he peeked over the fence and saw three people he didn’t recognize, and two of them were carrying Duck and Clementine. He knew going alone wouldn’t be the wisest course of action, but there was no guarantee that they would find them alive or at all if they didn't follow those people. So with only his axe to protect himself, Lee jumped the fence and sprinted after the kidnappers. Running through the woods, he noticed that they didn’t look anything like the bandits; they wore surgical masks, all three of them. It would be just his luck that another group of crazies found them. After a while of running, they finally noticed that Lee was pursuing them, so in a bad turn of events, they split up, running in three different directions.
Which one will Lee follow?
A) The one carrying Clem.
B) The one carrying Duck.
C) The one not carrying anyone.