Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[September 8; 12 days after the Global Outbreak]

The I-85 highway leading from the city is mostly empty. He stayed quiet in the back of the cruiser, his thoughts were occupied with the worst night of his life. Lee Everett had gone from being an everyday man with a job he loved and a wife to support to a state criminal. After he caught his wife cheating on him with that state senator, he lost control and made the biggest mistake of his life. Meanwhile, his wife called the police and before he knew it, the court decided he would be spending the next couple of years in the Meriwether County Correctional Facility.

“Well, I reckon you didn’t do it, then?” The officer driving up front suddenly said.

“You know what they say about reckoning.“ Lee replied to the older officer.

The officer gave a small smile before he said. “Ha, I don't, but I reckon it's a lot like assumin'.“

“Yeah, something like that.“

“Y’know, I’ve driven a buncha’ fellas down to this prison. Lord knows how many. Usually is ‘bout now I get the ‘I didn’t do it’.” The officer hummed thoughtfully.

“And what do you say?” Lee asked.

The officer gave a small smile before he continued. “I say, "yep, I know ya didn’t."”

The radio tuned to life. “We've got what looks like a 10-91E near Peachtree Exit of 285. All cars are asked to keep on the lookout for a 91V in the area.”

The officer ignored the radio and said. “I followed your case a little bit, you being a Macon boy and all.”

The name of his home brought Lee’s thoughts to his family. “You’re from Macon, then?” Lee asked the friendly officer.

Officer Friendly gave him a nod, satisfied to finally find a less tense topic to talk about. “Yep. Came up to Atlanta to be a city cop in the seventies. Always wanted to work a murder case, kinda like that senatorial mess you got yourself mixed in, with all due respect. A real shame, that is.”

A police car roared down the opposite side of the highway, but the officer didn't seem too worried about it. ”Hell the whole family used to be regulars at your folks’ drug store right in downtown, still there?”

Lee smiled immediately as his family was mentioned, he missed them. “Sure is.” Even though he was sure his family was mad at him for what he did he would always love them till his death. Officer Friendly nodded and simply said “good.” before the conversation slowly ended.

Lee was surprised as the radio once again burst to life, and began to worry about what was going on. “Be advised of medical personnel on route to Hartsfield, various 10s and 20’s coming in.” Lee decided to ask the officer. "Any of that seem important to you?”

“All of it, but that damn box never shuts up. Sit in this seat and pay attention too much and you’ll drive yourself crazy.” Officer Friendly says dismissively. “I got a nephew up at the UGA, you teach there long?”

“Going on my sixth year.”

 “You meet your wife in Athens?” Officer Friendly said, not realizing he touched a sore subject. Lee avoids the question and stays silent, but the officer doesn’t let up. “You want to know how I see it?”

“I got much choice?“ He said with a long sigh.

Officer Friendly open his mouth to talk, but the moment he saw Lee’s expression in the rear mirror, decided against it. “Regardless, could be you just married the wrong woman.”

Lee was about say a couple not so nice things, before he sighed and calmed down.

The radio once again busted to life. “All officers available for incoming 217's: riot in progress. Rolling calls and dispatches to all locations.” Lee notices two SWAT trucks and a police helicopter heading downtown. The officer then decided to offer some advice. “You’ll have to stop worrying about things you can’t control.”

Realizing Lee’s discomfort, Officer Friendly changes topics once again. “I'm driving this man once, h-he was the worst one. He wouldn't stop going on about how he didn't do it. He was an older fella. Big, soft eyes behind a pair of smart folk glasses, and he's just wailing back there, says it wasn't him. Crying and snotting all over, right where you're sitting.”

As the radio came back to life the officer turns it off and continues the story. “Then before long he starts kicking the back of the seat, li-like a fussy baby on an airplane. And I tell him he’s gotta stop, that’s government property and I’ll be forced to zap him otherwise. So he stops and having exhausted all his options, starts crying out to his mama. “Mama, it’s all been a big mistake, it wasn’t me.”

Lee sat there in silence and bewilderment, so he had to ask, “So, did he do it?”

Officer Friendly gladly answered Lee, “They caught the fucker red handed! Stabbin’ his wife, cutting her up as the boys came through the door! He sits in my car screaming bloody murder that it wasn’t him! I think he might have believed it himself.” And with a sad look Officer Friendly says. “It goes to show, people go up and mad when they believe their life is over.”

Wanting to lighten the mood, the officer begins to tell a new story.  “Oh, I got another good one for ya, this one’s a bit less depressing and a bit more hilarious if I do say so” Lee barely processed the words as he saw a man on the road just in front of their car, a split second he had to quickly decide what to do here.

Choices of this chapter have been imported from the original story!

A) Warn the officer to slow down.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Friendly-5
He's not paying attention to the road.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

You have nothing.

------------------------------------------

Kills:

??? human
0 walkers
0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Lee is not in any group.

------------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[September 8; 12 days after the Global Outbreak]

"WATCH OUT!" Lee shouted, the officer’s attention snaps back to the road.

The older man quickly slammed the brakes in time to see the growing blur of a person on the road and quickly turned the steering wheel left, inadvertently crashing the car into the traffic barriers. ”Brace yourself.” Shouted the officer.

Lee cringed from the noise of the brakes and braced himself for the impact. It all went down in a second and Lee found himself being thrown into the barrier that separates the rear of the car from the front. As the car stopped both men noticed the silence in the air, the entire highway empty of moving cars.

"Oh man..." Lee gasped through pain, spinning his head to look at the back, he saw that guy slowly walking along the road towards them.

"Holy mother of Christ." The officer resting his head on the steering wheel, trying to calm himself down. After a moment, he looked back at Lee. "You okay back there, Everett?"

"Yeah, just a little bruised up, is all," Lee winced as he assured the officer but didn't take his eyes off the men on the road. The guy neither said anything, nor even look fazed, Lee was only met with dead silence.

The officer after a moment of thinking unbuckled himself from his seat and swung open the driver's door, glaring at the person on the road. "Stay here. I'll be back in a minute."

Making his way onto the road with an angry and tired look. His voice although muffled because of the window, could still be heard by Lee. "Sir I'm gonna have to ask you to step over to the vehicle with your hands raised behind your head!"

Lee made a face, turning away from the commotion, not looking forward to shearing such a small spaces with a maniac. "I won't ask you again! Raise your hands above your head!" The officer shouted, but his voice weakened to a whisper by the end as he got a better look at the men.

The guy on the road finally noticed the officer, whose hand was on his the pistol. Lee intrigued by the officer’s reaction looked back at the men and realized that whoever that man wasn't a man at all, but some kind of monster.

Its skin was a dull and gray, with milky white eyes and no semblance of humanity in them. The right side of its face was covered in deep bite mark, but most striking was its missing the other half of its face with mostly bone visible. His legs and forearms also seemed to have these bite marks, missing chunks of flesh like he was the unfortunate chew toy of some wild dogs. Meanwhile out in the open, from his ripped out torso were hanging his guts. The monster made a deep, terrible snarling sound and began to wobble toward the officer.

"What the hell is that?!" Lee exclaimed in horror.

The officer seemed to share a similar reaction, backing up in shock at the monster. "What in the tarnations!! What the hell happened to ya? Hey, settle down, friend!"

The monster didn't listen to the officer and only started to speed up its slow walk, stretching out its bloody and maimed hands towards the older man. The officer terrified of the monster, pulling out his gun and aiming it.” Not one step closer or I will be forced to use extreme force.” The monster snarled once more, and continued its stumbling towards its target. “D-don’t make me do this!”

As the monster lunged at Officer Friendly, Lee heard two gun shots, but the monster only stumbled a little and continued its advance as if nothing happened. This shocked both Lee and the officer, who loudly exclaimed. “What in God’s name is going on here?!”

But before the officer could regain his bearings the monster tackled him to the ground. Which caused Officer Friendly to accidentally shoot at the car multiple times. One of the bullets destroyed the window next to Lee, who barely had the time to look away. Feeling the glass dig into his flesh, he decided to look back at the confrontation. There he sees the officer on the ground wrestling with the monster. He groaned in pain as he grasped at the broken car window and hauled himself up, hissing as the tiny shards of glass dug into his skin.

"Hold on!" Lee called out as he pushed himself through the window and reached for the outside door handle. As he pulled on it, he felt himself fall out of the cruiser onto the hard pavement with a heavy thud that distracted the monster for a moment. The officer to look over and yell at him. "Help me, please! I can't keep him off of me for much longer!"

Lee stood up, looking at his surroundings. Not counting the monster they were alone on the road with only a couple of abandoned cars around. The monster snarled at him before turning his attention back to the officer. Lee knew that the officer didn't have long before the monster overpowered him. And yet he contemplated his choice, on one hand he could run to the Georgia woods to make his way to freedom, away from a life in jail and find some help in this strange new world. But he didn’t know if he had the strength to leave a man to die.

Choices of this chapter have been imported from the original story!

A) Help the officer

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Friendly-5
He's fighting for his life.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

You have nothing.

------------------------------------------

Kills:

??? human
0 walkers
0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Lee is not in any group.

------------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[September 8; 12 days after the Global Outbreak]

‘No, no one was dying if he had anything to say about it.’ Lee thought, he couldn’t live with himself if he left that men to die. He sprinted over to where the officer laid pinned down. The monster took notice and roared at him, but didn’t stop attacking the officer.

Lee grabbed the base of the monster's right arm and pulled as hard as he could. With one final pull and a loud grunt, he managed to roll the monster off the officer. The monster landed on its back with a loud thud and immediately Officer Friendly scurried away and went for his gun. As the freak sluggishly started to get up, Lee began to repeatedly stomp on his head. He didn’t stop until he felt his foot hit the asphalt.

"A-are you alright?!" Lee asked breathing heavily as he approached the officer, extending his hands down as much as he could with the cuffs on. The officer, winded from the attack, merely gasped as he took hold of his hands and allowed himself to be pulled up.

"I’m Fine... I’m fine..." The officer panted. It didn’t look like the monster did much harm to the officer, except tackle him to the ground. ”I-is it dead?” the officer asked as the put the gun into its holster.

“I think so?” Lee said wholeheartedly unsure. “I mean, I’ve never seen anything like that before. His skin is all rotten, he smells like shit. What the fuck is going on?” Looking around Lee spotted something coming their way down the highway.

"I don't know, but it could have something to do with all those cruisers, SWAT vans and helicopters going to the city.” The officer said as he moved towards the car. As soon as he got into the driver’s seat, he turned the ignition keys to start the vehicle. Sadly nothing happened, the engine made some sounds, but didn’t start. So Officer Friendly tried again and again, with no results. “God dammit, I just took this piece of shit to repairman … Fuck!” the officer took the shotgun and strapped it to his back.

As he turned to Lee, he saw another of those things slow approaching them. Without hesitation he quickly took his gun out and shot it twice in the head. “Shit, thanks man.”

“Well, I should be the one to thank you. You could have left me to die and ran away into the woods. So thank you.” the officer said smiling as he took out a pair of keys. “Anyway we better get you out of those cuffs, in case more of those things show up.”

Lee rubs his wrists, as the officer takes the cuffs puts them into his back pocket. “So what do we do now?” he asks, but before Officer Friendly can answer, they hear the sound of a RV pulling up behind them.

As the vehicle comes to a stop, they saw a shady looking men in his late 30s roll down the window. “Hi there, you bit?”

The question bewildered both of them, for them it seemed out of the blue and not really relevant. Confused Officer Friendly asked instinctively. “What?”

The stranger sighed. “I asked if them infected bit either one of you.”

The officer looked at Lee questioningly, who shook his head. “No… why do you ask?”

The stranger nodded his head, satisfied with their answer. “The short story is that anyone who gets bit by an infected becomes one of them.” He then looked at the cop car and then back at them. ”So, you need a lift?”

“Yeah, we certainly do.” the officer said while looking around, making sure no other freak sneak up on them. Turning to Lee, the officer whispered. “I’ll go and ask the guy a couple questions, you never know. If something happens bolt into the woods, I’ll cover you.”

At that Lee nodded and as the officer left, Lee’s attention moved onto the face of the infected man that almost snuck up on his. Blood pouring out of the two holes in it’s forehead, flooding the milky white eyes as it ran onto the asphalt. The sight brought back memories that Lee would rather keep them buried in the recesses of his mind. And as Lee stared at that bloodied face, his mind wondered into his past.

[Flashback; August 11; 2  weeks until the Global Outbreak]

It was almost midnight on a rainy night that Lee finally arrived in his neighborhood. As he parked his car in front of his apartment building, he sighed. It’s been a tough couple of weeks, but today was the worst and Lee was sure nothing could top it. He was scheduled to give a speech tomorrow at UGA in front of many distinguished guests, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and could skyrocket his career and maybe finally get him a rise. He even chose to sleep in his officer to not miss his chance, but as he was getting ready to sleep, he got an email. It was announced that the event was cancelled due to many of the guests catching an unknown disease and the many “violent” riots throughout the country. So since he had no need to stay at the University, he retuned home. Exiting his car, Lee inadvertently stepped into a deep puddle. He cursed, as he felt his expensive shoes get flooded. Walking up the stairs and through the entrance door to the apartment building, Lee saw that the elevator was under maintenance. He felt that the world was against him in some way. Having no other option, Lee took the stairs to get to the 9^th floor. At each step he felt dread rising within him and as he finally got in front of the door to his apartment, he felt darkness swallow him whole. Until- “Lee!”

[End of Flashback; September 8; 12 days after the Global Outbreak]

“Lee!” The sound of the officer's voice brought him back to reality and he saw the man motioning Lee to follow him.

Walking into the RV through a side door, they were met with a cozy looking interior, wooden furniture and carpet floor. In front of them was a kitchen and on their right side is a small, two-seat dinette table. At the back were two bunk beds, both occupied by a child respectively. On the top was a young girl who looked to be in her early teens and at the bottom a boy who looked to be around 10 years old. Up in the front two seats sat the man who invited them in and a woman who seemed younger than him, but not by much. Seeing them enter, the stranger turned to them with the smile still on his face. “The name’s Mitch, by the way.”

“I’m Adam.” Said the young boy, not letting the newcomers distract him from his coloring book.

The girl realizing that new people entered the RV, put away her novel and waved to them vigorously. “And my name’s Elizabeth, but you can call me Lizzy!”

Seeing such innocent children brought a smile to the officer's face, but it also made him worry about him own grandkids. Nevertheless he waved back, not to disappoint the energetic child. “Nice to meet ya too. I’m Officer Allen and this is Lee.” Feeling satisfied Lizzy went back to reading her book.

Not wanting to seam impolite, Lee said. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”

The woman stood up and forcefully shook Lee’s hand. “Well, the feeling is mutual. I’m Tess.” As she returned to her seat, she smiled at Lee in a way that sent shivers down his spine. Having finished the introduction both of them sat at the opposite sides of the table with Allen facing the driver's cabin. “We've seen a lot of people on the road and you’re one the first not to pull a gun on us.”

That clearly worried the officer even more. “I mean I knew it was bad, but not that bad.”

As Mitch pushed the gas pedal to get back on the road, he unintentionally voiced his thoughts out loud. “When the world goes to shit, there are always assholes who will take advantage of that.”

His wife sent him a pointed look. “Honey, language!”

Realizing his mistake, he immediately apologized. “Sorry.” The man cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’ve seen similar things happen in Afghanistan, well except for the infected.”

“You’ve been to Afghanistan?” Lee exclaimed.

Lee’s surprise made Mitch laugh. “Haha haha, Yeah, I know I don’t look like the military type, but that’s been a lifetime ago.” He sighed as he tried to ignore the bad memories. “Nowadays I work in the private security company and coach little league in my off time. …So Lee what do you do?”

“I used to teach History at UGA, but recently I got let go for personal reasons.” Lee shrugged, still regretting losing his job. After all history was his passion and he loved teaching. Sadly when everything goes back to normal he will probably be sent back to jail. Even when he finishes his sentence, he knows he won’t be welcomed back.

Seeing his expression Tess chuckled. “Well that’s a bummer, but I gotta ask. Why were you two leaving Atlanta? The news says to stay.”

Well they couldn’t say that Allen was driving Lee to prison, they had enough problems with the infected to allow distrust among them. And seeing that Lee was not a violent murderer, the officer covered for him. “We were going to Macon to check up on Lee’s folks. I offered him a ride, since his car was busted.”

The smile didn’t leave the woman’s face, but she did narrow her eye at the officer. It was obvious that she didn’t believe him. “Awful nice of you.”

Allen wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but that woman scared him more than some criminals he drove to prison. So he forced a smile and said. “I'm an awful nice guy.”

Wanting to kill the awkward silence, Lee asked the couple. “Where are you heading to?”

“Going to check up on my brother down in Woodbury.” Tess’s smiled changed to a warm one as he mentioned her brother.

Lee couldn’t remember ever hearing about the place, so he asked. “Woodbury?”

This time Mitch answered his question. “It’s a small city in the middle of rural Georgia. I would be surprised if you knew about it.”

Allen slowly nodded his head at that. “I guess we’ll have to part ways at some point.”

Mitch looked at him and shook his head. “Not really, when we lived in Augusta we used to take a road through Macon to visit Greg.” He then turned to look at his wife, who nodded. “So we make a detour, drop you off at Macon and be on our way.”

Lee smiled, hoping that his parents and brother are safe. “Thank you that means a lot to me.”

“No need, family’s important. It’s all that matters in life.” And as Mitch said that, he fiddled with the watch on his left wrist.

Allen looked at Mitch as he remembered something. “You said that you if someone’s bit by those infected they turn into them. How are you so sure about that?”

“We picked up a guy a two days ago. An older fella, looked homeless, but he was running away from those things and I couldn’t leave him to die.” He sighed. “So I let him in, patched up a bit wound on his shoulder and offered him a ride. After a couple of hours of going down the highway, we stopped at a gas station and I realized that he didn’t make a sound in all that time. Thank god Tess told me to check up on him. I tied to shake him awake. I only had a faint sound of moaning to indicate that something was wrong, before lunged at me. Had to slam him head against the counter until he went limp.”

“Holy- ” Lee barely stopped himself as he saw the way Tess looked at him.

Mitch chuckled at his reaction, but it was clear that he didn’t find any of it funny. “Yeah, that wasn’t fun. Anyhow I feel obliged to tell you that this whole thing won’t end too soon. While the news have been talking about it for almost two weeks, I got news from my military buddies that the higher ups at the government knew about the disease for almost a whole two months.”

“Well that would explain the all gun and ammo that arrived nearly a month ago at the station.” Allen muttered to himself. At that point the conversation died out and Lee was left to think about what was happening all around him. Not just in the RV, but in the whole country and maybe even in the whole world. With the recent riots and people being herded to the big cities, that would create an opportunity for the sickness to spread very fast and many people will sadly die. He wondered if they will get to Macon on time, he thought about his ex-wife, about Sam, about all the people he knew in his life and wondered if they will survive the coming weeks. Because deep in his soul, he knew that it’ll get much worse before it gets any better.

But he also realized that worrying won’t do him any good, so he decided he needs to do something to distract himself or he will be stuck thinking about things he can do nothing about.

Who will Lee talk to?

A) Tess

B) Mitch

C) The kids

D) Nobody

 ------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Allen- 8

You just saved his life. He’s grateful.

Mitch – 6

Just met you, but is happy to meet some friendly people.

Tess – 2

She knows something.

Adam – 3

Doesn’t really care for you.

Lizzy – 6

She’s happy to meet new people.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Empty

------------------------------------------

Kills:

??? human

1 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 45%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

4 Adults

2 Children

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[September 8; 12 days after the Global Outbreak]

Looking upon the newly met strangers, all of them seem like normal people. That is, except the mother, she looked at him as if she knew something about him. It’s unnerving to say the least, but wanting to get on her good side, Lee decided to strike up a conversation.

“So, Tess, what do you do for a living?”

“Oh, I don’t have a job, I stay home and take care of the kids. I write some poems for the local newspaper, but it's more of a hobby.” She reached down and grabbed a water bottle, took a swig and continued. “I used to be a police officer actually, but I took a bullet to the knee and since then I can’t run all that fast. Chief used that as an excuse to fire me, thankfully it all worked out for the better.”

Mitch shook his head. “Yeah, with all that chaos, the cops will be overrun in no time. But- *BAM*” At the sound of a gunshot, the father gently stopped the RV, just before a long turn to the right.

“What in God’s name was that?” Lee exclaimed, startled at the sudden noise.

Mitch was the least effected from hearing the gunshot, so he started thinking what to do next. “I don’t know, but I don’t think that we should go in blind. I will go and check out what’s going on there. While you stay here and keep everyone safe.”

Allen stopped him, having a bad feeling about Mitch going out alone. “I can’t let you go on your own. You need someone to have your back.”

After a little thinking, the father nodded. “Yeah… Yeah, you're right, with those infected out and about, going alone would be suicide.” Taking out a hunting rifle from a small wardrobe, he turned to Lee and he gave him a revolver.  “Here, Lee in case anything happens.”

“Thanks.” Lee said as he looked at the gun with a grim expression. “I hope I won’t need it.”

“So do I, but we can’t take that risk.” Mitch said, looking at the ground.

Lee nodded. “I understand.”

Mitch nodded back at him and moved to the RV’s exit. Seeing her father leaving, the young girl shouted out to him. “Be safe, daddy.”

“You too, sweetie.” Mitch said with a smile.

As Mitch and the officer went to check out what going on down the road, Tess got out of her seat and sat on the opposite side of the table. She sat with her back straight and looked Lee directly in the eyes. From this perspective, Lee saw that she was slightly taller than him, enough to be looking down at him.  “Soooo… Lee Everett… how’s life, hmm?”

Lee felt his stomach drop at her words. “Y-you knew?!”

Tess chuckled. “Of course I know, I’m a stay at home wife. TV’s almost always on, and news hasn’t been too kind to you.” Seeing his troubled expression, she gave him a sympathetic smile, as she tried to cheer him up. “I don’t know if they were exaggerating or not, but look I don’t have anything against you, at least not yet. You seem like a good guy. But I do want you to get something across to you, if you do anything to hurt my family, I will not hesitate to kill you. Understood?”

Lee nodded. “Yeah, I get it, but does your- ”

But the woman interrupted him. “Nah, Mitch doesn’t know and I won’t tell him, at least not now.” She sighed. “ We might need someone like you.”

“What do you mean, someone like me?” Lee asked confused.

“The first kill is always the hardest.” Tess exclaimed in deep thought, but shook her head, banishing some distant memory. “Anyway, what I meant is that someone with your record won’t freeze up, when push comes to shove.”

“I will do what I have to keep myself and everyone else alive and safe from the those infected.” Lee explained to Tess.

She looked behind her to the road up ahead and as she turned back to Lee, she sighed. “It’s not those walking corpses that I’m worried about.”

But before Lee could ask her what she meant, the young boy yelled out. “MOM! Where are the water bottles?”

“Bottom middle cupboard!” Tess shouted back.

“Thanks!” Adam said, as returned to his coloring book with a bottle in hand.

Seeing someone enter the RV, Lee got ready to shoot. Thankfully, it only Mitch and Officer Allen. “We’re back!”

Tess turned her attention to her husband. “So, what did you see?”

“The road up to the overpass littered with abandoned cars, while the overpass itself is blocked by massive pickup trucks and there are some rednecks with high calibre gun. They seem to have some people hostage- * BAM BAM BAM* shit, fuck and now they’re dead.” Mitch cursed, clearly regretful and angry about not being able to do anything.

“What should we do now?” Lee inquired.

“There is an exit of the highway right before the overpass. We could floor it, try to dodge them and hope for the best.” Mitch suggested.

Not liking the idea of putting the kids in danger, the officer proposed the easiest option. “Or we could turn back to Atlanta, at least that way we won’t have to put our self and the kids in any danger.”

“OR we could simply get rid of them. We have the element of surprise, we could ambush them by sneaking between those cars.” Tess proposed.

Lizzy, not liking all the talk about violence, spoke up. “We could try to reason with them.” 

From behind her, Adam shyly nodded his head, supporting his sisters' idea.

A) Turn back to Atlanta

B) Floor it and hope they won’t shoot

C) Try to ambush them

D) Try to reason with them

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Allen- 8

He hopes to avoid a violent encounter.

Mitch – 6

He is angry at the rednecks.

Tess – 3

She sees this as an opportunity

Adam – 3

He is scared.

Lizzy – 6

She doesn't want it to see more people die.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

------------------------------------------

Kills:

??? human

1 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 45%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

4 Adults

2 Children

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[September 8; 12 days after the Global Outbreak]

The road to Macon, to his family, was blocked for him by armed murderers and madmen. Normally he would choose the peaceful way, try to go around them, but the only other road available for them was back to Atlanta. Besides, to casually execute people in the middle of the road, he couldn’t allow them to do more harm. “We can’t take a chance, we have to get rid of them!” Lee exclaimed.

Flabbergasted, the officer was shocked at Lee’s response. “What!? But-”

“Look we have to do this, if we don't, who knows how many more people will they kill!” Lee sighed, knowing that there was no good way to justify his decision. “It’ll be blood on our hand anyway.”

“We have family waiting for us, and I’m not letting them stop us.” Said Tess as she took a Glock out of her purse and exited the RV with Lee and Mitch right behind her.

While the officer wanted to argue more, he knew deep that they were right. “Fine, do it. But I ain't taking part in it.” With that said, the older man left the trio and retreated into the RV.

With that out of the way, Lee walked over to Mitch and asked him. “So, how do we go about it?”

“Hmm” After thinking for a second, Mitch nodded and turned to them.“Okay, so here’s what we’ll do. Lee, Tess, you move quietly and quickly between the cars, while I’ll go through the woods on the right, they're dense enough to give me cover.” Turing to the RV, Mitch said. “Officer Allen, I’d like it if you stayed here and kept an eye on the kids.”

They could hear the officer sigh before replying. “Sure …”

With the plan laid out, they split up, with Mitch going through the dense bushes into the forest. As he disappeared into the foliage, Lee alongside Tess went up the road before crouching down behind the first car and slowly making their way to the blocked overpass. As they moved along the highway, more and more cars littered the road, but the most startling was that not all of the cars were empty. They saw a lot of corpses before they finally neared the overpass. And on it were three massive trucks facing away from them, with a fourth one in front of the rest. Although Lee could see five people, he was confident there was more than that. As they stepped onto the overpass, they could hear someone screaming for help, before a loud slapping sound.

“Take that bitch and lock her up. I’m fucking tired of her voice.” Yelled someone from behind the trucks, before Lee heard a loud slamming of a car door.

“Get ready.” Tess whispered, as they got into firing range and took a shot at the closest of the thugs, who had his back turned to them. This made all of the bandits turn towards them, shouting profanities and spraying bullets into their direction. Seeing no way to shoot without getting hit himself, Lee decided to circle back around the car and shot the one farthest to the left. Peeking from cover, Lee saw the thug standing on the truck bed of the middle car fall to the ground as three more guys ran at them from behind the trucks. Just as he was about to take a shot, he heard a growling noise from behind him. Spinning around, he saw a walking corpse throw itself at him and with no time to dodge, it slammed into him. The force of the attack not only made him drop his gun, but also made him crash into the car so hard the alarm went off. The monster snapped its heavily burned jaw at him as he gathered his strength and with one pushed it off him. The infected fell on its back, which gave Lee enough time to grab his revolver and shoot it twice in the head for good measure. Turning back to the fight, Lee saw that two of the bandits were dispatched, which left only one to be taken care of.

The last of the thugs, seeing his comrades fall, decided to run to the fourth truck behind the barricade. Seeing this, Lee ran after him and as he passed the trucks, he saw the man hop into the vehicle. And as the truck's engine came to life, Lee stood there with his revolver raised and aiming at the car. He could finish the job, but he spilled a lot of blood today, was it really worth it?

A) Shoot the driver.

B) Shoot the tire.

C) Let them go.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Allen- 7

He doesn't like your choice.

Mitch – 7

He is glad you chose the right thing to do.

Tess – 4

She’s glad you have the balls to make tough choices.

Adam – 4

He is glad the bad men won’t hurt anyone anymore.

Lizzy – 5

She doesn't think you made the right choice.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

------------------------------------------

Kills:

??? human

2 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 54%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

4 Adults

2 Children

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[September 8; 12 days after the Global Outbreak]

With a heavy heart, Lee decides to take the risk and shoots at the driver twice. And although the bullets hit the back window of the truck, they ultimately missed their target and the driver got away with his prisoner.

"Dammit! They got away!" Lee exclaims with frustration.

"Well, you did good, seeing as you're not exactly a marksman." explained Tess. "Let's grab their guns and get out of here before more of the dead come knocking." With that, Tess went to loot the corpses of the thugs.

Seeing the RV driving up to the overpass, Lee walked up to one of the corpses, kneeled next to it and solemnly started to check the pockets. Finding nothing, but a pack of smokes, Lee decided to look for the gun. Searching around the corpse, he saw the barrel sticking out from under the body. He sighed, not liking the prospect of handling corpses, but still decided to roll the body over. Picking up the unfamiliar looking rifle, Lee took out the magazine and found no bullets. Looking at the body one more time, he saw a hunting knife by the belt. Putting the rifle down, Lee took the knife and strapped it to his belt.

As he got up, Lee heard Tess. “Come on, Lee, we’re getting out of here.” Seeing the RV waiting for them at the bottom of the overpass, he ran up to her. And when he caught up with her, she turned to him and asked. "So, how was it, did you enjoy it?"

"What? No!" Lee said, being caught off guard and angered by the question. "I hated every moment of it, but it needed to be done."

Tess simply smiled and said. "Good, then you're better than most."

With that said, they continued their walk in silence. Silence was all they could hear other than the sound of birds and the wind. It really unnerved Lee, that even though they were so close to a city as big as Atlanta, they didn't hear anything other than nature. But there were more important things to worry about, as the sky was turning orange, which meant that the sun was going to set soon. As they walked into the RV, they saw Mitch already there waiting for them in the driver's seat.

Turning to them, Mitch said. “It’s getting late, we have to find a place to hold up until the next day.”

“Can’t we just stay in the RV for the night?” asked Officer Allen.

Mitch shook his head and said. “There is not enough space for all of us here, and I don't want to risk driving in the dark.” 

“So what, you propose that we break into someone’s house?” asked the officer. "Ain't exactly the smartest option."

“Most of the suburbs were evacuated to a safe-zone somewhere downtown, so there should be no one out here.” said Mitch.

"And with a cop on our side, we're less likely to get shot at." added Tess. At which Officer Allen shook his head and sighed.

Mitch started the RV and rode down the exit. As they were getting off the highway, Lee saw a flashy yellow billboard standing tall at the edge of the forest. And while the left half was ripped off, the right half depicted a man in his 40s wearing a suit with the word "Saul" to his left.

Mitch stopped the RV right before the turn that led to the neighborhood and turned to Lee. "I have an idea, we could go up onto the billboard to scout out the neighborhood. You know, make sure we aren't walking into a death trap."

Lee nodded and said. "That’s a great idea."

On his way out of the RV, Mitch picked up his hunting rifle, took a pair of binoculars out of the cupboard and handed them to Lee. "Here, you'll need them."

“Be careful out there, honey.” said Tess as the two men exited the RV.

“I always am.” said Mitch with a smile.

It didn't take them all that long to get to the base of the billboard, the dead were nowhere to be seen. The surrounding area was overgrown with trash littered around. The ladder looked sturdy, but on the other hand its paint was peeling off, showing severe corrosion. Clearly the billboard was abandoned and as they started climbing it Lee regretted not having any gloves. As they made it up onto the billboard, two of them could get a good view of the entire neighborhood. There was no sign of humans or dead anywhere on the street, but that didn’t reassure Mitch at all. Cars were piled up on the road and the further down the road the more impassable it was. Rubble and trash was scattered everywhere, most likely because of the unorganized evacuation ordered by the government. Looking through the binoculars, Lee searched the neighborhood for any activity, until he saw some movement in the backyard of one of the larger houses. One of those dead things stuck in a pool, walking in circles.

"See anything out there, Lee?" asked Mitch.

"A walker is stuck in a pool, but other than that nothing, we're good." said Lee in a pleased tone.

"A walker?" asked Mitch amused.

Lee chuckled and said. "Well, all they seem to do is walk in circles when left alone."

"Yeah, that's what they do. Anyway, we better find a house to stay the night." said Mitch as checked his watch before looking through the scope of his hunting rifle. "We better hurry, don't have a lot of sunlight left."

"What about the house with the pool walker? It seems big enough."

"Hmm, no, it's too big. The one next to it, on the other hand, looks perfect." said Mitch before turning to Lee. "All right, we're done, let's go."

After they got down from the top of the billboard, Mitch decided to ask. "So Lee, you have any family of your own? Any kids or a wife?"

"I had a wife, but we've been separated for a while. No kids either."

"Well, that's a bummer. Woulda liked one then."

Lee shrugged. "You know."

Having entered the RV, Tess asked them. "How's it looking out there?"

Mitch put his hunting rifle back into the small wardrobe and sat in his seat. "Looks safe enough." Turning the engine on, Mitch started driving to the neighborhood. "None of those walkers on the road. And we found a place to stay for the night."

"Let's just hope we don't get shot as soon  as we open the door." said Officer Allen as Mitch parked the RV in front of the gate of a one-story house.

Mitch turned to his wife and said. "Tess, you stay with the kids and ready all the essentials we’ll need. Me, Lee and Officer Allen will make sure the house is secured."

As the trio approached the building, the officer took charge. "Let me handle this." said Officer Allen as he took out his gun and slowly opened the front door. "This is the APD! Is anyone there?" Entering the house, they were met with a poorly lit living room. In the middle of the room was a couch with the TV knocked over in front of it. Further, into the building was a wrecked kitchen with cabinets fallen from the wall and the fridge laying on its side. "I'm a police officer, I'm here to help." Nothing happened as they walked deeper into the house. "Well, the place looks abandoned and looted." After a few minutes of searching, the trio found nothing of value, besides two intact beds.

Mitch sighed as they exited the building. "At least the windows are in one piece."

Next to the RV stood Tess and the kids alongside four boxes. "Alright, let's get this stuff inside."

Lee took one of the boxes and joined the others in the house. After they got set up, Mitch turned to them and said. "There are only two rooms with beds, so my family will be taking the bigger room."

"I'll take the couch." said Lee. "You take the bed officer."

"Thanks, Lee." said Officer Allen.

"Ok. Just holler if anything happens." said Mitch as he and his family retreated to their room.

Just as the door shut, Officer Allen gave Lee a pointed look. And as Lee was about to justify his actions, he was interrupted. "Look, Lee, I understand why you did what you did. But that don't mean I got like it. And for a man with your record, let's just say it don't make ya look like an upstandin' citizen."

With that said, the officer left to his room, leaving Lee alone to his thoughts. He decided to go to sleep since it was already dark outside and without the streetlights working he couldn't even see the house on the other side of the road. Laying down on the couch, Lee drifted to sleep and dreamt about the past.

[Flashback; August 11; 2 weeks until the Global Outbreak]

It was almost midnight on a rainy night that Lee finally arrived in his neighborhood. As he parked his car in front of his apartment building, he sighed. It’s been a tough couple of weeks, but today was the worst, and Lee was sure nothing could top it. He was scheduled to give a speech tomorrow at UGA in front of many distinguished guests, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and could skyrocket his career and maybe finally get him a rise. He even chose to sleep in his office to not miss his chance, but as he was getting ready to sleep, he got an email. It was announced that the event was canceled due to many of the guests catching an unknown disease and the many “violent” riots throughout the country. So since he had no need to stay at the University, he returned home. Before exiting the car, Lee turned to the passenger seat, where he put his gun. He wasn't truly comfortable with carrying a deadly weapon with him, but with the riots and the rising crime rate, he bought it just in case. He took the gun and exited his car, Lee inadvertently stepped into a deep puddle. Feeling angry, he cursed, as he felt his expensive shoes get flooded. Walking up the stairs and through the entrance door to the apartment building, Lee saw that the elevator was under maintenance. He felt that the world was against him in some way. Having no other option, Lee took the stairs to get to the 9th floor. At each step he felt dread rising within him and as he finally got in front of the door to his apartment, he opened the door. Walking in, he was his wife and best friend making out in the kitchen. Lee's bottled up rage exploded as he did the unthinkable.  

What did Lee do?

A)He shot him

B)He beat him to near death

C)He beat him to death

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Allen- 6

He regrets not stopping you.

Mitch – 7

He appreciates your help.

Tess – 5

She’ll happily show you how to shoot the right way.

Adam – 4

He is glad that it’s over.

Lizzy – 5

She is glad that it’s over.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Hunting Knife

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

------------------------------------------

Kills:

??? human

2 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 54%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

4 Adults

2 Children

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[Flashback; August 11; 2 weeks until the Global Outbreak]

Entering his apartment, he put his gun on the shoe cabinet. But he couldn't even take off his shoes before he saw his wife and best friend making out in the kitchen. And that was the straw that broke the camel's back. In his entire life Lee rarely got angry, but at that moment he felt a rage unlike any other.

"You...  SON OF A BITCH!" Shouted Lee as he approached the two. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS, SAM?!" He could barely believe that his best friend of ten years would do something like this, but the evidence was right before him.

"Calm down, Lee. It's not that big of a deal." Said Sam, as he and Lee's wife quickly separated.

"Not that big of a deal! I'll-" Lee shouted in disbelief, but was interrupted halfway through his sentence.

"Look, Lee, I can't help it if-" Lee's rage exploded, as hearing Sam's voice only made him more mad, so he did the unthinkable. He pulled his right-hand back and punched him as hard as he could. The force of the strike sent Sam to the ground, Lee felt pain coursing through his arm. While he was by no means physically weak, he always tried to find a peaceful solution. But this was not one of those times, and as Sam tried to get up, Lee punched him for a second time. Now that the other man was too weak to stand up, Lee grabbed him by his clothes and started repeatedly pummeling him in the face. And as he is doing this, he hears in the background people shouting and the door opening. When suddenly he feels an excruciating pain and everything goes black.

[End Flashback: September 9; 13 days after the Global Outbreak]

The pain from the dream made him jump awake and fall off the couch, thankfully the carpet softened his fall. Looking around, Lee noticed that while the sun hadn't risen yet, it was almost break of day and just as he was about to go back to sleep he heard the sound of glass breaking and the blaring of the alarm. Running up to the window with all the grace of a barely awake adult, Lee tripped on the same carpet that broke his fall. Sadly, this time he didn't have the same luxury as before and fell on the hard wooden floor. The impact made his vision blurry for a short moment, but thankfully, the sound of it was masked by the alarm outside. Pulling himself back together after the embarrassing morning, Lee looked out the window and paled at what he saw. There were hundreds of walkers roaming the streets, most of them were walking towards the city center, but some were piling on top of the noisy abandoned car. They must have been attracted by the sound of yesterday's gunfight, like moths to a flame. Moving back, Lee approaches the hallway to the bedroom slowly so as not to make a sound and as he gets there, he sees both doors slowly opening. 

Walking out first is Mitch, who immediately turns to Lee and asks. "Lee, what's going on out there?"

"There's an entire horde of those things out on the street." Lee answered with a serious look on his face as Officer Allen walked out of his room.

 "So, what do we do?" Mitch asked as his wife joined them.

"We're stuck here until they move on, but we can't waste time sitting around. Best we could do is check out the neighboring houses for any supplies." Tess said.

"But we can't leave the kids alone or take them with us, so someone has to stay here with them." Said the Officer.

"You and I should stay and try to barricade the house, while Lee and Mitch search the houses." Tess said, shooting both men a questioning look.

Mitch sighed before nodding. "They're most likely looted, but we can't take a chance of leaving supplies behind."

Lee nodded as well. "Better than doing nothing, I guess."

With that done, the two walked out of the house, while Tess and Officer Allen went to work on a barricade, since a locked door wouldn't be enough in case the walkers took notice of them. Looking to the left and then the right, Lee saw that both houses looked in better condition than the one they were staying in, but both had a second floor. The thing with those kinds of houses is that the bedrooms are more often than not on the second floor, which could be a trap if the dead swarmed the house. Lee's family had a house of that kind back in Macon, he really hopes that they are safe and sound.

"I'll take the one on the left, if that's fine with you?" Lee asked.

"It's fine with me either way. Just don't get yourself killed, Lee." Mitch said as he turned and walked to the house on the right. Seeing the other man jump over the fence, Lee turned to his designated house and with some difficulty managed to make it to the other side. Now in the back garden of the house he sees the pool that yesterday had a walker shambling around in it, now only had a headless one instead. It looked like someone had jumped down there and smashed his face in with a baseball bat or a crowbar, perhaps. But that meant that there were people here, Lee could only hope they were more friendly than the last ones they met. On his left there was a garage and further in the back a tree with a treehouse and a shoddy ladder. Slowly walking to the back entrance to the house, Lee saw toys scattered on a picnic blanket, which made him nervous. Walking up to the glass door, he looked inside and saw furniture piled up on the entrance door. 

Sliding the door open, Lee said. "Hello? Anybody home?"

After a minute of painful silence, he slowly walked inside. "Coming in. Don't shoot, okay?"

Closing the door behind him, Lee tries again. "Hello? I'm not an intruder or one of them."

Seeing the massive blood pool at the entrance of the kitchen and bloodstains on the walls, Lee hoped that whoever lived here got out before the outbreak. "These people might need more help than I do."

Looking around, Lee saw a table with a bowl of fruits and immediately jumped at the opportunity, grabbing one of the fruits only to find out that they were plastic. "It's fake. Damn."

Continuing his search, Lee saw a functioning TV, but the only thing on it was a blue screen and a low static sound emanating from it. "Hmm... cable's out."

Lee turned to walk into the kitchen, but then the answering machine beeped. Pressing the button and an automatic voice played. "Three new messages. Message one. Left at 5:43 PM."

Then a cheerful woman's voice played from the machine. "Hey, Sandra, this is Diana. We're still in Savannah. Ed had a little "incident" with some crazy guy near the hotel, so we had to get him back to the ER and have it checked out. Anyway, he's not feeling well enough to drive back tonight, so we're staying an extra day. Thanks so much for looking after Clementine, and I promise we'll be back in time before your college classes resume!" She chuckled at the end.

"Message two. Left at 11:19 PM."

The cheerfulness was now gone from the woman's voice, she was panicked and sounded winded. "Oh, my God, finally! I don't know if you tried to reach us; all the calls are getting dropped. They're not letting us leave and aren't telling us anything about Atlanta. Please, please, just leave the city and take Clementine with you back to Marietta. I've got to get back to the hospital. Please let me know that you're safe."

"Message three. Left at 6:51 AM"

Lee was fearful of the final message, and he was right to be as he heard the woman's tearful voice speak out. "Clementine? Baby, if you can hear this, call the police. That's 9-1-1. We love you... we love you... we love y-" And that was all as the message cuts out. Lee looked at the machine for a while longer, but sighed and walked away.

Lee walked inside the kitchen and for the third time this day he slipped on the blood and fell to the ground. He got his entire pants stained with blood. "Damn it."

Walking up to the fridge, he saw a note on it. "The Marsh House. That's a Savannah area code. But that's the type of note you'd leave a babysitter. Damn it, I hope they're okay."

Lee then searched the entire kitchen and found nothing, but a single walkie-talkie. He took it and went to the second floor of the house. As he got to the top of the staircase, he saw three doors, but notably, one of the doors was barricaded by a heavy looking cabinet. From behind the door, he could hear a low groaning sound.

Walking into the first room on his left, he was met with nothing out of the ordinary except an opened gun case left on the bed. It was empty, which he didn't mind at all, since it gave the babysitter and the kid more of a chance to survive. Searching all the drawers and shelves, he found nothing of use. Moving onto the next room, it looked to be a child's room from all the toys scattered around the place. Lee doubted that he could find anything of use in there, but still decided to search the room for posterity’s sake. And to his astonishment he found something, a military style canteen. It was hidden in the wardrobe behind a stack of books. Walking out of the room, Lee looked at the barricaded door and wondered if it was worth it to search it. On one hand, there was most likely a walker in there, on the other hand, there could be supplies in there.

What will Lee do?

A) Leave the room alone

B) Search the room

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Allen- 7

You didn't kill that man, but still committed a crime.

Mitch – 7

He appreciates your help.

Tess – 6

She knows you can stand up for yourself and not kill someone.

Adam – 4

He is still asleep.

Lizzy – 5

She is still asleep.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Hunting Knife

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

A Canteen

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

2 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 54%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

4 Adults

2 Children

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[September 9; 13 days after the Global Outbreak]

Seeing the opportunity, Lee decided to take the risk and move the cabinet, using both hands and, with all of his strength, he pushed it to the side. However, by doing so, he made a lot of noise and the walker inside started slamming and growling at the door. Being aware of this, Lee turned the knob before pushing it open so fast that the walker was thrown back a couple of steps and fell into the bathtub. Walking into the room, he sees that it is a bathroom, but it's in worse condition than any other room in the house. There is blood everywhere, on the walls, in the sink and the bathtub, on the mirror, and the washing machine. But by far the worst of it was the actual walker. It was a man, and it looked like its body was bloated and foam was leaking from the mouth and nose, its eyes were dangling just above its mouth. The walker got up and out of the bathtub to attack Lee, who with his knife at the ready, tried to stab its head. Sadly, he missed the mark and the knife sank into the monster's cheek. Lee didn't have time to attack again because the walker grabbed his shoulders to pull him closer and started biting at him. In response, Lee grabbed the walker's shoulders and, seeing the mirror to his left, started to slam its head into it. The glass shattered at the impact, revealing medicine hidden behind it, as Lee continued his attack before he felt the walker go limp. Not wanting to take any chances, he took his knife and stabbed its brain a couple of times.

Looking around, Lee calmed himself down before looking at his bloodied hands. It made him sick to see that, so he turned the valve of the sink to wash his hand, but nothing came out. Looking around one more time, he saw a clothes basket next to the washing machine and upon opening it, he found a fresh towel. Wiping his hands away, Lee examined the mirror cabinet. He saw some medicine and bandages, not much, but still useful. It was, however, too much for him to carry in his hands, so having a final look around, Lee found a plastic shopping bag shoved behind the clothes' basket and started to stuff all of the pill bottles and tubes into the bag.

Walking down the stairs, Lee saw a working clock on the wall that said it was 8:23 am. All in all, it took him around an hour and a half to search the entire house. Quietly exiting the house, Lee walked to the wooden fence, but along his way he saw through the gate that the number of walkers out on the street had lessened since the early morning. Jumping over the obstacle and walking into the house, Lee found out he was the first to return.

Upon walking into the building, he was met with the Officer standing guard with his pistol at the ready.

"So how'd it go?" Asked Officer Allen.

"Not bad, but the house was mostly empty. I did manage to find some medicine and bandages." Lee answered, holding the plastic bag up.

"Good, that's good." Said the Officer before looking around and sighed. "Listen, Lee, I know you ain't a killer and with the way things are looking, it's not gonna get better out there any time soon. So, I'll trust you for now, but you're a violent man, and I'm gonna keep my eye on you."

Lee grunted before saying. "Whatever makes you feel safe."

The officer huffed and moved to look out the window near the entrance of the house.

Just as Lee was about to leave the building to survey the backyard, Tess exited the master bedroom and walked up to him. "What took you so long?"

"Searching the entire house top to bottom takes time." Lee explained.

"Fair enough." Tess snorted with laughter before saying. "So what did you find?"

Instead of answering, Lee gave the woman the bag of medicine before saying. "This, a canteen and a single walkie talkie."

"Not much, but still better than nothing. You keep the canteen and the walkie talkie. I'll pack it up with the rest of the supplies." Tess said as she sifted through the many bottles and tubes.

"And I think that there was someone in the house yesterday. A kid and her babysitter." Lee said with a serious look on his face.

"Really? How can you be sure?" Asked Tess.

"There was a walker walking around in circles yesterday in the pool. But when I walked by it today, its head was smashed in. And there was an empty gun case in the parent's bedroom." Lee exclaimed. "They must have left in the middle of the night before the horde arrived."

Tess looked at the ground with realization before saying. "Oh God, the world is really falling apart." And with that, she walked back to the master bedroom.

Seeing that the woman needed some time alone with her thoughts, Lee moved out of the building and looked upon the backyard. Lee saw a trampoline in one corner and a shed on the opposite side. The shed picked Lee's interest, as they didn’t really search it yet. Walking up to the small building, Lee tried to open it, but stopped as he noticed a heavy duty lock on the door. Looking over the lock and giving a tug, Lee sighed, knowing he had no way to unlock it, so he returned to surveying the backyard. He looked over the house. It had white walls and a blue roof, with a gate on the left side. Walking up to the gate, he gave it a once over, happy that there was no lock on it. They could use it to return to the RV, since the front of the house was now barricaded with furniture.

Looking back, Lee saw two figures jumping over the fence. One of them Lee recognized to be Mitch. The other person was an older fellow, looking to be in his late 60s and homeless. He had a scraggly beard and unkept shoulder length hair, wearing a dirty coat. In his hand was a bloodied crowbar and a full duffle bag.

Walking up to them, Lee spoke up. "Hey, Mitch"

Mitch turned to Lee with a smile. "Lee, what's up? Found anything good?"

"A bag full of meds, what about you?" Lee answered.

"Some food, water and hygiene products." Mitch replied.

"And who's your new friend over there?" Lee asked curiously.

"The name's Terrance, but you can call me Terry. Your friend over here saved my life. He said that I could join up with you fellers, I hope I'm not bothering you."

"Nah, it's fine, we could use the help." Lee reassured the man.

"Well, I'm happy to help." Terry exclaimed with a smile.

Just then they were joined by Tess, Officer Allen and the kids, both adults were carrying boxes with their supplies. The mother immediately walked up to Mitch and Lee. "We should get going now that there are fewer walkers out on the street. We can't waste our time here." As she finished, she noticed Terry standing off to the side, so she turned to Mitch and asked. "Who's he?"

"That's Terry. Found him stuck in a closet pinned down by three of them walkers." Mitch explained.

"I hope you don't mind me joining up with you, Miss." Terry said with a friendly smile.

"I don't. My name's Tess. But we don't have time for pleasantries." She said before turning to Mitch. "We are on a time limit here, we have to get going."

"Let's get going, then!" Mitch exclaimed to the group.

Lee, being the closest to the gate, opened it with little to no effort. Walking out to the front yard, he saw some walkers next to the surrounding houses. Thankfully, there were none in their way. Mitch ran to the RV, holding the keys in the same hand as the barrel of his rifle, ready to shoot any of the monsters if they got close enough. Just as most of the group stood next to the RV looking around to make sure no walker snuck up to them, they heard Adam scream out in terror. All heads turned to the child as they saw him fall over with the dead holding his ankle. The closest person to the boy was Terry, who didn't even hesitate before running to his rescue. As he got to the child, he kicked the hand holding the leg, in the process severing it from the monster and freeing the boy. Then, using both hands, he aimed his crowbar and stabbed the walker through the head, killing it for good. Grabbing Adam's hand, Terry took him into the RV.

Lee was the last to enter the vehicle, but as he looked around, he saw that the other walkers were drawn to them and were quickly surrounding them. Jumping into the RV, everyone was seated and ready for their journey. Except Tess, who was seated in the back next to Adam comforting him about the traumatic event that just happened. The boy only cried into his mother's shirt. 

Terry sat to Lee’s right side, in a seat between the wall to the driver's cabin and the kitchen.

Taking his place opposite of the Officer, Lee felt glad that they were leaving the neighborhood, the place felt cramped and dangerous, more so after the walker hoard walked through it. And so they started driving out of the infested neighborhood.

The first one to break the silence was Terry, who asked. "So, where we heading to?"

Mitch sighed before saying. "Well, first we're going to Macon, Lee's got family there. Then to Woodbury, to check up on my wife's brother."

"Is this Woodbury, closer to Columbus than Macon? I've got some family there I need to check up on." Asked Terry worried.

"Don't worry, takes about an hour of driving to get to Columbus from there." Mitch said as he drove onto the overpass.

"Well, that gives me a better chance to find my nephew, than being stuck in that neighborhood." Terry said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, it was eerie, how empty of life it was back there." Mitch said as he put the RV to a stop as they came up to the blockade of pickup trucks, but no dead bodies, which was weird. Turning to the group, Mitch said. "Lee, Terry, Officer, we have to clear the way if we are going to make it to Macon. Tess, honey, keep an eye on the kids." The mother only nodded, not looking up from Adam, who was fast asleep from the stress of the attack.

All the men walked out of the RV and walked towards the abandoned cars. As Lee looked to where one of the bodies laid just yesterday, he could see a pool of dried up blood and a trail of blood leading down the overpass. Lee shook his head, now was not the time to worry about the dead bodies, following the others, they made their way to the truck in the middle. Mitch opened the door and jumped into the pickup truck to disengage the manual brakes. With that, they moved the vehicle out of their way with little to no effort. And as the obstacle was finally moved to the side, they all heard a loud whistling noise. Looking up, they saw a pair of fighter jets flying their way towards the city and as they flew above them the sound turned to an ear piercing roaring boom. Lee looked closely at the cityscape as the planes flew over it and after a minute he heard a distant sound of an explosion coming from Atlanta. Lee couldn't believe it, the US military was bombing one of its own cities. 

The sound of Mitch sighing brought Lee out of his thoughts. "Well, that settles it, this shitshow won't end anytime soon."

Officer Allen looked distraught as he said. "H-how could they do such a thing?"

Mitch looked him in the eyes and said. "The government is cutting their losses. In a fucked up way, they are trying to stop the spread of the virus."

"Jesus!" The Officer exclaimed, shaking his head as he walked back to the RV.

Lee looked down the road as something came to his mind, the walkers were drawn to loud sounds and the jets just flew over a long stretch of the mostly straight highway they were going to use. He had to think of a solution fast, on one hand, they could still use the highway, but they would be taking a massive risk, on the other hand, they could use a more rural road, but that would be more time consuming. There was the idea of going to Woodbury and from there he could go to Macon. But whatever choice he made, it was now or never.

What will Lee do?

A) Use the highway anyway.

B) Use a rural road.

C) Go to Woodbury

D) Go alone to Macon

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Allen- 7

Mitch – 7

Tess – 7

She is glad you found something useful.

Adam – 4

Lizzy – 5

Terry - 6

He is happy to meet you.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Hunting Knife

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

A Canteen

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

3 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 60%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

5 Adults

2 Children

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[September 9; 13 days after the Global Outbreak]

They would have to use the rural road if they wanted to make it safely to Macon. The main highway went through a lot of dense urban areas, which meant a lot of houses, which in turn meant a lot more walkers on their way to his hometown. Besides, those jets must have come from Robins Air Force Base near Macon; he has heard of it but never been there. Seeing how the highway leading to his hometown will soon be swarmed by walkers, Lee decided to voice his concerns. "Mitch, we can't use the highway."

Mitch turned to him and asked. "Why not?"

"The road from here to Macon is almost a straight line; those jets made a lot of noise, so soon the whole highway will be packed with walkers." Lee explained.

Mitch hummed in thought about their situation before saying. "Hmm, yeah, you're right, and I do have another route we can take. But it'll cost us a full day and a half to get to Macon; are you sure you want to take that risk?"

"Don't worry, my family are tough people. My dad used to beat up thieves all the time." Lee sighed fondly at the memory. "Besides, they wouldn't want me to endanger your family for them. You're already doing me a huge favor, Mitch; I can't ask for more."

"Well, if that's how you feel, then we'll take the long way around." Mitch said it with a smile. "But we're a tough family too, Lee. There ain't nothing gonna take us down. Come on, let's get back to the RV."

On their way back, Terry asked Mitch. "You said something about going to Woodbury to check up on your wife's brother earlier. Ain't you worried about him?"

At that point, Mitch had to hold himself back from laughing. "It's not worth my time to worry about Greg. That guy's like a cockroach — unkillable. He was in a dozen car crashes, was shot multiple times, and blew himself up on two separate occasions."

Hearing this, Lee was shocked at the amount of punishment one person can take. "What does he do for a living that's so dangerous?"

"He owns a gun store," Mitch said with a smile.

The officer frowned at the lackluster explanation. "Really, that's it?"

"Well, he's resilient, but not all that lucky." Mitch answered.

With that, the conversation ended as they all entered the RV and took their seats. Inside, Lee saw Adam fast asleep in the bottom bed, and Tess was back in the front seat next to Mitch, who started to explain the situation to her, at which the woman only nodded her head.

For a while, they rode the highway in silence until they made it to an exit ramp and left for the rural fields of Georgia, making a roundabout way to Macon. Along the way, Mitch decided to stick up a conversion with Terry. "So, Terry, where're you from? Atlanta?"

"Yeah, born and raised. I've only ever left the city five times, and that was to visit my grandparents back in the day. They too lived in Columbus; my sister actually moved there to take care of them, but that was a long time ago. Now all that I have left is Ralph, my nephew." Terry said.

"What did you do for a living?" Mitch asked.

Terry sighed at that. "I used to work for a concrete company in one of the quarries on the edge of the city. Life used to be good before the whole company went under a couple of months ago and had to lay off everyone. I've been a hobo since then. I lost my house, my car, and my dog, and all I could do was beg for money on the streets. No one wanted to hire someone like me."

Lee looked at the man with sympathy and said. "Damn, that's harsh. But I have to say, I'm not all that surprised. I've been hearing about an upcoming recession... you know, before the world started crumbling down."

"Yeah, but the world’s just like that, and there's nothing we can do about that." Terry commented. 

"You don’t have a wife or kids?" Mitch asked Terry.

"Nah, never really gave it much thought, and by the time I did, I was already in my 50s." Terry answered. "What about you? When did you feel the need to have a family of your own?"

"Ha, that would be when I met my lovely wife, fourteen years ago. She swept me off my feet... Quite literally, it was painful." Mitch chuckled a little as he told the story. "We were both at a gym, training kickboxing."

"So, you know martial arts?" Terry asked, surprised.

Mitch just laughed it off and clarified. "Nah, not anymore. I'm nowhere near as nimble as I used to be."

"Ah, but it's always something. I used to train in the regular kind of boxing in my youth. Mostly to stand up to bullies, but I still know how to throw a solid punch." Terry said with enthusiasm.

With that, the conversation wound down, and they drove out into the rural areas of Georgia.

They've been going for a couple of hours now, and while the scenery was beautiful, it was getting quite repetitive. All they saw since getting off the highway were forests, farmlands, and occasionally houses far in the distance. It took so long, mostly because they had to clear the roads of abandoned cars every couple miles and double back a couple of times as those roads were crawling with walker hordes. That was so until they rode past a sign saying 'Welcome to Jackson' and underneath that, it said 'Population 5 500'. They went by a couple of houses that looked looted and run-down, but they saw no people along the way. The town was most likely abandoned or evacuated, but just as they were getting closer to the town center, Mitch stopped the car in the middle of the street, much to Lee's confusion.

Getting out of his seat, Mitch turned to them and said. "We're almost all out of gas. Someone needs to go and grab some from the town."

Terry was the first to stand up as he hooked the crowbar to his belt. "Well, I don't mind giving these old bones a workout if it's to help."
Lee followed his lead; he had to get some fresh air, as sitting all this time in the RV only made him more worried about his brother and parents back in Macon. "I'll go too."
"That's great; come with me." Mitch said as he exited the RV. Walking out, Lee saw that they were surrounded by woods on both sides, but he could see some houses behind the foliage, and more clearly, there were buildings down the road. Among the naked tree branches, Lee noticed the crooked power lines, looking as if they were ready to fall over with their cables hanging low and near the ground. Along the streets, there were a few abandoned cars, a sight to which he started growing more accustomed as they traveled the roads of Georgia.

The two men followed Mitch as they made their way to the back of the vehicle. There, he opened the trunk, took out two fuel canisters, and handed them to Terry before giving another two to Lee. "There's bound to be a gas station in the town, but if it gets dangerous, don't hesitate to drop them. Your lives are much more important."

"Sure, stay safe." Lee said. "And keep an eye on the woods."

"Yeah, I know what you're getting at. Won't see a walker coming until they're in our face, cause of the forest." Mitch said. "But you're the ones going out into the unknown, so keep an eye out and stay vigilant."

"Will do." Lee said as the duo moved out.

They walked a couple feet away to the RV in silence, looking over their shoulders for any sign of a threat, and as they passed by a clinic, Lee decided to start a conversation and ask something he had been thinking about since meeting the man who was walking along with him.

"Terry, I've been meaning to ask, but aren't you worried about your nephew?" Lee asked.

"What do you mean?" Terry asked back in confusion.

"I mean, I know there is strength in numbers, but if Mitch wasn't helping me get to Macon, I'd stop at nothing to get to my family. So, what I'm really asking is, why tag along? There were three fully working trucks full of gas on that overpass. You could have taken one, left, and been halfway to Columbus by now. Why didn't you?" Lee asked curiously.

Terry sighed and said. "Well, Lee, that's one hell of a question. Truth be told, I owe one to Mitch for saving my life. Besides, I have faith in Ralph; he has a good head on his shoulders, and I'm sure he'll be fine."

"It can't be just that, man; family is important. Mitch would have understood." Lee replied. "Hell, the only reason he's giving me a ride to Macon is because my family is there."

"Look, Lee, I may be able to smash a few walker skulls in, but I'm old. Lately I've been getting tired more easily, and my back's been killing me after only an hour of running." Terry explained with a sober voice. "I know I can't make it there on my own, but if joining up with your lot gives me a better chance at getting there, so be it."

Lee looked down, worried that he had upset the man. "Sorry, I didn't know."

Terry gave him a small laugh before asking. "Nah, it's fine. Anyway, enough about me. What did you do before all this, Lee?"

"I used to teach history at UGA." Lee said proudly with a smile.

"Wow, a professor; how long have you been teaching there?" Terry asked again.

"I was going on my sixth year, but things didn't work out, and I got fired." Lee explained.

"And why's that?" Terry inquired.

Lee panicked internally for a second; he couldn't tell him the truth that he nearly beat up a senator to death. So he had to come up with a believable lie. "Budget cuts. They wanted me to sign a new contract, which said I would get paid only half of what I was already making. Of course, I didn't agree, so the next day I got my two weeks notice, and that was that."

With his explanation out of the way, the duo arrived at a crossroads. Looking around, they saw not one, not two, not three, but four gas stations, each occupying a corner of the road. Terry only scoffed and shook his head. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Terry walked towards one of the gas stations, and as Lee followed him, he scanned the area. There weren't a lot of buildings around other than the one they were looking for; all he saw were mainly houses, mostly hidden behind thick vegetation, and some restaurants, but further down the street, Lee saw some taller buildings; that must be the town center.

Walking up to the fuel pumps, Lee put down both of the jerrycans, took the appropriate pump, and started filling the fuel canisters. He had finished filling one of the cans and was putting it down when suddenly four walkers emerged out of the building next to them. Seeing this, Lee immediately put the canister down, dropped the pump to the ground without care, and took his knife out of the holster, ready to take them on. Looking around, he saw that two of them were going his way, while the other two went for Terry, who too was at the ready with his crowbar in his hands. The ones approaching him weren't coordinated, as one of them was much faster than the other, giving Lee much more room to take care of them. He aimed his knife at the walkers' temple, but missed and stabbed the monster through the eyes. Its arms went limp by its sides, but it still tried biting at Lee, who retracted his blade from the thing's skull. Though, its movements started to slow down until it was finally dead for good and fell to the ground. As Lee took a breather, he saw that the other walker wasn't backing down and was dangerously close to him. Backing away slowly, Lee looked for anything that could help him take down the monster more easily, until he saw a broom resting against one of the pillars. Taking it, Lee held it between himself and the walker before, in one swift motion, he used the tool to push the walking corpse over and onto the ground. Holding it down, Lee walked over to where he stood over its head, kneeled next to it, and with one hand stabbed it in the head.

With the threat over, he looked over to Terry and saw that the man had taken care of one of the walkers but was struggling with the other, who had him pinned against one of the pillars, barely holding the monster back from ripping into his neck. Not wasting any time, Lee ran over to the older man and stabbed the walker in the brain from behind. The corpse dropped to the ground, and Lee saw that Terry was breathing really hard and started coughing. As he finally stopped and got his bearings together, he said. "That's what I was talking about. I ain't fit to do this shit on my own."

"Well, you're lucky that we found you, but I don't think we should test that luck any longer. Let's get back to the RV with what we have. I'm sure-" Whatever Lee was about to say next was cut off by a blood-curdling scream coming from down the street, more specifically from the town center.

"HELP!" Someone was out there, and they needed help; that much was clear.

"What are we waiting for? We have to go and help whoever that is." Terry said, but contrary to his word, he was barely standing straight and was in no condition to fight anything.

Lee was conflicted; he really wanted to go and help whoever that was, but he couldn't in good conscience take Terry with him, and who knew how many walkers would be swarming that place because of the loud screams. On the other hand, this could give them a chance to slip by undetected and not have to worry about the walker, but could he really leave someone at the mercy of those monsters?

What will Lee do?

A) Go help with Terry

B) Go help on his own

C) Go back to the RV

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Allen- 7

Mitch – 8

He is glad you took his family's safety into account.

Tess – 8

She is glad you took his family's safety into account.

Adam – 4

Lizzy – 5

Terry - 7

He is glad you saved him.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Hunting Knife

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

A Canteen

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

6 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 65%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

5 Adults

2 Children

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[September 9; 13 days after the Global Outbreak]

No, the answer to the question is no. He can't leave someone in need of help; his father always told him to lift people up so that one day they may lift him up. He really wants to run and help, but Terry's in no condition to fight, and god knows how many walkers are being drawn to those people. The best thing he could come up with was for the older man to rest up and go back to the others with the fuel. He knew that going alone to help was putting his life at risk, but he had to take this chance to do some good. Terry will be fine; Lee was sure of it because, after a day of pushing cars out of the way, even he was a little tired.

"Take the cans and go back to the RV." said Lee.

Terry looked at him confused before yelling out. "What the hell, Lee? We can't leave them to die!"

Lee looked towards the town center and said. "We aren't; I'm going on my own."

"You can't go alone; it's suicide. Who knows how many of those things are there." Terry tried to convince him. "We have to go together. You have a family waiting for you."

"So do you, but you are in no condition to fight." Lee replied, putting an end to the argument. "If you can get the others here, we can make a fast getaway."

Terry grunted as he straightened his back and said. "Fine, I'll go, but don't you dare die. I don't wanna have to tell your parents why you died."

As the conversation ended, Terry moved to take the two full jerrycans and started slowly making his way to the RV. Seeing the other man leave, Lee saw that his canisters were still where he left them. He then heard another cry for help, so with nothing to distract him, he made his way down the road with a light jog, too tired to run full steam ahead. On his way, he saw a lot of haphazardly boarded up buildings, and those that weren't barricaded had their windows smashed and their walls spray painted with crude words and symbols. As he got closer to his destination, he saw the traditional Main Street American architecture: two story buildings with tall display windows. He even saw a clock tower peeking from behind the building. Truth be told, he wasn't one to appreciate architecture; the only reason he knew even a little bit about it was because of his history degree. Lee carefully walked by a sushi restaurant; he clung to the walls as he made his way to the edge of the building. Taking a look from behind his cover, Lee saw the great red brick building that the clock tower was attached to. It was probably a court or a jail, knowing how this kind of town was founded, but Lee's attention was brought to a moving truck parked on the green lawn. On top of the vehicle were two young adults; one was a chubby fellow with brown hair, and the other was a skinny guy with black hair. They were surrounded by a dozen or so walkers, who tried to get to them but couldn't and only stood there with their hands extended as they growled and moaned.

As Lee looked around the area for anything that could help him save the two, he saw something terrifying: one of the walkers managed to climb up on the truck. He didn't think that they could do something like that; after all, they were stiff, walking corpses with barely any advanced mobility. They didn't run or jump, and most had a hard time walking. The skinny guy had a shovel in his hands and used it to push the walker off the truck. The monster fell onto the other infected, and like a domino, over half of them fell to the ground, leaving only four walkers standing. Seeing this opportunity, Lee takes out his revolver and runs towards the truck. Stopping a few feet from the small horde, Lee lines up a shot and, with a loud bang, takes out one of them before doing the same to the next one. The noise grabs the attention of all the walkers as the two standing turn to him.

Seeing the opening, Lee turns to the two guys on the truck and yells out before backing away. "FOLLOW ME!"
The two look at each other and nod before they jump down. The two ran around the horde, which was mostly focused on Lee. Some of the walkers were already up on their legs and moving, while others chose to crawl on the dirt, but there was one who started to sprint towards him. Seeing this was just as shocking as seeing the climbing walker, but Lee didn't let that take him off guard, and after a couple of shots, he managed to hit it in the head. As the two caught up to him, Lee started running back the way he came, with the horde on their tails and the guys at his sides.
They ran for quite some time before they made it to the gas stations. Looking back, Lee saw that the horde was far enough away for them not to worry about.

He turned to the two and asked. "What were you doing back there?"

The skinny one was the first to answer. "Trying to get home, this whole town's a disaster. Are you trying to get outta here? Because you should be. Those things are all over the damn place. I haven't seen anything as gnarly as this place since downtown Atlanta." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm Shawn, Shawn Greene. Thanks for saving us back there."

"I'm Lee, and don't mention it; I couldn't leave some behind." said Lee.

"I'm Chet." The other one said.

"We shouldn't be out in the open like this. My pickup truck is back out there; we have to go back." Shawn said as he pointed back towards the center of the town.

"We don't have to, unless you want to risk your life for a truck." Lee says as he walks to pick up the jerrycans he left behind.

"You have a car or something, cause we won't get back home in time if we don't have one." Chet said as the two followed him.

Lee picked up the fuel containers before turning to the two. "No, but me and my group have an RV." Looking at the sky, he could see that it was going to get dark soon. "We can give you a ride if you can give us a place to sleep for the night."

Shawn nodded his head and said. "After saving my ass back there, it's the least I can do."

Looking out down the road from which he came, Lee saw the RV approaching them. "Ah, and here they are."

"Ohhh, that's fancy." said Chet as he looked at the vehicle.

The RV stopped by, and Mitch yelled out, poking his head out of the window. "Jump in."

As Lee enters the vehicle, he sees Tess still sitting next to her kids with a look of deep thought on her face and Terry resting in his seat. He returned to his seat, while Chet sat next to Officer Allen and Shawn approached the driver's seat.

"We have to find some place to wait out the night." said Tess.

"We should go to my family's farm. It should be safer there." said Shawn as he stood behind Mitch and took out a map from his back pocket. "I can show you the way. It's south of here—not too far, but far enough. We'll make it before sundown."

Mitch looked over his shoulder at his wife, who nodded, at which he said. "Sit down and show me that map."

It didn't take them that long to get there, and they didn't see any walkers or cars on the way. It seems the further away they were from a city as big as Atlanta and the less densely populated areas they traveled through, the more safe and empty the roads became. Lee thought about Macon; the city was pretty big, and while not as big as the state capital of Georgia, it had a population of at least a hundred thousand people.

Lee was brought out of his thoughts as they arrived at the farm that Shawn was talking about. They drove onto the estate and parked just in front of a small garden. The first to walk out of the RV was Chet, followed by Shawn.

"Hey, Shawn, I'm'a run on home. My mama's gonna be in a snit." Chet told him.

"No sweat, man. I'll catch you tomorrow night." said Shawn.

Chet then turned to the rest of the group, who were exiting the RV. "It was nice to meet ya all." Turning to Lee, who was next out of the vehicle, Chet said. "Thanks again for the save, Lee. If you need anything in the future, come by our farm, and I'll be sure to help ya with anything."

Lee waves him goodbye as Chet leaves, but his attention is quickly drawn to the houses as he hears the door open and sees an older man in his late 40s or 50s walk out and approach Shawn.

"Thank god you're okay. Everyone started to get pretty worried when you didn’t get back yesterday." said the man.

"I was worried it would be bad here too." said Shawn as he hugged the man.

"Been quiet as usual the past couple of days. Ol’Breckon down the road thinks his mare’s gone lame, but that ain’t nothing new." The man shrugged at the end of the sentence.

"I wouldn't have made it back without Chet." says Shawn.

"Well, I'm glad you took him with you then." said the man before turning to the newly arrived. "You've brought nearly half a dozen guests."

"Yeah, they saved my and Chet's lives back in Jackson when we got swarmed by... those things." Shawn said it with a smile. "I kinda promised them a place for the night, if that's not a problem, dad."

"Sure, it's no issue, Shawn. But can you run on in and check on your sister?" Shawn nodded before leaving for the house. As the young man left, his father turned to them.

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Hershel Greene." The man told the group. "You're welcome to stay here, but just for the night. I don't run a bed and breakfast."

"Name's Lee." said Lee. "And thank you; we're really grateful."

"Don't thank me yet. House is full up with mine. But you and your people can sleep in the barn when we're done here." Hershel said, pointing at the red barn on their right. "Besides, I should be the one thanking you for saving my boy."

Hershel then turned to the others. "What'd you say your names were?"

The officer was the first to answer. "Officer Allen of the APD."

"I'm Terrance, but you can call me Terry."

"My name's Tess; this is my husband Mitch and my kids, Lizzy and Adam." Tess introduced herself and her family.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all, but if you don't mind me asking, where were you headed?" asked Hershel.

"For now, we're heading for Macon to check up on Lee's family." said Officer Allen.

Shawn returned fast and a little winded before turning to Hershel and saying. "Hey, Dad, so I'm thinking, first thing tomorrow, we gotta reinforce the fence around the farm."

Hershel listens to his son but shakes his head and quickly dismisses the idea. "That doesn’t seem necessary."

"I don't know what you saw on TV or heard on the radio, but there's some serious... SHIT hitting the fan. I don't think anyone knows how big it is yet. " Shawn says, hoping to convince his father.

"Your son's right. You're gonna wanna fortify this place." Lee tries to help the younger man.

Hershel shakes his head again and says. "Stuff like that doesn't happen around here, Shawn."

"Dad, I’m serious. Lee, tell him what you guys saw out there." Shawn tries to press the issue.

"I got chased by a couple of dead people." said Lee.

Hershel just shrugged before saying. "Do what you think you need to do. We still have plenty of chores as it is."

"Lee and rest can help out in the morning. We gotta do it, really." Shawn proposed.

"I already said ok." emphasized Hershel. "I think we're done here for today; there are blankets and such in the barn. We'll be seeing you bright and early."

"Alright then." said Lee as he was ready to leave for the barn but was stopped by Mitch.

"Me and Tess will stay in the RV with the kids."

"Sure, just stay safe." Lee replies.

"Will do."

With that, Lee, Officer Allen, and Terry go into the barn. Inside, Lee sees no animals but a lot of hay, along with the noticeable but not overbearing stench of fecal matter. He also sees a couple of blankets laid out on the floor, so laying down, Lee went to sleep.

Waking up the next day, Lee was awoken by an unknown person.

"Hey, get up." said a young female voice. She looked to be in her late teens or early 20s and had brown hair and eyes similar to Shawn's.

As he stood up, Lee saw that the other two were nowhere to be seen. "Name's Lee"

"I'm Maggie, Shawn's sister. Thought I should wake you up since everyone else's up." She said this as she exited the barn.

What will Lee do?

A) Go help Shawn

B) Talk with Officer Allen

C) Talk with Mitch

D)Talk with Terry

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Allen- 8

He is glad that you saved someone.

Mitch – 9

He's glad you found a place to stay for the night.

Tess – 8

Adam – 4

Lizzy – 5

Terry - 8

He is happy that you helped them.

Hershel - 5

He doesn't trust you, but you did save his son, so he's willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.

Shawn - 7

He sees you as a great person for helping them.

Chet - 6

He thinks that you’re a great guy for helping people.

Maggie - 6

She doesn't know you, but is happy that you saved her brother.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Hunting Knife

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

A Canteen

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

9 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 65%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

5 Adults

2 Children

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[September 9; 14 days after the Global Outbreak]

Walking out of the barn, Lee was met with the sun shining in his eyes and the sound of someone hammering nails into wood. He saw that the fence around the farm was reinforced in some places with wooden planks, plywood square sheets, metal sheets and even doors. Most of it was chaotically held together by 2x4, nails and prayers. Looking around, he saw Tess and her daughter sitting on haystacks in front of the house with what looked like math books. From what he could hear, the mother was teaching Lizzy algebra, but he couldn't be certain. Looking around, Lee saw Mitch working on the RV's engine and a red tool box next to him on the ground.

"That's not good." Lee muttered under his breath before walking up to the man and asking. "Hey, Mitch. Need any help?"

"Nah, I think I got it. Thanks for asking, though." Mitch said as he turned away from the engine.

"So, what's your family's plan after you get to Woodbury?" Lee asked.

Mitch shrugged before saying. "Not much; we'll probably stay there for as long as we need to. But with the way things are looking." Mitch looked at the ground in thought and shook his head. "The town has all that we would need: solar panels, water towers. Food would be the only problem, but I think we'll manage. What about you?"

"I'll stay in Macon with my family if the place is safe, and if it's not, I'm sure we'll find a place to wait it out." said Lee.

Mitch nodded. "That's a solid plan, at least for now."

"You think we'll make it there today?" asked Lee.

"Yeah, I've asked Hershel. He said it's only an hour ride away from here." said Mitch. "If we're lucky and the roads aren't clogged up, I say we'll make it there today."

"Thanks; I should probably check up on Shawn's progress with the fence." said Lee.

Mitch nodded his head before turning back to the engine and saying. "Good idea. This place could use some defenses, while the walkers are far away."

Walking around the house, Lee saw Terry hammering wooden plans into the fence near the entrance to the property with his crowbar. Looking at the house, he could see that it was old, with the white paint chipping away in some places, revealing the ugly brown planks. Other than that, the building itself was grand in appearance, almost three stories tall, counting the attic. It had a teal colored roofing and three brick chimneys, matching the brick foundation that the house stood on. Overall, it looked both beautiful and expensive, and as he was making his way past the building, he saw someone in the window scurry away the second he looked their way.

Making his way to the backyard of the property, Lee saw Shawn kneeling down and working on reinforcing the fence. Walking up behind him, Lee saw a barn next to a silo and a giant forest in the distance.

Seeing that Shawn was deeply focused on his job, Lee coughed to get his attention. "Need a hand?"

Shawn stood up and turned to Lee. "That'd be great. If you could cut those two-bys to length, that'd sure speed things up." Shawn said, pointing at an improvised bench nearby. Lee approached it and started cutting the two-by-four in half with a saw that was laid on it.

"My dad doesn't know how bad it is." Shawn said it with a sigh.

Lee shook his head and said. "No, he doesn't."

"I saw a guy in Atlanta kill a kid. A boy. Just shot him right in the face." said Shawn.

"Was the boy one of the walkers?" Lee asked as he finished cutting the first plank.

Shawn turned to Lee. "I don't even know. He was either attacking the guy or asking for help. He didn't even hesitate." Shawn said as he shook his head. "He just turned, put the barrel of the gun right between this kid's eyes and pulled the trigger. You don't see things like that. It's not like in the movies."

Lee nodded at that and said. "They don't fall like you think."

"I'm just glad we're getting this fence built. Dad just wants to keep the family safe and thinks inviting people in is a bigger threat than whatever's out there. How about yours? How's your family?" Shawn said while making sure the reinforcement to the fence was holding.

"My brother and parents are in Macon, I hope." said Lee.

"Oh, man, I hope so too. Maybe it's not too bad there." said Shawn, but when he saw Lee bend down to pick up another two-by-four, he stopped him. "That's probably all I need cut for now. And, Lee, thanks again for the ride."

"Don't mention it, Shawn. Couldn't leave you behind." said Lee.

"Anyway, when you see my dad around, he might want some help in the barn." Shawn mentioned it as Lee was looking around the area. "Something wrong?"

"No, but those walkers already snuck up on us two separate times. They seem to stay quiet when alone, so make sure to keep an eye out." said Lee before walking towards the bar.

Walking inside, Lee saw Hershel scattering hay with a pitchfork. The older man stopped what he was doing and looked Lee in the eyes before asking. "How'd you get out of Atlanta?"

"Officer Allen gave me a ride until we got into a crash." said Lee.

"Hmm. Well, you're no worse for wear." Hershel commented as he got back to work.

"This farm's a nice plot of land." said Lee, trying to ease the tension.

Hershel chuckled at that and said. "Heh, had you told me twenty years ago I'd still be doing this, I woulda told you that you were full of crap. Never was the plan, having a place like this. It was in the family, and I guess so was I." said Hershel as he focused his attention for a moment on Lee. "Family's important; it's all that matters. You agree with that?"

"Was brought up to, yes." said Lee.

Upon hearing the answer, the older man went back to work but still continued his questions. "Where's your family now? Parents? Wife? Girlfriend?"

"My parents are in Macon, with my brother." said Lee.

"Well, I hope they're alright." Hershel stayed silent for a few moments, continuing to shovel hay before planting the pitchfork in the ground and walking closer to Lee. "Hmmph. Can I give you a piece of advice?"

Lee nodded before saying. "Sure"

"I don't know who you are or what you did." Hershel shook his head as he said that. "Let's say things don't get better back in the cities. Or they get worse before they do. You're gonna have to depend on the honesty of strangers if you're gonna make it. And if those same people get to questioning yours, you're gonna be in trouble." said Hershel before nodding his head in approval. "But at least you have the common sense to listen to a man giving you advice."

A few seconds after that was said, someone yelled out in the distance, and they could hear the sound of wood breaking. Hearing that, Lee turned towards the sound with a shocked face. "What the--?"

Running out of the barn, he stopped in front of the building before he heard Hershel yell out. "Go! I'll get my gun!"

Without a second thought, Lee sprinted around the house and ran towards the backyard. Jumping over tree roots, Lee could already see that Shawn was pinned to the ground by an overweight walker. He was barely holding the thing back from ripping into his neck as the monster continued to bite in his direction. Running up, Lee tried to take out his revolver, only to find it missing. With no other choice, he took out his knife and plunged it into the side of walker's head, killing it instantly. Lee let out a sigh as the monster went limp, but when he looked up, he saw more of them too close for comfort.

As Shawn felt the walker go limp, he turned towards him and said. "Lee, help me move it."

Lee only shook his head, not taking his eyes off the approaching walkers, as he said. "I can't; there's more coming."

Walking over the broken fence, Lee scanned the area and counted six walkers shambling in his direction. Moving towards the closest one, he stabbed the monster right through the jugular. Sadly, that didn't kill it, so Lee had to grab the walker by its shirt, pull out the knife, and stab it again, this time in the forehead. As the walker fell to the ground, Lee heard someone run up to him. Looking back, he saw Terry with his crowbar at the ready and a blood-covered Shawn with his hammer. Both men ran up to the monsters and started bashing their heads in. Shifting his attention to the nearest walker, Lee stabbed it through the eye but lost the grip on his knife, and as it fell to the ground, Lee was left unarmed. Left in shock, he wasn't paying attention as a walker lunged at him, sending them both to the ground. Lee's vision blurred after the impact, but he recovered almost immediately and struggled against the monster, barely keeping it from sinking its teeth into his flesh. Looking around, he could see that both Terry and Shawn were too busy fighting walkers to come and help him. As he held back the walker from eating him, his thoughts wandered to his father, his mother, and his brother. He had to make sure they were safe, and he couldn't die before that, so he decided that with one great push he would try to throw the walker off himself. However, before he could do anything, he heard the sound of gunshots, and the walker's head exploded, covering his face in blood and gore. Wiping his face away, Lee slowly stood up after shoving the corpse to the side. Looking toward the backyard, he saw both Mitch and Hershel with rifles in hand. Seeing all the monsters finally dead, Lee walked over to the one who had his knife stuck in its head. The walker was face down on the ground, so he rolled it over, only to discover that the blade of the knife snapped and stayed in its skull while the handle was left on the ground.

"Shit!" Lee cursed under his breath.

"Shawn!" Hershel yelled out as he ran up to his son and looked him over for any wounds. "Are you okay?"

Shawn looked as if he was about to answer, but just as he opened his mouth, he puked all over the corpse of the walker he just killed. As he got that out of his system, he coughed before saying. "I-I'm fine, dad."

Lee could see Maggie run from behind the house and ask. "What's going on? I heard gunshots."

"Maggie, take Shawn to the house." said Hershel as he helped his son walk over to his sister, who led him back to the house.

With the small skirmish over and done, Lee walked back onto the premises of the farm. As he was walking by Hershel, the older man stopped him and said. "Thank you for saving my son again." Then he took out a revolver and handed it to Lee. "Here, Lee, I found it in the barn; I believe it's yours."

"Thanks, must have lost it last night." Lee said as he stuffed the gun in his back pocket.

“And here you’re almost out of bullets.” said Hershel as he gave him a box full of bullets.

“Thank you.” said Lee as Hershel nodded his head before turning to an approaching Mitch.

"We should probably leave now if we want to make it to Macon today." said Mitch, before turning to Hershel and shaking his hand. "And thank you for letting us stay here for the night."

"It was my pleasure, and if you ever need help, you are welcome to come here." Hershel said it with a smile.

With that said, everyone got into the RV, and the group drove off the farm, starting their journey towards Macon.

After hours of driving, dodging walker hordes, and moving cars out of the way, the group finally made it to Macon. As they got further into the town, they saw the state that it was in. Macon was a shell of its former self; the streets were filled with broken and abandoned cars, while all the buildings looked like they were abandoned and looted. Lee was worried that his hometown would be crawling with the walking dead, but as they made it to the town center, they didn't see even one of the damned. They made good progress until the engine made an unpleasant noise and stopped working, leaving them in the middle of the street.

"What happened?" asked Officer Allen as he stood up.

"This is as far as the RV will take us." said Mitch with a sigh as he stood up and took out several backpacks from one of the drawers.

"Really? You sure we can't fix it?" asked Terry.

"No, we can't. One of the hoses in the cooling system must have given out. I've tried to fix it by wrapping it in duct tape, but at least it got us this far. " said Mitch as he started packing things into a backpack. "It's an old RV, so finding a matching part to replace it would be nearly impossible."

Standing up, Lee went to grab a backpack and started packing supplies into it. "I know where the hardware store and the car shop are if you want to look for a replacement."

"Nah, I'm sure we can find a better vehicle." said Mitch.

"Kids, pack your things fast." said Tess as she gave both children smaller and more colorful backpacks. After a few minutes, everyone packed their bags full of only the necessary supplies and they were ready to leave the RV.

"It's a shame to leave so many supplies for someone to steal." said Terry as they exited the RV.

"Ah, don't worry. I locked it up; if anyone tried to take it, they'd be swarmed by walker." said Mitch as he pocketed the keys to the RV. "So, where to Lee?"

"Follow me; it shouldn't be far from here." Lee said as he walked further into the town. After a while, they made a left turn, and he could already see the cyan-blue roof of his family's drug shop, but the gates were closed, which was worrying.

"Hey there! You need any help, fella?" shouted out Officer Allen to someone in the distance.

That someone turned out to be a walker, and as he looked at them, they could see him missing half of his face. Sadly, that wasn't the worst of it, as suddenly more and more walkers started showing themselves, seemingly from nowhere. Stumbling from storefronts, alleyways, and behind cars as they began slowly encircling the group.

The Officer looked around them as he slowly took out his gun and said. "Fuck!"

Tess immediately grabbed the hands of both of her children as she moved behind her husband, who took out his rifle and began shooting at the horde of walkers. Taking out his revolver, Lee began shooting at the approaching wall of the dead. His aim was getting better, and he managed to down four of the fuckers before he ran out of bullets. Looking around, Lee saw Terry get surrounded by walkers, and seeing no other way out of his predicament, the older man made a run for it into a tool store.

Then he heard a scream of a young girl, and as he looked back, he could see that a walker had snuck up on Lizzy and lunged at her, pinning her to the ground. Thankfully, before anything tragic could happen, someone shot it, blowing its head off and covering the girl in blood and brain goo. Looking towards the origin of the bullet, Lee was surprised to see two people he had never seen before. He saw a woman holding a gun wearing a white shirt and an Asian man, who must have run out of the drug store because the gates were now open.

"Run!" shouted the Asian man as the lady continued to shoot at the walkers.

Not wasting any time, all of them quickly ran into the drug store, followed by their saviors. The Asian man closed the gate behind them, locking it with a combination lock. The walkers gathered outside the gate and began slamming against it, trying to get to them.

As they all got inside the building, a woman in a brown tank top immediately started, berating the lady who saved them. "We can't take risks like this."

The pistol-wielding woman looked her in the eyes and, with confidence, said. "And we can't just let people die, either."

"When I say 'that door stays shut no matter what' I fucking mean it." said the woman in the brown tank top before pointing to them and continuing. "We don't know who these people are; they could be dangerous!"

"Worse, they could've led 'em right to us!" yelled out an older man.

The white shirt wearing lady gave him a look of shock and yelled out. "Where the hell is your humanity?! They would've died out there!"

"Then we let 'em!" The older man said it with no remorse.

Lee was angry that they could even think about leaving them to the walkers, and said. "Whoa, chill the fuck out, lady. We're just people trying to avoid those things, just like you."

"Don't come in here and swear at me!" said the woman in the brown tank top.

"I'll say whatever I want if you start threatening these people." said Lee, not backing down.

"You'll have to excuse her." said the white shirt wearing woman as she looked at him for a second.

"The hell he, or anyone will. This is about survival; do you guys not see what's happening?"

"They've got kids, Lilly." said the Asian man, trying to convince the woman in the brown tank top.

"Those things outside don't care." said Lilly.

"Maybe you should go join 'em then. You'll have something in common!" Tess said it with a frown on her face.

"Goddamn it, Lilly, you have to control these people!" said the older man harshly.

"Carley and Glenn just ran out there!" Lilly said as she pointed at the two.

The older man shook his head and said. "I don't give a flying fuck! We're in a war zone!"

"She's an asshole, that's for sure." Lee said, sick and tired of their cruel words.

"That's what it takes." Lilly said it with no shame.

"Well, you don't have to be a bitch about it." Lee said with a frown.

"Ho-ly shit." said the older man as he looked toward Mitch, who was cleaning the blood and gunk off his daughter. "Son of a bitch, one of them is bitten!"

"She wasn't bitten." Lee immediately denied.

"Hell she wasn't! We have to end this, now." said the older man before walking towards them.

"Over my dead body." said Tess, a look of fury on his face as she blocked his way.

"We'll dig one hole." said the old man with a cruel smirk on his face.

"I will not let you harm that little girl, sir." said Officer Allen as he joined in to protect Elizabeth.

"Don't you fucking people get it? We've already seen this happen. We let someone with a bite stay and... and we all end up bitten!" yelled out the old man.

"Shut up!" said Tess, barely containing her anger in her voice.

"We gotta throw her out, or smash her head in!" said the older man with a shrug and no mercy in his voice.

"Dad, it's just a girl, it's-" said Lilly, trying to calm him.

"Lilly, I'll handle this." said the old man with a soft voice.

"But your heart, Dad. You need to calm down. We'll get this kid out of here." Lilly tried again.

"Guys. What do we do about this guy?" said Tess with a scary voice.

"We kick his ass." said Lee, crossing his arms.

"That's what I'm thinking." Tess said with a dangerous smile.

"Everyone, chill the fuck out!" said Carley.

"Nobody is doing anything." said Lilly.

"Shut up, Lilly!" the old man said before turning to Carley. "And you, shut the fuck up. They will find us, and they will get in here, and none of this will fucking matter. But right now we're about to be trapped in here with one of those things."

"She's not bitten, goddammit! Lee, get that guy to shut up; it's upsetting her!" said Mitch with anger in his voice.

"Oh, I'm 'upsetting' her? Upsetting is getting eaten alive!" the older man said with a mocking tone.

"Dad, we get it, it's a big deal." said Lilly.

"Do you? You're not fucking acting like it!" said the old man.

"What if this was your daughter?" asked Lee.

The old man only shook his head and said. "Never woulda happened. She's not some snot-nosed toddler, okay? She's United States Air Force."

"Oh, fuck you and her!" said Tess, pointing a finger at the old man and then at Lilly. "I'm gonna kill him, Mitch! Just worry about Lizzy."

"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here, I'm just looking out for my daughter!" the old man tried to defend himself.

"No, you're just the guy arguing for killing a kid!" said the Officer.

"She's covered in muck! He'll find the bite. Watch!" the older man argued.

"He won't." said Tess.

"And if he does? The first thing she'll do is sink her teeth into her dad's face. Then, once he's dead, she'll probably pounce on your little boy! He'll turn fast! And that, boy, is the ballgame."

"Then we deal with it then. But right now we're just freaking everybody out." said Lee, trying to deescalate the situation.

"Then get ready to deal with it because that boy is bitten." said the old man as if it was a fact.

"It ain't gonna happen!" said Tess.

"It is, and we're tossing him out now!" yelled out the old man.

What should Lee do:

A) "Kick his ass." [Support Tess]

B) "No, don't touch her!" [Support Tess]

C) "I'm sorry, Tess." [Support the old man]

D) Say nothing

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Terry - 9 (Unknown)

He's lost for now.

Hershel - 7

He knows you're hiding something, but he trusts you since you didn't lie to him.

Shawn - 7

He is grateful that you saved his life again.

Maggie - 8

She is happy that you saved her brother again.

Lilly - 3

She is angry at your group.

Old Man - 2

He thinks Lizzy has been bitten and wants to throw her out.

Carley - 4

She wants everyone to calm down.

Glenn - 5

Doesn't want anyone to die.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

A Canteen

Box of Ammo

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

15 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 55%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

4 Adults

2 Children

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[September 9; 14 days after the Global Outbreak]

"No! You don't touch that girl, you don't touch anybody!" Lee shouted, having had enough of this pointless arguing. He was furious. "You want to get violent, you old fuck?! Well, come on! You better have a plan to kill me, though, because it's me, before anyone else in here!"

Just as he finished his rant, they all heard the sound of someone banging on the door to the bathroom. They all stayed quiet, but the walker's attack at the door didn't cease, and finally the door couldn't take it anymore and fell down from its hinges. The undead walking out of the bathroom was tall and strong-looking, but most of its skin was covered in walker bites.

"Jesus!" the old man yelled out in shock.

Carley, who was the closest to the walker, sprung into action and immediately shot it in the head. But much to everyone's continued shock, the undead didn't fall dead but kept on walking towards her. Recovering, Carley started to unload all of her bullets into the walker's head, and only on the fifth shot did he fall to the ground.

Seeing the monster finally die for good, she let out a sigh of relief until Glenn said. "Uh... guys?" bringing their attention to the barricaded windows as they heard what could only be walkers pounding on the glass, trying their hardest to get into the drugstore. Everyone slowly and quietly moved away from them in fear that they might fall down.

"Everybody down! Stay quiet!" Lilly yelled out in a whisper as everyone went down and hid behind shelves.

"They're gonna get in!" said the old man in true fear as he peeked above the shelf he was hiding behind.

"Shut up." Tess said, giving the man a pointed look.

After a few seconds, they heard distant and muffled automatic gunfire and even the sound of helicopters.

"Is that the military?" Lee asked.

"I don't know." said Lilly.

"Thank God for whatever it is." said Glenn with relief as the walkers stopped banging on the windows and most likely began walking towards the gunfire.

"We almost died because of this bitch and her itchy trigger finger! That was stupid! That was-" the old man started cursing out Carley. Before he could finish, though, he clenched his fist over his heart and fell to the ground.

"Dad!" Lilly shouted out as she ran over to him.

"What's wrong with him?!" asked Lee, alarmed.

"It's his heart!" said Lilly.

"My pills..." Lilly's dad barely croaked out.

"Nitroglycerin pills?" asked Officer Allen.

"Yes. We're out. We've been trying to get into the pharmacy since we got here! Please, try to get in there! Behind the counter, where the pills are!" Lilly revealed.

"There's probably another entrance. Maybe through the office." Lee said, pointing to the office door.

"How do you know that's an office?" asked Carley suspiciously.

Realising that he had almost given himself away, Lee shrugged and said. "Educated guess."

"It doesn't matter. We need nitroglycerin pills. Please get in there. I'll keep an eye on my dad." said Lilly.

"Everyone should get comfy and look for anything useful. We could be in here a while." said Officer Allen.

"I'm starting to think this drugstore isn't a permanent solution." said Glenn as he walked up to Lee.

Lee nodded and said. "You're right; it's not safe. What do you suggest?"

"We need as much gas as possible, so we can all get out of downtown Macon. Fast." said Glenn.

"Agreed."

"Then I'll head out and get gas. There's a motel not too far from here, out towards the end of Peachtree. I'll work my way towards it and then loop back, siphoning what I can." said Glenn.

"You're sure about going out alone?" asked Officer Allen.

Glenn shrugged and said. "Well, it's gotta get done. Plus, I'm quick and I know Macon."

"Local?" asked Lee.

"Born and raised." Glenn said with a smile.

Lee turned towards the daughter and father duo and asked. "And, you, what's your name?"

"It's Lilly. My dad's Larry." said Lilly.

"I'm Lee. Keep a good eye on him. We'll work on getting you your medicine as fast as we can." said Lee before turning towards the man standing near the window. "And you, keep an eye on that front door. You're our lookout."

"It's Doug, you got it."

"And I'm Carley."

"You'll shift in with Doug when he needs it, but for now, get some rest." said Lee.

Carley nodded her head and said. "You got it, boss."

Lilly didn't look too pleased that he was ordering her group around, but with her father down, she didn't exactly have the time to complain. Looking around, Lee could see that not much had changed, except for the barricaded windows. He could still remember his father chasing shoplifters out of the pharmacy with his cane in hand. His mom would play pranks every April Fool's Day or when the mood was down. He would give everything to see them again, but the longer he thought about it, the less hope he had. He knew his father was too stubborn to just leave his life's work behind; abandoning the drug store wasn't something his dad would even think about, so their absence made him worry.

Lee shook his head and decided to talk to Doug about the situation outside. Walking up to the man, he asked. "Heard or seen anything?"

Doug shook his head and said. "Nothing, luckily. Wanna step outside, have a look around?"

Lee chuckled and said. "Ha, I'm not suicidal yet."

"No, the gate out there is closed. We can hang out in front of the store and be fine." said Doug.

"Oh, huh." Lee said, thinking about the offer before saying. "Sure, let's go have a look around."

Doug looked excited before quietly regaining his composure. "Cool, and... we'll keep it down. Don't need to bring 'em back with any unnecessary noises."

"Agreed." said Lee with a nod.

The duo carefully opened the door and exited the drug store. Outside, it was already dark, but thankfully, the streetlights still worked. Looking around, they saw the walkers shambling everywhere and one big group of them feasting on a rotting corpse in the middle of the street.

"Jesus." said Lee, still not used to the sight.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." said Doug, with a hand over his mouth and nose to block out the stench.

"They just..." said Lee, lost for words.

"Eat. As far as I can tell, that's all they care about." said Doug with disgust.

"And if one gets you..."

"They eat you, and whatever is left comes back as one of them."

"How the fuck..."

"I think it might be more than a couple days before all this gets sorted out."

"Yeah, I think so too. We better keep it down out here." Lee said, as they both kneeled down to not make themselves stand out too much.

"How'd you end up here?" asked Lee.

"I moved here to live with my uncle. He does tech stuff, and it just made sense."

"So, you're local. You probably knew the owners of this place." Lee asked, hoping for good news.

Doug shook his head. "No, not really. I've only been here a couple months and I spend a lot of time..." 

"On the computer." Lee guessed, judging by the other man's appearance.

Doug frowned and said. "No. Just doing my own thing. What about you?"

Lee sighed and said. "I grew up here. Been trying to get home since the dead came back."

"Oh, so you probably knew the owners, then?" asked Doug.

"Yeah, I did. Good people." said Lee as he nodded his head before asking. "Any idea where the pharmacy keys might be?"

Doug shook his head and said. "We searched high and low inside before you guys got here. And they weren't on the old couple we took out of the office."

Lee hung his head and closed his eyes. The worst had come to fruition, and now, without a shadow of a doubt, he knew that his parents were dead. It was crushing to have made it this far only to find out it was all for nothing, but he had to keep his hopes up; he couldn't write off his brother.

"Are you okay?" asked Doug, bringing him back to the land of the living, but as he looked up and across the street, he saw his brother lying there under a wooden log.

Lee sighed, holding back tears, and said. "I'm fine. If the keys aren't in the drugstore, think they could be out here?"

Doug shrugged and said. "We now live in a world where "getting up and walking away" is an actual possibility, so..."

"Right."  Lee said before pointing towards his dead brother. "Look at the one trapped over there..."

"Better him than us, huh?" At that, Lee closed his eyes for a second in grief, which didn't go unnoticed by Doug, who asked. "What? Do you know that guy?"

"He could be a drugstore employee." said Lee.

"So, you're saying he might have the pharmacy keys?" asked Doug, turning to Lee.

"I'm saying he might have the pharmacy keys." Lee said, nodding his head.

"I don't know..." said Doug, taking a good look at the walker. "Could be anyone, you know? They start rotting and get all chewed up and-"

"Shut up, Doug." said Lee, not wanting to hear any more of that. "Look at the uniform, though. He could've worked at the drug store and died with the keys in his pocket."

"It would take a lot of effort to go out there and see if he has the keys." Doug argued. "If we can somehow prove that he worked here. I think it'd be worth it."

"I'll see what I can find..." Lee sighed before saying. "Let's head back inside."

Doug nodded his head and said. "OK." 

Walking back into the drug store, Lee looked around and finally decided to go and check the back office. Standing before the door, he saw a note duct-taped to it saying 'Alive Inside'. Entering the room, Lee found it in disarray, with trash, grime, and blood covering the floor, a bookstand barricading the back exit, and his father's desk with a wooden pallet propped up against it that was blocking their way towards the medicine. Moving further into the room, Lee saw a framed photo lying in the blood puddle next to the bedding.

"My parents came in here hoping to survive... but it looks like one of them was hurt. I wonder if it was my dad. Trying to be a hero, maybe. Or protect her, at least." Picking up the photo from the broken frame, Lee examined it before ripping the image of himself from it and throwing it to the ground.

He pocketed the photo of his family when suddenly someone spoke out from behind him. "Find anything?" 

It spooked him, and he nearly took out his revolver, but he recognised the voice as Carley's. Turning around, he was met with her standing there, looking at him in a way he couldn't quite describe, but it didn't look good.

"It's a photo of the family who owned this place. It might help us track down the keys to the office." Lee stated.

"I know who you are." Carley said bluntly.

Lee frowned at that; he really didn't fancy more people knowing who he was or what he did.

"You're Lee Everett. You're a professor at Athens who nearly killed a state senator who was sleeping with your wife. This is your parents' store. Folks around town know the owner's son got himself a life sentence, but I'm a reporter for WABE in Atlanta. I paid attention to that trial. Maybe you're a convicted criminal. But I don't really care. Frankly, that comes with a set of skills that might come in handy."

"Hmmph." Lee shook his head.

"Did you tell anyone out there who you were or that you were tied to this place?" asked Carley.

"No. I've been sticking to first names for a reason." Lee sighed and continued. "But the officer and Tess know."

"I see." Carley looked at the ground before saying. "You seem like an okay guy, and the last thing we need is drama out there... Look, don't make me wrong on this."

"I don't plan to." Lee said as he approached her.

"Good. Because if this lasts longer than a few days, and you're a detriment to the group, then we'd have a problem."

"I hear you."

"I'll just keep it to myself."

"Thanks." Lee said with a smile.

Carley looked away for a second before saying. "Don't worry about it." After which, she left the room.

Looking around one more time, Lee decided that before doing anything else, he should probably clear the way to the medicine stash. Walking up to the pallet, Lee grabbed it, but as he did so, something fell out. So, after propping the wooden pallet against the wall, he went to see what it was. Picking it up, Lee recognised it as his father's cane. He looked it over before setting it down against the wall. Moving up to the desk, he grabbed it and started dragging it away from the door. As he finished, Lee decided to check the drawers for anything useful but only found the remote for the TV standing on one of the bookshelves. He could remember all the times his father would sneak off and skip work to watch football or baseball. His mother would be furious and make him clean the toilets with a toothbrush as a punishment. Taking it, Lee didn't think it would be useful, but it had sentimental value, so he couldn't leave it.

Lee sighed as he exited the room. Looking around, he walked up to Mitch and his family.

Seeing him approach, Mitch turned to him and said. "Hey, Lee. You really gave that old man hell."

Lee crossed his arms and said. "Yeah. We got pushed, you know?"

Tess chuckled before saying. "Ha, you don't have to tell me; I was ready to tear that old man a new one."

"Anyway, we appreciate your support." said Mitch with a smile.

"How's Lizzy doing?" Lee asked, seeing the girl still a little spooked as she drew flowers on a piece of paper next to her brother.

Mitch looked at his daughter and said. "She's fine; it was just a shock."

"We're lucky as hell nobody got bitten on out there." said Tess.

"No kidding." said Lee.

"Hey, Lee, have you seen Terry anywhere?" asked Mitch.

Lee sighed and said. "He got cut off from us by walkers, and last time I saw him, he ran into a tool store."

Mitch looked down before saying. "Damn, I hope he's okay."

Lee nodded his head and said. "Me too."

As he finished his conversation, he was met with the officer walking his way. "Lee, Glenn's been gone for way too long, and I think we should send someone to check up on him."

Lee crossed his arms and asked. "And you think that I should be a part of that group?"

Officer Allen shrugged and said. "You're the only one that knows this town well enough not to get killed, so yeah."

What will Lee do?

A) Go to the motel. (If so pick who will go with him.)

B) Stay in the pharmacy.

 World Choice!

(Since cannon is so boring, I would like to spice things up. With World Choices, you can change things that happened before the story began. They won't be in every chapter and will take many forms, but I hope that they will make the story more interesting. But you can also decide to keep things as they were.)

Fate of Irene!

Pick a number between 1-10.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Allen- 9

He appreciated that you didn't let them kill Lizzy.

Mitch – 10

He appreciates that you stopped, Larry.

Tess – 10

She appreciates your loyalty.

Adam – 6

He's glad that you stood up for his sister.

Lizzy – 7

She's happy that you saved her from the angry man.

Larry  - 1

He knows something.

Carley - 6

She is happy that you trusted her.

Glenn - 7

He’s glad that you stood up to Larry. He left to go get more gas.

Doug - 6

He's glad nobody died.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

A Canteen

Box of Ammo

Tv Remote

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

15 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 60%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

9 Adults

2 Children

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[September 9; 14 days after the Global Outbreak]

"Hmmph! Fine. I'll take good care of it." said Lee.

"Alone?" asked Officer Allen.

Lee shook his head before speaking. "I think Doug's not great around walkers, and Mitch has his family here. I'll take Carley and her dead-eye down to the motor inn, get Glenn, and get back here as fast as I can."

"If that's what you want to do..." said the officer.

Lee shrugged and said. "Somebody's got to."

"Yeah, I'm in." Carley said as she approached him from behind.

"Good. Doesn't sound too bad there right now. You ready to head out?"

Carley nodded her head and said. "You got it. You?"

"Yeah." Lee said as he returned the gesture.

"Let's go. " Carley said as they started walking towards the back exit.

In less than an hour, they made it to the motel. Lee could see the old, worn-down, and dirty sign surrounded by neon lights with the words 'Travelier Motel' on the yellow arrow. There was a car abandoned in the middle of the road, and just as they were about to see the courtyard of the establishment, a walker stood up from behind a short brick wall.

"Oh shit! Get down!" said Lee as both he and Carley kneeled down behind the wall. He sighed as the walker turned around and started walking further into the motel. Peeking over the wall, Lee saw the state of the area: trash littered around, an RV parked in the middle, a car next to a truck and about five walkers dotted about the place.

"Did you see that?" said Carley as the lid of an icebox opened partly as something pounded on it from inside.

"Sure did." said Lee as they both stood up, with Carley pointing her gun at the box.

"Be ready to shoot." Lee said it so quietly that it was nearly a whisper.

Carley nodded her head, her gun at the ready, and as the lid opened inside, they saw Glenn, who smiled as he got out of the icebox. "Guys! Oh, man, I'm glad you're here."

Carley lowered her gun and shook her head. "Jesus, Glenn!"

Jumping over the wall, Glenn joined them as they all hid behind it.

"Alright, that wasn't so hard." said Lee.

"Can we get out of here before any of these things notice us?" said Carley impatiently, clearly wanting to get back inside the safety of the pharmacy walls.

"Not yet. There's a survivor trapped up there." said Glenn as they all looked at the second floor of the motel, where two walkers were banging on the wall.

But Carley wasn't having any of that and said. "No way. We gotta go, now."

"Listen. I was out here looking for gas. And then, up there in the corner room, I heard crying coming from inside." said Glenn.

"Who is it?" asked Lee.

"It's a girl. We talked, and she got frightened. I was trying to get in and help her, and she started yelling and saying I was bitten. I tried to convince her I wasn't, and that's when all these guys came out of the forest. A couple almost got me, and I ended up hiding in the ice machine." explained Glenn.

"Lucky you; now let's go!" Carley said, without a care.

"We can't just leave her." said Glenn.

"Damn right, we can't." said Lee.

Carley shook her head and said. "You guys are suicidal over a girl!"

"I'm saving her, with or without you." Glenn said, ending the argument.

Lee turned towards Carley and said. "Think about if it was you."

Carley shook her head again and said. "Fine. Let's go save Glenn's damsel in distress."

Turning towards the motel, they quietly ran through the gap between the walls.

Lee looked at them and said. "Okay, this is the plan. We don't know how hard it's gonna be to get her out of that room."

Glenn nodded his head and said. "Yeah, it's boarded up."

"So we have to kill every one of them in here." Lee said as Carley reloaded her gun, at which point he told her. "Quietly. Noise attracts these things. Now let's have a look around."

Peeking over the wall, Lee saw a walker eating out the guts of a corpse in the middle of the parking area. Looking around, he also saw a pillow, which gave him an idea. Moving around the wall, Lee grabbed it and went back to hiding behind it.

Seeing him do that, Carley said. "Good luck smothering them to death..."

Lee shook his head and said. "That's not really what I have in mind."

Seeing no way to kill that walker, Lee gesture for the others to follow him. Running toward the abandoned truck, Lee saw another walker laying on the ground leaning on the car's tire. But he still needed a quiet melee weapon to take them all out. Peeking into the truck for anything useful, Lee saw a screwdriver laying there in the front seat. Pulling the door handle, it didn't even budge.

Looking at the walker, Lee decided that they need to take care of it now. Turning to Carley he told her. "Get out your gun."

"But the noise..." Carley tried to say, but Lee cut her off.

"Just follow my lead; stay right behind me." Lee said, before standing up, pillow in hand and approached the walker.

As he got close to it, the monster awoken and started moaning at him, before he pinned it against the car with the pillow. With no hesitation, Carley pressed the barrel of the gun to the cushion and fire. The pillow muffled the sound of the gun and thankfully didn't gain the attention of the other walkers.

"That was sick!" said Glenn with a smile.

They could hear the sound of wailing for behind the door's on the second floor. Hiding behind the red car, Lee opened the door thanks to the shattered driver's window. Looking inside, he found what looked like a spark plug unlocking the gear shift, he quietly closed the door.

"It's, uh, a sparky thing." said Lee.

"Spark plug. You should hold onto that, could come in handy." said Glenn.

Seeing the walker banging on the wall in front of them, Lee stood up and started pushing the car, which rolled towards the building and pinned the walker to it. Running back to the truck, Lee tried to throw the spark plug at the window, but was stopped by Glenn.

"Wait!" said Glenn. "Let me see the spark plug. The porcelain inside these things turns car windows to tissue paper."

Lee gave the spark plug to Glenn, who put it on the ground before slamming his foot on it. Picking a small piece of the wrecked electrical device, he handed it to him. Standing up, Lee thrown the porcelain at the window with all of his strength. At the impact, the window shattered with ease and mode almost no sound. Without opening the door, Lee reached out and grabbed the screwdriver before showing it to the others.

"That could scramble a brain pretty good." said Glenn.

Lee smile before saying. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

Moving over to the middle wall, Lee checked to make sure the walker was still there. And sure enough, it was still gorging itself on the corpse. So, crouch walking toward it, Lee sneaked behind it and stabbed it on the top of its head, ending its feast and killing it for good. Walking to the front of the RV, he hid there before peeking to the side. Seeing one lone walker, he whistled at it and as it approached he readied himself. As it was close enough, he stood back up and stabbed it, sadly missing and impaling its chest, before trying again and killing it. Moving to the pinned walker, Lee stabbed it in the forehead, but the grip on his weapon slipped because of all the blood. As the walker died, it banged its head on the hood of the car, burying the screwdriver deep in its head.

Walking up to him was Glenn, who after looking around asked. "Dude, where'd your weapon go?"

"Into that ice-pick-sized hole." Lee said, pointing at the walker.

Glenn laughed before saying. "Holy shit. It's cool, now we've got this."

Looking towards where Glenn was pointing, Lee saw an axe hanging in a case with a shatter window on the wall.

"Are you two done?" Carley said, clearly sick of their antics.

Taking the axe, Lee said. "Two more."

"That should help." said Glenn.

"We'll try to have your back, but this gun's a liability." said Carley.

"Why don't you guys lag behind, just in case this goes to hell?" Lee said as he approached the stairs.

Carley nodded her head and said. "Okay. We'll be right behind you."

"Be careful dealing with the two upstairs." said Glenn.

Walking up the stairs, Lee saw that the upper floor of the motel was in a similar level of disrepair, with trash, wooden planks, and sheets dotted about the place. Moving towards the walkers, he saw that most of the rooms were partially barricaded. As he got close to them, one of the monsters turned to him, and he swung his axe and decapitated it. Hearing the body hit the floor, the other walker started approaching him, and with one more swing, he split its head in two, killing it instantly.

"Rad." said Glenn from behind him.

As they all walked up to the door, Lee knocked and said. "Hello in there? We're here to help."

"Are they gone?" loudly asked a female voice from behind the door.

"Yeah, they've been taken care of." said Lee. "If you open up, we can take you somewhere safer. We've got a group in town."

"Wait a second, I'll get the door opened." said the woman, and after a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a woman in her early 20s with teary eyes and a red nose.

"Are you okay?" asked Carley in a worried voice.

"I'll be fine. My boyfriend was bitten, and he turned into one of those things. I-I had to kill him." said the woman as she broke down into tears as she hugged Carley for comfort. The sharpshooter looked at Lee in surprise, not knowing what to do.

"You have a boyfriend?" Glenn said under his breath.

Hearing this, Lee gave him a look and shook his head in disappointment as all of the respect for his asian companion evaporated.

"It's okay; you did what you had to." said Lee.

"NO! It is not okay!" the woman yelled out. "I've committed a sin, the worst sin. I didn't want that. It's not Christian."

"Listen to me." said Lee. "He died from the bite; you didn't kill him. You spared him that pain of coming back and killing people."

The woman released Carley as she thought about his words before nodding her head in agreement. "I guess you're right. Doesn't make me feel any less guilty, though."

"Oh, sorry. I've forgot... My name's Irene." said the woman.

"I'm Lee, and that's Glenn and Carley." said Lee, introducing everyone.

"We should probably get out of here." said Glenn, pointing towards the woods that a couple of walkers seem to be walking out of.

"Shit!" Lee cursed their luck. "Glenn, where's your car?!"

"It's the one in the middle of the street." said Glenn.

"Let's get out of here." said Carley as they all ran down the stairs and followed Glenn.

"Here they come! Get in!" said Glenn as he jumped into the driver's seat and everyone else hopped into his car.

As they entered the main room of the pharmacy, Officer Allen immediately approached Lee and asked. "Everyone alright?"

Lee nodded his head and said. "Yeah. We had some close calls, but Glenn is fine."

"I've got a few cans of gas in the trunk of my car." said Glenn.

"Good to hear it. And who's that?" asked Officer Allen, gesturing towards Irene.

"I'm Irene."

"Nice to meet you, Irene." said the officer. "I'm Officer Allen."

"And things back here?" asked Carley.

"Quiet. Our "friend" is still in and out over there. He won't survive any more stress." said Mitch as he walked up to them. "The Officer and I went out and found a truck we can use."

"Will it be enough for all of us?" asked Lee.

"Yeah, it should be. It's a blue four-seater truck; we found it abandoned in the middle of the street. All it needs is gas, and we're good to go." explained Mitch.

"The next order of business is getting those pills out of the pharmacy." said Lee.

"Yeah, we should hurry up. I don't like being here, surrounded by all these walkers." Mitch nodded his head as he said that before walking back to his family.

Looking around the drug store, Lee thought about his next course of action.

What will Lee do before looking for a way into the pharmacy?

A) Talk with Lilly and Larry

B) Talk with Glenn

C) Talk with the Officer

D) Talk with Irene

E) Help Carley with the radio

F) Search shelves for supplies 

G) Just look for a way into the pharmacy

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Allen- 10

He appreciated that you went out to look for Glenn.

Carley - 7

Although she is annoyed about your desicion, she is still happy that you help Irene.

Glenn - 8

He’s glad that you took his side and saved Irene.

Irene - 6

She's happy that you saved her.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

A Canteen

Box of Ammo

Tv Remote

Axe

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

20 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 70%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

10 Adults

2 Children

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[September 9; 14 days after the Global Outbreak]

Looking around the pharmacy, Lee decided to search for supplies one more time before trying to get into the room with the medicine. Making his way to the nearest shelf, he saw a box with the words 'Food Bank' scribbled with a black marker on the side.

Looking inside, he saw it was empty, and with a small sigh, he said to himself. "Looks like nobody got a chance to donate anything before this all went down."

Looking at the ATM that stood next to the bathroom door, he could see it was still in good condition. Which meant that the pharmacy was never actually looted, which gave him confidence in finding something good. Giving the ATM a once over, he found a chocolate bar lying on the ground next to it. Picking it up, he stashed it into his backpack for later. Searching the shelves, he didn't find anything useful until he stumbled on the 'Dental Needs' section, and he thought about it. It had already been a couple of days since he last brushed his teeth, and as he smelled his breath, he almost reeled back in disgust.

"Damn." he whispered under his breath.

Looking at what was left, he took two bottles of mouthwash, three toothbrushes, and six tubes of toothpaste, all of which he stuffed into his backpack. As Lee stood up, he saw another chocolate bar on the shelf in the 'Shaving Needs' section. Picking it up, he pocketed it. Taking a look at the glass-windowed fridge, he saw nothing besides alcoholic drinks left at the bottom. He really didn't think it would be a good idea to drink beer in their situation. Walking up to the closed shutters, Lee knew that the pills they needed were there, but as he took a better look, he saw a small red light blinking next to the door. That could mean one of two things: either his father finally relented and bought an alarm system, or either his mom or brother bought and installed it behind his back. But the how didn't matter right now; they needed to do something about it or the dinner bell will ring when they open that door.

"Hey Lee. Did you find anything useful?" asked the officer as he walked up to him.

"I found some supplies, but when I took a better look at the doors to the pharmacy, I noticed an alarm attached to it." Lee said as he noticed Lilly walking up to them. "If we open it, we'll be swarmed by walkers in no time."

"Damn it." said Lilly, clearly getting more stressed by the situation. "What do we do now? Do any of you even know where the junction box is? Or do we have to get ready to run?"

"It should be up on the wall near the exit of the back alley." said Glenn as everyone turned towards him. "I saw it when we got back."

"There are a lot of walkers out and about, so it will be dangerous." said Officer Allen.

"And since we don't want to gain the attention of the walkers, I think I should be the one to go." said Lee, holding the axe for everyone to see.

"You sure, man, I could stand in the doorway and be a lookout?" said Glenn.

"You know what, that actually might not be a bad idea." Carley chimed in. "If something goes wrong, Glenn can hold the door open for you."

Lee nodded his head and said. "Yeah, I like that. But I should get the key before doing that."

"You know where they are?" asked Lilly, surprised.

"Yeah. I saw a walker that looked like he worked here out on the street." said Lee as he showed them his family's picture before pointing to his brother. "That's the guy I saw out here. He's most likely to have the keys."

"And how are you going to get to him?" asked Lilly, crossing her arms.

"Leave that to me and Doug." said Lee.

Lilly nodded before going back and making sure her father's condition doesn't worsen.

"Tell me when you're ready to go out there." said Glenn as the group started dispersing and everyone went to do their own thing. Looking around, Lee saw Doug in the same spot as before, looking out onto the street.

Lee walked up to him and asked. "How are things out there?"

"Good for now. You need anything?" asked Doug.

"I found this in the office." Lee said as he took out the photo and showed it to him. "That boy in the photo worked here. The keys being on him is as good a bet as we can make."

"Yeah, that's him. Wanna go out and check things out?" asked Doug.

Lee nodded and said. "Let's have a look around."

As they exited the pharmacy, Doug quietly said. "We just need to figure out how to get out there and get them. You wouldn't need long, right?"

Lee shook his head and said. "Nah, just a few seconds."

"Maybe there's a way to distract them and buy you some time." Doug pondered.

Lee thought about it and saw a display window full of TVs. Opening his backpack, he took out his father's remote and showed it to Doug. "Think you can do anything with this?"

"You know what I could do..."

"What's that?" Lee asked as he handed the remote to Doug.

The other man stood up and fiddled with the buttons before saying. "It's universal. I could program it to work with those TVs across the street. Let's just hope the power is still on."

"You can just do that?" Lee asked, bewildered at Doug's knowledge.

"I memorized all the codes when I was in AV. Let's try." said Doug as he pointed the remote at the TVs in the distance. And miraculously, they turned on, blasting static noise in the air and shining white and black lights.

"Well fucking done, Doug. All that dork nonsense might save a life." said Lee with pride as he took the remote back and pocketed it.

"Who's to say it already hasn't?" said Doug as a few of the walkers in the street started flocking to the static of the TVs. "That got a few of them to take notice..."

"But not enough." said Lee as a couple of walkers started walking away from the storefront. Standing up, Lee put his axe against the lock holding the gates closed and asked. "Doug, you wanna get this door open?"

"Go for it." said Doug as Lee swung his axe at the padlock, breaking it open and making it fall off the gate. "Awesome! Now to distract those things... carefully."

Lee opens the gate a little bit more and picks up a brick lying on the ground next to them. Peeking out the gate, he gauges the distance before throwing the red brick at the storefront with all the TVs behind it. The sound of breaking glass and the now louder sound of static noise draw the attention of all the walkers in the vicinity as they make their way towards the unknown sounds.

Seeing all the walkers busy, Lee decided it was now or never. "Now's the time."

Doug looked at him and said. "Be careful."

"Keep an eye out, will ya?" asked Lee, as he walked out, the other man nodded.

Walking across the street, Lee could finally take a good look at his brother, and for a moment, he wished he didn't. The empty, milky-white eyes were both a haunting and unpleasant sight to behold. Half of his brother's face was covered in blood, and he had multiple bite marks all over his body.

Standing over his infected brother, the walker growled and clawed at him as Lee spoke his peace. "Hey, bud. I don't know what happened to Mom and Dad. But I know if you were there, you would've died for them, so... uh... yeah. I'm going to assume that's what happened."

"Did you find them yet?!" asked a worried Doug.

Lee turned to him and, with an irritated voice, said. "Give me a second."

Lee sighed before saying. "I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry I wasn't here. But knowing you were... to take care of them, through all of it. That helped."

He raised his axe with great difficulty, not because it was heavy but because the thought of attacking his brother was a painful one. So to get it over quickly, Lee swung his weapon and hit its neck, but the walker seemed to stop moving, so Lee tried to look for the keys, but it suddenly resumed growling and clawing at him.

Lee jumps back a foot or two, yelling out. "Fuck!"

Rising the axe again, swings it towards the walker's head, and kills it for good.

"Ugh... God." said Lee as he looked for the key. "There we go."

Lee waves the keys above his head to show Doug, who looks at him before turning to the walkers and yelling out. "Holy crap! Run!"

Turning to his right, Lee watched as the walkers lost interest in the TVs and started making their way towards him. Seeing this, his face pales a little before he makes a run for it. Running past Doug, the other man shuts the gate close behind them as both of them jump inside the pharmacy and hide behind the safety of the walls.

"Man, that was close." said Doug as he held the doors closed with his body.

"But we did it, that's all that matters."  said Lee, still recovering from having to put down his brother. "We've got the keys. Now to turn off the power."

"Why do we have to do that?" asked Doug.

"The door to the pharmacy has an alarm on it." explains Lee.

"Oh shit!" exclaims Doug.

"Yeah." Lee nodded his head before walking away as Doug went back to looking out.

As Lee approached Glenn, the Asian turned towards him and asked. "You ready to go there?"

"Yeah, let's go." said Lee as they both walked into the office.

Opening the backdoor, Lee saw the dingy, barely lit alley; one of the lights seemed to be malfunctioning as it was sporadically flickering. Trash littered the place, with garbage cans knocked over and bags full of filth on the ground. 

“Be safe.” said Glenn as he held the door open and checked both sides of the alley.

Walking out into the alley, Lee didn't see any walkers, and without wasting any time, he quietly made his way towards the junction box. Looking out onto the street, he could see a lot of walkers stumbling about the place, and for the first time in a while, he smelled it. They stank of rotting flesh and shit; he had to nearly vomited at that smell; it was despicable and unnatural. Moving toward the end of the wall, Lee stood before the box and readied himself to cut it. Swinging his axe at the cables, Lee chopped all of the ones connected to the box. Having done that, he checked the street to see if any of the walkers got attracted to the noise, but only saw one of them make its way to him. Slowly walking backwards, he guided the monster deeper into the alley, and as it got into his weapon range, he swung at its head. With one clean cut, the walker's head split in half and dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

Walking into the office, he saw that the lights inside were off, meaning it worked, and inside he saw Lilly, Glenn and the officer waiting for him.

Lilly was standing there impatiently before she asked. "The power's off; can we finally get inside?"

"Yeah." said Lee as he took out the keys and opened the door to the medicine. "Get everything that you need fast; we need to get out of here."

"I'll go and help her; my wife had similar heart problems before her death." said the officer as he joined Lilly in gathering the right medicine for her father.

"Hey, what the hell happened to the lights?" asked Tess as she and her family entered the office.

"We had to cut the power cause there was an alarm connected to the door." explained Lee. "We're gonna be leaving soon."

"Well then, I'm gonna get the truck pulled up 'round back!" said Mitch as he walked towards the back door with his rifle in hand. "Glenn, when you hear me honking in the alley, start getting people outta here."

"You got it." said Glenn as Mitch exited the building.

"Me, Carley, and Doug will make sure nothing walks through the main entrance." said Lee as he moved to the door. "Tess, you make sure the kids are safe."

The mother nodded her head and said. "Of course."

Moving into the main room, Lee saw Doug and Carley looking through the cracks between the wooden planks, making sure no walkers were trying to make their way inside.

He saw Larry to his right lying on the ground, but the man apparently didn't appreciate being stared at, and with venom in his voice, he said. "What the fuck are you looking at?!"

"Nothing, just making sure you're still alive." responded Lee.

"Ha, I'll outlive you without breaking a sweat." said Larry.

"Hmmph." With that, Lee walked away from the man and joined the other two in guarding the pharmacy. It only took a couple of minutes before Lilly walked into the room and gave her father the pills he desperately needed. In no time, the old man was up and about, which was good since they heard the sound of honking coming from behind them, and the father daughter duo entered the office. Lee gestured toward Doug and Carley to go as he made sure nothing followed them, and as he walked into the office, he saw it abandoned. Looking around, he saw his father's cane. Picking it up, he hooked it up to his backpack and quickly made his way to the exit.

Then the door suddenly opened, and an enraged Larry yelled at him before punching him straight in the face. "You're not coming with us, you son of a bitch!"

Lee's vision blurred as he fell to the ground, and he saw a walker moving inside through the backdoor towards him. And just as he thought he was as good as dead, the monster's head exploded as Mitch shot it from behind.

"I'm not letting anyone get eaten today." said Mitch as he held out his hand to him. Taking it, Lee stood up. "Especially a good friend."

Jumping into the truck, Lee looked back at the pharmacy as they rode off toward the motel. Alongside him were Mitch and his family, the officer, and inside Glenn's car were Carley, Doug, Irene, Lilly, and her father. Looking back, Lee suddenly started hearing the sound of gunfire, and when he looked up into the sky, he managed to spot a helicopter flying in the air, shining light into the streets below.

Then he heard someone who sounded as if they were speaking through a megaphone. "Attention all civilians. Do not leave your houses. Stay inside at all times and do not make contact with people who you suspect are infected. The situation is under control- AAAAAAH."

The massage ended with the person screaming their lungs out, and at the same time, the helicopter started to violently fly in circles before crashing into the pharmacy.

"Damn!" said Mitch.

The rest of the ride was silent as they made their way to the motel. They made it there with no casualties and made themselves at home. Lee could see Lilly cleaning up corpses, but what really was on his mind was what he was going to do next. Nothing was really holding him here, so all that was left was picking his next destination.

Where will Lee go?

A) Stay at the motel.

B) Go to Woodbury with Mitch and his family.

C) Go on your own.

If Lee decideds to go on his own where will he go?

A) Atlanta

B) Savanna

C) Augusta

D) Custom Choice

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Allen- 11

He appreciated your vigilance.

Glenn - 9

Was happy to help you.

Lilly - 5

She's happy that you helped save her father.

Larry - -5

He realized something.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

A Canteen

Box of Ammo

Tv Remote

Family Photo

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

22 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 80%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

10 Adults

2 Children

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Chapter Text

[September 9; 14 days after the Global Outbreak]

Looking over the group, he could see that Lilly had thrown the last walkers into a pile, while Mitch and Tess were packing their supplies for the road. From what he heard of them talking, they were still as determined to make it to Woodbury and find Tess's brother. Lee turned away from them and took out the family photo. Looking at it, he felt that he couldn't just leave, at least not yet. Suddenly he started hearing gunshots in the distance from the direction of Macon, but sadly, he could also make out screams alongside the gunfire. Then, as fast as the noise came, silence fell, and Lee found himself standing in the middle of the road, looking out into the darkness.

Walking back towards the motel, he pocketed the photo and approached Glenn, who was listening to the radio. He could also see Irene sitting in the passenger seat in front.

"Meanwhile, inland, Atlanta has been downgraded temporarily to an eight, with attacks and rioting being reported in all precincts. Citizens are currently advised to stay in their homes or move towards the cities of Charlotte, Atlanta, and Orlando. If citizens choose to stay in their homes, they are urged to be near their radios and await further instructions. Moving in the cities of Charlotte, Atlanta, or Orlando may become necessary in order to ensure the safety of all citizens." said the man on the radio, which was wired, that they would want people to move into Atlanta after it was bombed, but maybe in all the chaos they simply didn't know about it.

"Hey, Glenn." said Lee as he walked up to the asian.

As he stood in front of Glenn, the young man held up his hand for Lee to be quiet, as he was still listening to the radio. "With uncountable severe emergencies in all counties, Georgia cities and their current level of disaster are as follows: Atlanta, stage nine catastrophe..."

"I think I need to go." said Glenn.

"To Atlanta?" asked Lee.

"Yeah... I got friends there, and I just can't stay here, knowing that they could be trapped in that city." Glenn said as Lee saw Lilly approaching them from behind.

"It sounds like nobody knows what's happening there. When we left a few days ago, it didn't seem good either way you looked at it." said Lee, hoping to discourage him.

"I gotta take my chances." said Glenn, not looking him in the eyes.

Lee saw that Lilly was about to get involved and gestured for her not to as the man on the radio continued to speak. "Augusta, stage eight disaster; Columbus, stage six infection zone; Savannah, stage nine catastrophe; Athens, stage eight disaster; Sandy Springs, stage seven outbreak; Macon, stage nine catastrophe; Roswell, stage nine catastrophe; Albany, stage nine catastrophe. Once again, Savannah is now a stage nine catastrophe."

Lilly didn't look pleased as she walked away.

Lee turned back towards Glenn and said with sincerity. "Find your friends and be safe."

Glenn smiled as he said. "Thanks, Lee; that means a lot. I don't mean to abandon you all, but this seems like an okay setup, and I'm sure things will be back to normal around here in no time."

Lee nodded his head and said. "Let's hope."

"You guys be safe." said Glenn as he entered his car.

"We'll try." said Lee as he saw Glenn close the car door, and the duo rode off towards Atlanta. He didn't know this, but it would be a long time before he would ever see either Glenn or Irene again, in this or the next world; nobody knows.

Looking around, he saw that Mitch and his family were sitting in the truck, ready to go off into the unknown. So he walked up to the vehicle and knocked on the driver's window.

Mitch opened the window with a smile as he spoke. "Hey, Lee. Close call back there."

"Thanks for picking me up." said Lee as they shook hands.

"No problem." said Mitch.

"So you're still going to Woodbury?" asked Lee.

"Yeah, that's still the plan; what you wanna join up?" asked Tess.

"Nah, I'm gonna stay here and see how things play out." said Lee. "Too many memories in Macon for me to leave."

"I know the feeling." said Mitch as he nodded his head. "Well, stay safe."

"You too." said Lee, before remembering something as he took out the revolver and handed it to Mitch. "Right, this is yours."

"Nah, keep it. You more than earned it." said Mitch as he fired up the engine and just before riding off, told him. "Till next time."

As the family of four left, Lee could see that their group was getting smaller and smaller by the minute, but he doubted that anyone else would be leaving. Those two vehicles were the only ones working, and going anywhere on foot would be suicide. Walking up to Doug and Carley, he could see that both of them were looking through their supplies as Doug was making a ledger of what they had.

Standing next to the pair, Lee spoke up. "How are you doing, Carley, Doug?"

"We're fine. You know, considering." said Carley as she didn't look up from her work. Doug only nodded his head, so he let them be, not wanting to interrupt their work. Lee saw the officer standing with his back laying against the back of the broken RV.

"Lee, do you have a moment?" asked Officer Allen.

"Yeah, sure." said Lee as he nodded his head.

"Look, I don't know who you were before all of this, and I'll try not to make any assumptions." said the officer with his hands crossed. "I don't like what you did on that overpass, but you have shown me that you value human life, and your actions were always for the betterment of the group. I just hope you won't kill everyone who opposes you."

"I'm not a killer; I didn't enjoy any of that." said Lee forcefully, trying to get his point across.

"I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt, Lee." said the Officer sternly. "Just don't make me regret that."

With that, the Officer walked off towards Doug and Carley and started helping them with the supplies.

As Lee was about to walk off, he heard Larry call out to him. "Lee, come here for a second."

"What do you want?" asked Lee, standing before the massive man.

"You like my daughter?" asked Larry with a poker face.

"Yeah, she's great." said Lee, not all that truthfully, as he only wanted to piss off the man who nearly killed him.

Larry sneered at him and, with an angry voice, said. "Well, stay the fuck away from her."

"Or what?" Lee challenged him.

"Or, uh, everyone will know that you, Lee Everett, are a criminal." said Larry with a smirk. "And you were before; it was something you had to do to stay alive."

Lee didn't let it be seen, but he was starting to get tired of everyone knowing his secret. But that's what he gets by attacking a senator; the news must have really blown it out of proportion.

As Larry took a step forward towards him, he continued his speech. "I know who you are. And I don't give a shit about what happens to you. But if anything happens to my daughter, you better watch your ass."

With that thinly veiled threat over, Larry walked past him, hitting him with his shoulder as he did so. Lee looked back at him and knew that there would be no easy way to get the man to even be civil with him, and there was no way he would ever trust him.

"Hey, Lee, do you have a second?" Lilly said as he walked up to him from his left. Looking behind him towards Larry, he could see the man frown. "My dad would be dead if it weren't for you."

Lee shrugged as he spoke. "I only did what needed to be done."

"We're lucky to have you." she said with a smile, and as she finished that sentence, they all heard gunfire and small explosions.

They all walked over to the road, looking towards the sounds of fighting.

The officer was the first to speak up. "I hope that's the sound of us winning this thing."

"Me too." said Lilly.

"This motor inn's pretty damn defendable." said Lee. "We block off the entrances with some cars and keep someone on watch, we could stay here until this whole thing ends."

Lilly nodded her head as she said. "I actually agree with that plan."

"We've got beds, we've got water, and most importantly, we've got light. There are worse places to call home." Listed off the officer as things finally look good for them.

"Yeah. You're right. You know, guys, I think it's going to be okay." said Lilly, and not even a minute after that, they all heard the sound of light poles shutting down, and even worse than that, all the lights turned off, leaving them with only the light of the moon hidden behind clouds.

"Shit." Cursed Lee under his breath, because of course the world had it out for them.

Chapter 3: A Stranger

Who will Lee talk to?

A) Tess (CHOSEN) - She tells Lee that she knows about his crime.

B) Mitch - Lee learns more about the outbreak.

C) The kids - Lee learns more about Woodbury.

D) Nobody - Lee loses points with Tess and the Officer, but gets more opportunities to separate from the group in the future.

Chapter 4: She Knows

A) Turn back to Atlanta - Lee and the group would have to endure more challenges, but would have the opportunity to join up with Rick’s group.

B) Floor it and hope they won’t shoot - Everyone makes it out alright, but the tires get shot out and they have to leave the RV behind. In the future this would mean the death of Officer Allen, but it would give them an opportunity to save Lee’s family. They also have a chance to meet Clem and Sandra.

C) Try to ambush them (CHOSEN)- Lee shows that he can make difficult decisions to the group. And get a knife and a pack of smokes.

D) Try to reason with them - Same as C), but the Officer dies and the RVs tires and engine get shot at.

Chapter 5: The Danger of the Living

A) Shoot the driver. (CHOSEN)- Lee isn’t that good of a shot, so he misses. But now we can’t be sure if his actions that day will come to bite him in the future.

B) Shoot the tire. - The car spirals and the goon crashes into the traffic barrier. Lee will investigate and find that the man is dead. He would find in the back seat a woman tied up. Jenny would join the group.

C) Let them go. - Same as A), but Tess would think less of you.

Chapter 6: Memories of The Past

What did Lee do?

A)He shot him - The Officer's points would go down and more people would have heard of Lee and his crime.

B)He beat him to near death (CHOSEN)- Points with the officer go up since Lee didn’t kill anyone. Sam (The Senator and Lee’s ex-best friend) is still alive.

C)He beat him to death - The Officer's points would go way down and even more people would have heard of Lee and his crime.

Chapter 7: Keep Your Head Down

What will Lee do?

A) Leave the room alone - Lee, frustrated with not finding any substantial supplies, tires again and finds a lockpicking set. Later he opens the shed and finds a lot of canned food.

B) Search the room (CHOSEN)- Lee kills the walker and finds medicine.

Chapter 8: Sunset Protocol

What will Lee do?

A) Use the highway anyway. - The group meets Kenny and his family, they arrive in Macon sooner and if in chapter 4 option B) was chosen than Lee’s family would still be alive. Chet would die in Jackson and Shawn would die at the farm. 

B) Use a rural road. (CHOSEN)- The group meets Shawn and Chet. They make their way to Hershels.

C) Go to Woodbury - Lee travels to Woodbury with the group. Upon arriving there, he takes one of the working cars and takes off to Macon on his own. On his way back to Macon, he would have a chance to meet Clem and Sandra. Chet would die in Jackson and Shawn would die at the farm. 

D) Go alone to Macon - Lee takes one of the pickup trucks and makes his way alone to Macon. The rest would be the same as in B). 

Chapter 9 : All Out of Gas

What will Lee do? 

A) Go help with Terry - Lee saves both Chet and Shawn, but Terry dies by the spriter walker. Shawn gives the group a place to stay for the night.

B) Go help on his own (CHOSEN)- Lee saves both Chet and Shawn, who in turn give the group a place to stay for the night.

C) Go back to the RV - Terry goes on his own to save the two, but dies. Chet would die in Jackson and Shawn would die at the farm. The group never meets them and has to find their own place to stay for the night.

Chapter 10: Greenfields

What will Lee do? 

A) Go help Shawn (CHOSEN)- Thanks to the warning, Lee gave him, Shawn manages to hold the walker back from killing him. Any other choice would result in him being bitten and later turning into a walker. Lee breaks his knife in the fight.

B) Talk with Officer Allen - Lee learns more about the officer.

C) Talk with Mitch - Lee learns more about the outbreak.

D)Talk with Terry - Lee learns more about the man, which would make his points go up, and he would not get separated in Macon.

Chapter 11: Macon the City of Ghosts

What should Lee do: 

A) "Kick his ass." [Support Tess] - Tess punches Larry sending him a couple of steps back.

B) "No, don't touch her!" [Support Tess] (CHOSEN) - Lee yells at Larry and makes him back off.

C) "I'm sorry, Tess." [Support the old man] - Loses a lot of points with Tess and her family.

D) Say nothing - Loses some points with both Larry and Tess.

Chapter 12: Locked Inside

What will Lee do? 

A) Go to the motel. (If so pick who will go with him.) (CHOSEN)- Lee and Carley go and save both Irene and Glenn.

B) Stay in the pharmacy. - Glenn gets bitten and both he and Irene die.

Fate of Irene!

Pick a number between 1-10.

1-5 - Irene was bitten.

6-10 (CHOSEN)- Irene wasn’t bitten.

Chapter 13: Dead Motel

What will Lee do before looking for a way into the pharmacy? 

A) Talk with Lilly and Larry - Lee learns more about them and while talking to them see the alarm, saving the lives of Carley or Doug.

B) Talk with Glenn - Lee learns more about Glenn and gets the opportunity to join him at the end of the episode.

C) Talk with the Officer - Lee learns more about the officer.

D) Talk with Irene - Lee learns more about her.

E) Help Carley with the radio - Lee gets more points with Carley.

F) Search shelves for supplies (CHOSEN)- While searching for supplies, he sees the alarm and goes to shut the power off, saving the lives of Carley or Doug.

G) Just look for a way into the pharmacy - Lee doesn’t see the alarm and has to choose between Carley and Doug.

Chapter 14: Escaping The Dead City

Where will Lee go? 

A) Stay at the motel. (CHOSEN) - Lee stays with the pharmacy group.

B) Go to Woodbury with Mitch and his family. - Lee goes with Mitch and his family towards Woodbury.

C) Go on your own. - Lee goes out on his own in seach of a new home.

If Lee decides to go on his own, where will he go? 

A) Atlanta - Gets an opportunity to meet Rick’s group.

B) Savanna - Gets an opportunity to meet Molly and not yet fallen Crawford.

C) Augusta - Gets an opportunity to meet Charles earlier.

D) Custom Choice

Character status:

Officer Allen- 11 (Alive)

Mitch – 10 (Alive/Unknown) 

Tess – 10 (Alive/Unknown) 

Adam – 6 (Alive/Unknown) 

Lizzy – 7 (Alive/Unknown) 

Terry - 9 (Unknown) 

Hershel - 7 (Alive/Unknown)

Shawn - 7 (Alive/Unknown)

Chet - 6 (Alive/Unknown)

Maggie - 8 (Alive/Unknown)

Lilly - 5 (Alive)

Larry  - -5 (Alive)

Carley - 7 (Alive)

Doug - 6 (Alive)

Glenn - 9 (Alive/Unknown)

Irene - 6 (Alive/Unknown)

Irene's boyfriend - ? (Dead)

Jenny - ? (Unknown)

Ben Everett - ? (Dead) 

Mr. Everett - ? (Undead / Dead)

Ms. Everett - ? (Undead / Dead)

Encountered Walker Varinets:

-Runner

-Climber

-Juggernaut

-Lurkers

Chapter Text

Vince Rhee, that was his name. People, when describing him, usually said that he was a sensible person with good intentions but could be cold and brutal when someone threatened his family. And for a good reason, when he was 12 years old, his mother died giving birth to his younger brother, and their father passed away in a car accident only two years after that. They had to stay with their grandmother, who wasn't the most loving person—not that she did anything wrong, but she simply didn't care much about them other than the basics like feeding them and buying them clothes, etc. She died a couple of years after they moved away from her; from what he heard, she passed away in her sleep. So he felt very justified in doing what he had to do to keep his brother safe and alive. Sadly, since his brother moved out of their shared apartment to live on his own, Vince heard from some of his brother's friends that Glenn had borrowed some money from some very shady people. They were worried about his brother because he showed up at work with some pretty big bruises. Vince knew that his brother wouldn't like for him to get involved; Glenn wanted to be an independent man and make something of himself. Now, saying that, he couldn't just allow some thugs to beat up the only family he has left and not suffer any consequences. He knew it was some local loan shark who most likely hired goons to beat up Glenn, and he was right as he found where the fucker lived. But before doing anything drastic, he confronted the man out in public and told him to back off from his brother, but the fuck simply denied having anything to do with what happened.

Getting inside the apartment wasn't all that hard, but as he got inside, he found the place empty. The prick must be out somewhere in the city, so he decided to simply close that front door and wait for him.

It was already midnight according to his watch, and as the loan shark walked into his house and closed the front door shut, Vince got ready. He hid next to the entrance to the living room and sucker punched him in the face, sending the 40 year old looking man to the ground.

Standing over the scumbag, Vince pointed his gun at him as the men began begging for his life. "Damn it, I told you! I already told you it wasn't me, man! Man, come on, I told you like...like twenty times... I don't even... I don't even KNOW your brother!"

He really didn't want to listen to him, but he felt he needed to give the man his last words, even if they were pathetic. But as the man continued, Vince got more and more angry at the audacity of this dumb trash of a person. And before he could even notice, he pulled the trigger and shot him almost point-blank in the forehead.

Taking a breath, he knew that someone must have heard the gunfire because this night in downtown Macon was almost scarily silent. So, after making sure he didn't leave anything behind, he silently fled the scene of the crime. Running past the drug store, he made his way to an alleyway as he heard police sirens in the distance. 

“Oh, fuck!” cursed out Vince, not liking the situation he was in.

Standing there at the entrance to the back street, Vince realized that he had to get rid of his gun if he was not to get caught by the cops. Looking around, he saw a couple of places he could throw the weapon away, but he didn't have a lot of time to think about that, so he simply threw that gun into a trashcan.

Running down the alley, he thought he would get away with what he had done.

[2 days in.]

Sadly, luck was not on his side, and now he is sitting on a prison bus and will spend the next couple of years in prison. The only happy thing about it was that his brother would be safe for the most part; he made sure that he would get access to his stash of money. Looking out the window, he saw a police cruiser riding off on the other side of the highway, going the wrong way, which confused him. There must be something important to take the faster way, as they were stuck in pretty bad traffic.

He was sitting inside a prison bus; there were five of them locked up here with a prison guard and the bus driver to keep them in check. Not that they could do much; their feet were shackled together and to the floor of the bus. The man in front of him, whose name he learned was Danny, pulled on the chain, making his and Justin's legs move.

"Come on, man." Justin said he was sick and tired of Danny's antics.

"...be advised, we have a 10-5 DUI reported--" said a radio operator for all of them to hear.

"Can't listen to this crap anymore." said the bus driver as he turned off the radio.

The prison guard shook his head in frustration before saying. "Two hours. Think it'll clear up soon?"

The bus driver sighed before speaking. "What am I, the traffic man? Supposed to have been at the pen an hour ago. I'm gonna get written up for this."

"Relax; it's not your fault." said the prison guard.

Vince looked at the chain with hate and said. "Tied down to a bus full of assholes."

"Come on, we know you love us, Vince." Danny said it louder than necessary before pulling the chain one more time.

"What the hell, man?" yelled out Justin.

"What?" asked Danny as he faked ignorance.

"You know--" started Justin, but was cut off as Danny pulled on the chain a third time.

"Cut it out." said Justin in vain, as Vince knew Danny wouldn't stop.

Vince shook his head, annoyed by both of them. "Jesus, you guys."

"You gonna make me?" Danny asked Justin in a tough guy voice.

"Yeah." said Justin, knowing he would win in a fight.

"Hey, Vince, Justin's gonna make me." said Danny to him, but he tried to ignore them.

Justin shook his head and said. "It's too hot for this shit."

"Vince, I'm making him hot now." Danny said, trying to get him to join whatever the two of them were doing.

"Yeah, Danny. You're makin' me hot." Justin said it sarcastically.

Danny chuckled and said. "Ha, I knew it! I got that Latin heat you can't resist. C'mere, boy."

"You guys ever gonna quit?" asked an annoyed Vince.

"How else we gonna pass the time?" asked Danny, and Vince had no rebuttal, as even he was bored of sitting in the bus.

Two other prisoners sitting on the opposite row of seats farther ahead were silent until one of them spoke up just now.

"Hey man, how about you open a fucking window!" said the man furthest from them.

"Its a prison bus, asshole. The windows don't open." said the man behind him.

The man in front shook his head and continued to complain. "Shit ain't like that. This ain't right."

"Shut up back there!" said the prison guard.

"Hey, Justin, see that guy in the beat-up truck?" said Danny as he moved over to the window, looking at some poor guy stuck in traffic with them. "I bet he lives in that truck now. You probably got his whole house. Life savings. Shit, I bet you stole his dog. You steal his dog, man?"

Justin looked out the window before turning towards Danny and, with a shake of his head, said. "I wasn't stealing from guys like that. Anyway, better than stealing his virginity."

Danny turned away from them, most likely in shame, and said. "Hey, how many times I gotta tell you?"

"Here we go." said Justin, having already heard the story more than once. Even Vince was tired of the man's insistence on being innocent.

"Seriously! I was falsely accused!" said Danny, clearly thinking he was in the right.

"How old was she? Fifteen?" asked Justin mockingly.

Danny shook his head and quickly said. "Damn it, it ain't like that."

Justin chuckled and said. "You're tellin' me there wasn't a star witness waiting around in your white van? I'm shocked."

"We're all in the same boat here. What's the point of arguing?" said Vince, looking between the men with the hope that their endless bickering would finally end.

"The point is, I'm not like that." said Danny as he ended the argument.

"My lawyer's gonna be hearing about this. He's gonna have your motherfucking jobs when he hears about this." said the man in front.

"You're on my last fucking nerve, man. I swear, if you don't quit running your goddamn mouth..." said the guy behind him as they continued their not-so-friendly conversation. Now that Vince had a better look at him, the guy was a wall of muscles.

"Tell you what, guys, and I ain't afraid to say it." said Danny as he turned back towards them. "I'm REALLY missin' my girlfriend right now."

"I'm guessin' she's pretty pissed at you." said Justin.

"It's worse than that, man. She won't talk to me. Haven't heard her voice in months. It's really messin' with me, like for real." said Danny with a sad tone in his voice.

"Just let it go, man." said Justin, trying to help the other man for once.

"I want to, but you know... I love her, man." said Danny, looking down at the floor.

"What's the point, man? You're headed to jail." said Vince.

"Never heard of a conjugal visit?" said Danny with a smirk.

"Danny, I know you don't realize this because you're you, but you probably ruined that poor girl's life, you piece of shit." said Justin.

"Big talk from White Collar back there. How many lives YOU wrecked, kid?" Danny said it mockingly.

"Who cares." said Justin as he looked away.

"Hotter than hell up in here, I'm gettin' dehydrated. Hey! How about some water back here?" continued the man in the front.

"Shut up back there! I ain't telling you again." said the prison guard.

"Yeah, man, shut the fuck up, or I'll shut you up." said the muscular guy.

Vince turned around towards Justin and, for the first time, began a conversation. "I thought you took the stand and cried your eyes out. Didn't you lose your shit and tell them you didn't know what you were doin'?"

Justin just shrugged and, with a smirk, said. "I lied. Turns out I'm good at that."

"You lied on the stand? See, that's the kinda shit I could never do." said Danny.

"Religious?" asked Justin, surprised.

Danny shook his head. "Nah, man."

"Watch a lotta cop shows?" Justin tried again.

"Nope."

"What then?" asked Justin, tired of guessing.

"It just ain't right." said Danny.

"Oh, give me a break." said Justin as his shoulder slumped in exasperation.

"It's a tough call." said Vince, not wanting to take sides in their argument.

"Why do more time than you need to?" asked Justin, not expecting an answer.

Danny chuckled and said. "Gotta stay clean, man."

"Says the criminal." Justin sighed before saying. "You wanna know the funny thing? I don't regret any of it. I carried my 'victims' for YEARS; they knew what they were getting into. And now here I am, and there they are, and Wall Street assholes pullin' the same scores are smiling on TV. Fuck. That."

"How'd it all work, anyway?" asked Danny.

Justin said with a shrug. "It was like a...a pyramid scheme."

"Aren't those kinda...shit?"

"It was a really good pyramid scheme."

"Good shit is still shit."

"This was some pretty elegant shit."

"Yeah, well, enjoy your elegant cell, you know?"

"Fuck Wall Street." said Vince, purely for fun.

"Fuck Wall Street."

"Fuck Wall Street."

"How much did you make off with, anyway?" asked Vince.

"Enough." Justin said vaguely.

"So, like, couple hundred-k?" asked Danny, unsure.

"Little over a hundred. Million." said Justin with a smirk.

Danny was blown away by the look on his face and said. "Goddamn, boy! When we get outta here, you, me, and Vince, we gotta go into business, know what I'm saying?"

"You know, I don't actually know a thing about you, Vince." said Justin. "Maybe he's a priest."

"Yeah, 'Father Vincent'." said Danny as they started making jokes at his expanse.

"I bet he touched a kid." said Justin.

"Two kids. You touch a couple kids, Vince?" asked Danny.

"I helped my little brother." said Vince, trying to end their stupid line of thought.

"They send you to prison for that, now?" Justin asked suspiciously.

"He was in trouble. I had to...help him out."  said Vince vaguely.

Justin, not getting the hint, just shook his head and said. "I knew it was something stupid."

Danny looked at him with understanding and asked. "You regret it, man? If you're saying what I think you are, I got respect for you, man. But that's a hard thing to carry, you know?"

"I don't regret it at all. Sometimes, you gotta do the hard thing." said Vince with full honesty.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, man." said Justin, finally getting what he meant.

"How'd they get you?" asked Danny.

Vince shrugged and said. "Threw the gun in the trash."

"And?" asked Justin.

Vince turned around towards him and said. "Some stupid dog knocked the can over the next day. Kid found it and turned it in."

"You gotta be kiddin' me." said Danny with a chuckle. "Man, you're bad luck, Vince. 'Bad Luck Vince'. Ha! That's not bad. What do you think, Justin?"

Just as Justin was about to answer, the argument between the front guy and the muscle guy was heating up, and Vince was realising that maybe he should've tried to learn their names because he was kinda tired of calling them that.

"You know, this is cruel and unusual punishment, man." said the skinny man.

"I'm telling you, man, shut the fuck up" warned the muscles.

"What the fuck are you gonna do about it?" asked the skinny man as he turned around.

"FUCK YOU."

The skinny man only chuckled before saying. "Fuck me? Fuck you, motherfucker."

Turning his back on the muscular guy, who, with no remorse, started to strangle the skinny man.

"Oh, shit!" said Vince.

"Oh, man!" yelled out Danny. "He's gonna kill him, Vince! We gotta do somethin'."

"What the hell do you want me to do?" asked Vince, not completely opposed to the idea, but simply not seeing a way to do it.

"Crabtree, knock it off." said the prison guard as he stood up.

"Let the guard handle it, guys." said Justin, looking away.

"Fuck that, we gotta get in there!" said Danny. "Come on, we gotta think of something."

What will Vince do?

A) Threaten Crabtree.

B) Try to calm down Crabtree.

C) Tell the prison guard to take care of it.

D) Silence is a valid option.

Chapter Text

The situation didn't look good for that guy at the front, and he really didn't think the man had long, so Vince had to think fast on what to say. Crabtree didn't seem to be a man who could be convinced calmly; he was more of a thug or a bully who you had to stand up to.

"Goddamn it, you gotta get yourself in there and break that shit up now!" yelled the bus driver at the guard. "COME ON, BOY, GET BACK THERE! GET IN BETWEEN 'EM, GODDAMN IT! He's gonna kill that boy!"

"Crabtree, LAST WARNING." said the guard as he entered their part of the bus.

"What are you waiting for?" asked the bus driver, clearly waiting for the guard to do something.

"Crabtree!" screamed Vince with an edge to his voice, trying to sound threatening as he stood up. "Stand the fuck down!"

Crabtree chuckled, not looking away from what he was doing, as he said. "And why should I?!"

"I'll fucking kill you if you don't!" said Vince in a low voice.

This got the man's attention as he turned towards him. "Yeah, and how are you gonna do that?"

"When we get to the prison and when you least expect it." Vince bullshitted; he didn't really think he could do anything to the wall of muscle that was Crabtree, but he didn't let it show. "So, you wanna have to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life, or are you gonna let that dumb motherfucker go?"

Crabtree looked at Vince for a moment, trying to see if he meant it, and after not finding anything, he let out a sigh and let the men in front of him go. "Fine, 's not worth the hustle."

As the man at the front fell to his seat, his head was slumped down, and he seemed unresponsive.

"Shit, I could've sworn he was still alive." said Crabtree as he leaned over to see the man's face, but at that same moment the man turned around towards Crabtree and bit him in the arm hard enough to draw blood. "Shit, shit, shit, get that motherfucker off me."

Crabtree fell back into his seat, trying to make as much room between himself and the front guy, who seemed to go crazy as he threw himself at him. The only thing holding him back were the chains, but he didn't seem to mind as he jumped and jumped, pulling his leg, and Vince could even see blood coming from it. The guard stood there, not knowing what to do, until, to the surprise of everyone, he shot the guy at the front, turning his head into a red mist.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" yelled out the bus driver.

"Fuck..." said Danny as he sat down.

"Jesus...what happened?" said Justin, stunned.

"What did you DO, boy? GODDAMN IT, BOY, ANSWER ME BACK THERE!" The bus driver continued yelling at the guard.

"What the hell was that?" yelled an angry Justin.

"He--he made a move-! I--I--I don't know!" said the guard, trying to justify his actions.

"He made a move? Or you don't know? Which one?" asked Justin, still pissed at the man.

"I--I don't know!" said the guard.

"You don't know? Jesus." said Justin with raised eyebrows.

"This is crazy. Nobody had to die." said Vince.

Justin frowned and said. "THIS is what happens when you give guns to ASSHOLES."

"Fucking FUCK. You gotta call someone, man." said Danny.

"What?" said the guard, surprised.

"I'm calling this in." said the bus driver, going over to the radio.

"Call a goddamn ambulance. I'm wounded, for fuck’s sake." said Crabtree, holding his bitten hand.

"Don't. Don't call it in yet. Just... Just wait, okay?! Just gimme a damn minute!" said the guard in what seemed to be the start of a mental breakdown.

"Dispatch, come in." said the bus driver to the radio.

"You killed that guy. You gotta deal with it, man." said Vince, trying to get the guard to see the reality of what he had done.

"I just need a minute. I need a minute to think." said the guard desperately.

"You ain't got a minute!" said Danny.

"Shut up! You hear me? Just shut your mouth!" said the guard, pointing his shotgun at them.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. Take it easy." said Justin, trying to defuse the situation.

"I'll calm down when you quit runnin' your fucking mouth!" said the guard.

"Everything's cool. Just...take a breath, okay?" said Justin.

"Everybody needs to calm the fuck down. Situation's bad enough as it is." said Vince, really not wanting to die here and now.

"He's right. Let's all just take it down a notch, okay?" Justin said, still playing the diplomat.

As the guard started walking towards them, Danny stood up and said. "You really wanna pull that trigger again, son?"

The guard looked at them before, in defeat, lowering his gun and accepting what he had done.

"Thanks, man." said Justin.

Just as one crisis ended, another one started as they all heard the sound of screaming and growling coming from the outside. Everyone turned towards the window and saw as people were attacking and eating one another, as a woman and a child ran away from slowly approaching people who had blood all over them.

"What the fuck?" said Danny, terrified and confused at what just happened.

"Did you see that?" asked Justin.

"I saw it." said Danny.

Vince nodded his head and said. "Yeah."

"Hey, you gotta get us the hell out of here, man." said Danny.

"We're not going anywhere." said the guard, pointing his gun at them one more time.

"Fuck THAT, get this bus movin'! Hey, DRIVER! LET'S GO, MAN!" said Danny, not caring that he had a gun pointed at him.

"I said we're staying right here! We're safe inside the bus! Nothing's gonna--" said the guard, but he was interrupted as the bus driver screamed out in pain.

"Holy shit!" said Danny, as the bus driver was getting ripped to shreds by two of what looked like walking corpses with their guts hanging out.

"Bennett! I'm coming for you!" yelled out the guard as he moved towards the doors, but stopped as the screams ended.

But the fucking idiot looked like he was about to open the door anyway, so Vince said. "Hey, you can’t leave us here!"

"You're prisoners-" started the guard, but was interrupted by Danny.

"Your buddy there is dead, and if you open that door, we will be too." said Danny.

"You're prisoners; I can't just let you go!" argued the guard.

"What's your name?" Justin asked. 

"Clyde," said the guard, still on the edge.

"Look, Clyde, none of us know what's going on out there. If something were to happen to us, it's on you; you'll have to find a good lawyer and a new job." stated Justin. "If we can help each other, I'm sure we’ll all make it out of this alive."

"Besides, if we don't get out of here soon, we'll be surrounded by whatever the fuck those things are." said Danny as he was looking out the window, where more of those things were beginning to show up.

"Fine, fine, just wait a minute." said Clyde as he put the gun down and fiddled with his keys, looking for the one that released the chains. "Just don't make me regret this."

Unlocking the chains, they all started walking towards the back exit, jumping out of the bus. They looked around and saw chaos all around them. People were running around and dying left and right; they all ran to the woods in hope of finding a good place to hide from the dead.

"Alright, now that we’re out of there, what now?" stated Danny as they stood in an opening in the woods. "Where would we go?"

"Who the fuck cares? We just need to find a nice place with enough supplies to wait this shit out." added Crabtree.

"Yeah, and where is that?" asked Justin.

"I know a place." said Crabtree ominously.

[3 months in.]

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't some trap or anything bad; Marcus, as they learned his name was, knew of an abandoned gang safe house out in Macon. On their way there, they learned a lot of things, like the fact that the only way to put down, as Danny called them, walkers is to destroy the brain, and also that they are incredibly stealthy. They stayed there for the night, but at midnight, they woke up to Marcus ripping apart Clyde. The bug guy apparently turned into whatever the walkers were and killed the guard; they all agreed that it must have been the bit as they took care of both of them, destroying their brains. The trio travelled on the outskirts of Macon for a couple of days before both Danny and Justin told him that they were leaving for Atlanta. He helped them find a working vehicle, and they bid each other goodbye. Vince stayed near Macon for only one reason: to find Glenn. He searched a hundred houses before he had to run to the woods because of the migration of the walker hordes. It was getting colder by the day, so he stole a winter jacket from one of the houses. He also scavenged for any food and weapons he could find. He still had the shotgun from the start, but he also found a machete and a handgun, so he felt pretty good about his chances out on his own. Now he was on his way towards a motel by the name of 'Travelier Motel', if he was lucky, the place would be empty, and he could finally have a good night's sleep. Walking down the road, he saw the sign in the distance but also heard the sound of people talking. Good people; maybe they know where Glenn is; let's just hope they're more friendly than the last ones he met.

What will Vince do?

A) Threaten Crabtree. (Chosen) - Crabtree still kills Jerry but doesn't get his head shot off. Sadly, though, he gets bitten by walker Jerry and dies at night, killing Clyde.

B) Try to calm down Crabtree. - Crabtree lets Jerry go sooner, and they both live. In this scenario, Clyde doesn't die. Crabtree steals the shotgun in the night and runs away.

C) Tell the prison guard to take care of it. - Clyde kills Crabtree, and Jerry dies in the process. Jerry becomes a walker and kills Clyde. Vince had to decide whose leg to shoot for them to escape.

D) Silence is a valid option. - Same as C), but whoever lives, steals the shotgun and leaves Vince alone.

Chapter Text

[1 month in.]

His name was Logan Pierce, an average man with an equally average life. He was in his early 30s; he had black hair and green eyes—really nothing that would make him stand out in a crowd. He lived in a calm neighborhood on the outskirts of Macon and was barely a mile away from his place of work at Save-Lots Jr. It was a smaller version of the normal Save-Lots store, selling only food and hygiene products. His neighbors were all good people, maybe with the exception of Larry, but that old fart had a problem with nearly all living things that weren't his daughter. He had a couple of close friends here or there, but his lifelong friend was Jolene; they went to the same school and had similar interests. They even tried dating on one occasion, but that was before he figured out that he didn't swing that way. They've been good friends ever since, and more so because they work in the same place. His life was good, but sadly, that ended when the dead started walking. They call them walkers because, even after death, they still walked the earth. The radio and TV said to stay home and not make contact with the infected, but that didn't help; his neighborhood was overrun by those things in less than a day. He had to run, and he went to the only other place he knew was safe, his place of work, Save-Lots Jr. A lot of people went there to find shelter; roughly around 40 people were there at the start of what would be the end of society. Thankfully, Jolene was there with her daughter, so he didn't have to worry about them. It's been some time since then, and the old manager, a woman by the name of Ray Higgins, took charge of their group. She organized the supply runs, rationed out the food, and kept the people safe and content. At least most people were content; there were some unruly ones among them, but she managed to keep peace between them.

Today marked exactly one month since the walkers popped out of nowhere, and they had to survive in this cruel world. Logan was in the toilets, shaving his growing beard with a razor. He took extra care not to cut himself since they still weren't sure how the virus spread. He personally thought that it was through saliva, so he tried not to go outside their new home with open wounds. Finishing, he splashed a cup of water and dried himself with a towel before walking out into the store. The place wasn't filthy like all the other buildings that he visited on the supply runs, but it still looked different from before; it looked lived in. They all lived in the shopping part of the store, with mattresses lying on the floors and people sitting on them. Overall, they had 30 adults, 6 teens, and 4 children living in this new home of theirs. Most of the people were either going out on supply runs or on guard duty, but a couple of people set up a garden on the roof of the building—a wholeass glass house. They mostly grew vegetables, but it was still a long time before any of it bore fruit, so for now they could only hope for the best and eat what they had, which was mostly canned food.

Looking around, he spotted Jolene sitting on her mattress, brushing her daughter's hair as the two talked. Jolene loved her daughter above anything else and tried to make as much time for her as possible, even with this new cruel word. Walking up to them, Logan was sad to intrude on their bonding time, but today was their turn to go out there in search of supplies. They were often paired up because they worked well together. Danielle, Jolene's daughter, must have noticed him because the little girl ran away from her mother and hid behind him.

"Finally free." said the little girl from behind him.

"And what are you free from, Dani?" asked Logan, looking at her.

"Free from pain and suffering." the little girl said dramatically as she combed her hair with her finger.

"And don't you want to look pretty, you know, like a princess?" asked Logan, knowing the girl was obsessed with princesses.

"NO." said Danielle before pointing a finger at her mother. "I wanna be strong like mommy and go out and fight the monster like a knight in shining armour."

Logan chuckled before saying. "Well, maybe one day, but for now you're gonna be a good little princess and stay here where it's safe, yes?"

"Yes, Uncle Logan." said Danielle, looking down before suddenly jumping up and running towards the mattress, taking some papers from it. "Here, Uncle Logan, I drew them for you. I hope you like them."

"Thank you; I will take good care of them." said Logan as he ruffed the kid's head. Looking at the drawings, he had to admit they were some top-notch stuff; the kid had major talent and would have gone far in the old world. But sadly, that would never come, and her talents would go to waste if this thing never ended. With each passing day, Logan lost more and more hope that the military would come and save them. Even if they were still out here, he didn't have it in him to trust them after he saw them gunning down civilians on one of his supply runs in the first couple of days. Logan folded the pictures and stuffed them into the backpack on his back before approaching Jolene.

Jolene sighed as he stood in front of her. "So, it's time?"

"Yeah." said Logan as he took out a map from his back pocket.

"What do we have today?" asked Jolene as she stood up.

"1647 Hilton Dr, but if there's nothing there, we continue towards the next house until we find something." said Logan, pointing at the map that had a lot of red 'x' marking houses they had already searched.

"More and more houses are empty, eh?" asked Jolene.

"Yeah, and it's becoming a problem." said Logan more quietly than before. "Some of Sam's men are getting more bold. I just hope they won't do anything stupid."

"Sam... isn't he that senator guy that had his shit pushed in by the queen bitch's husband?" asked Jolene.

"Yeah, and he got the backing of the 'Black Crosses'." said Logan, looking around to make sure nobody was listening to their conversation.

"That gang from East Macon?" asked Jolene, worried.

"Yeah." Logan nodded his head. "There are at least ten of them here."

"That's bad." said Jolene.

"Yeah, but not something we have to think about right now; we have work to do."

They went out, got to the house that they were designated to search, and began work. It took them an hour, and they found no supplies in the building, so they moved on to the next one and then the next. It took them almost the entire day—five houses—before they were finished, and they only had to kill about seven walkers to fill their bags full. The horde seemed to have moved on towards another part of Macon, and that was good since it made their work all the less stressful. As they made their way back, it was already getting late, with the sun turning the sky a beautiful orange colour.

As they got back, they were met with an unusual sight: everyone was gathered at the check-outs. Danielle stood near the edge of the crowd before she noticed them and ran to hug her mother. As they approached the gathering, they saw Sam surrounded by his men, who were armed with some more powerful guns; they looked like automatic rifles. Logan also noted that there were more than ten of those thugs with him; clearly they were up to something, and he was sure it wasn't good. The senator tried to stand on one of the check-outs and nearly fell over, but with some difficulty, he stood high over everyone else.

"Hello everyone. For those that don't know, my name is Sam Wright. Before all of this, I used to be a distinguished senator." said Sam, what Logan could only say was utter bullshit. The man was a small timer at best; no one liked him, and he was about to lose his position after the whole affair about sleeping with a married woman came out. "Today, it is my responsibility as your elected official to tell you all of the unfortunate events that transpired. Our great leader and guide in this new and dangerous world, Ray Higgins, God bless her soul, was killed by an outsider. It was unbearable, but when we found her body, this uncouth barbarian was having his way with her."

This sparked outrage. Higgins was well liked before and after the walkers appeared. People screamed out for blood, and Sam held his hand up for them to quiet down, but that didn't do anything, so he said. "CALM DOWN, calm down! We have caught the perpetrator of this heinous crime and brought him here for you all to decide what his fate will be."

At that, two of his men dragged a homeless-looking person, an older fellow who looked to be in his late 60s. He had a scraggly beard and unkept shoulder-length hair, and he was wearing a dirty coat. The man was gagged and tied up as he was presented to the crowd; they began throwing curses and slurs at the man, who looked bloodied and tired.

"And this is the weapon that he used to kill the good Miss Higgins." said Sam as he held up a crowbar with blood on it. "So, good people of Macon, what will we do with this monster, eh? What fate will befall this perverted demon in human skin? What do you want?!"

"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!" people screamed out in unison, throwing their fists into the air.

Logan looked at them and could see that everyone was yelling for the death of that man. They wanted him dead without giving him a chance to defend himself. He knew that everything Sam said was bullshit; he didn't doubt for a second that he and his man killed Higgins; the man was a power-hungry fool. From day one, he tried to make all the decisions but was never listened to, as what he said was dumb at best and suicide at worst. He nearly got himself killed a dozen separate times and always had to rely on other people; he was a leech by nature. And now he had no one to stop him and the support of the people.

"YES! Yes, he will die, and it will be just." said Sam, playing to the crowd, who cheered him on. "But that will have to wait until tomorrow. Because now we have bigger issues to talk about than the fate of a savage monster. We are without a leader, and that cannot continue. Without a leader, we have no direction, no goal, and no future. So allow me to lead you all into a better future, a safer future, one where you won't have to worry about the dead, one where we are the masters of this land. Allow me to become your leader, and I'll guide you towards prosperity."

The crowd cheered him on even harder and started screaming out his name. This was bad; he had to get out of here and run away with Jolene and Danielle, or something bad would happen to them. Sam will either fuck up so bad they'll lose the safety of this store, or those thugs of his will corrupt everyone, turning them into nothing more than bandits and scum. But there was also the homeless guy. Logan knew that more than likely he was innocent of his crimes, so could he really let the man die? He had to decide now, or he'd never have the chance to do so.

What will Logan do?

A) Run away with Jolene and Danielle.

B) Try to save the old man.

Chapter Text

[1 month in.]

He can't let an innocent man die for the sake of senator asshole's rise to power; he would have to think of something. He already had a plan forming: he would wait until midnight and strike, but he would have to be quiet about it, so no guns, only his trusty hunting knife. The knife he had hidden in his jacket, mostly because he never told anyone about finding it on one of the supply runs, he had it for a rainy day, and it would seem that today is that day.

"Now, guards, take that foul man outside, cuff him to the fence around the cooler, and make sure there's a guard with him at all times." said Sam towards one of the armed men before turning back to the crowd. "Can't have him here with us or else he'll stink up the place."

The crowd laughed at that, Logan couldn't find anything funny about that, about the pain of another human being. He could see the man being dragged by the man without a care for his life as they made him hit his head on a shelf. He could see that they took him out the same way that he and Jolene took when going out for supplies, so he knew what cooler they took him to.

"Now, we celebrate the life of our beloved, fearless, and sadly deceased leader. To the life of Ray Higgins, booze for everyone." said Sam before correcting himself. "I mean everyone who can; I ain't abolishing the drinking age limit."

With that, over half of the group started gathering alcohol and began partying and reminiscing about their late leader. Sam was amongst them, most likely trying to gain their loyalty with words because, god knows, he won't manage it with actions. Meanwhile, Logan and Jolene, along with her daughter, went over to their mattress to talk about this nasty development.

"We can't stay here. The senator and his first lady will turn this place into a dump." said Jolene, mocking their new leader.

"Yeah, I know..." said Logan, looking towards where they took the old man.

"I can already hear the 'but', so get on with it." Jolene said, looking at him disapprovingly.

"Yeah, I can't just leave that guy to die." said Logan, scratching the back of his head.

"Didn't you hear what they said he's done." said Jolene with a neutral expression.

Logan shook his head and said. "You and I both know that's bullshit."

"Yeah, but do you really think Sam and his cronies did it?" asked Jolene.

"Well, seeing as there's more of them here now, I do." said Logan.

"So, when are you making your move?" asked Jolene.

"Midnight." said Logan, taking a watch from under his sleeve and checking the hour; he had six hours left.

"Me and Danielle will wait for you in the tree lines in case you need help." said Jolene, taking her daughter's hand before walking away towards the exit as everyone else was too busy either getting drunk or tending to their needs.

Logan laid on his mattress, having run out of things to do a while ago, something that wouldn't happen with Ray in charge. He sighed, seeing all the people either asleep or passed out drunk; even some of the guards were unconscious. Standing up slowly, he looked around, making sure not to make a sound or be spotted by someone. As he neared the exit, someone sneaked up on him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Where the hell are you going?" asked what looked like one of Sam's goons.

"To take a fucking piss, man." said Logan, shrugging the hand off.

"Then why are you sneaking around?" asked the guard suspiciously.

"Why do you think?" asked Logan sarcastically. "I don't wanna wake anyone up."

"... Fine, be on your way." said the guard. "But don't do that again; someone might shoot you."

With that, the man started walking away as Logan made his way towards the exit, which was fortunately enough the same way as going to the toilets. Opening the doors slowly, he peeked out and saw the outside brightly illuminated by the moon. Looking around, he saw the prisoner cuffed to the chain link fence and a guard with an AK leaning against the wall, looking like he had fallen asleep while standing. Walking outside, he closed the door behind him quietly and kept his eyes peeled for any additional guards. Nearing the sleeping guard, Logan saw the 'Black Crosses' tattoo on his neck, peeking from under his collar. Taking his hunting knife, Logan aims for the jugular; with one swift motion, he stabs the man in the neck, and with his other hand, he makes sure the guard makes no sound as he keeps the man's mouth shut. Logan stabs him a couple of times in the neck just to make sure, and as the man starts falling to the ground, he catches him before looking for the keys to the cuffs. Finding the keys, Logan decides to take the AK as well, just in case, as he approaches the prisoner.

Crouching down next to him, he takes the man's cloth gag off and says. "Come on, we have to get you out of here."

"Why are you helping me?" asked the older man, confused. "Didn't you hear what they said about me?"

"What I didn't hear was your side of the story." said Logan as he unlocked the cuffs. "Besides, I know Sam's a two-faced liar and not above such things."

"Really? He's that bad?" asked the man, standing up with some difficulty. "Everyone seems to love him."

"He knows how to manipulate people. He used to be a politician." said Logan as they walked towards the woods. "What's your name?"

"The name's Terrance, but you can call me Terry." said the man as he shook his hand. "Thanks for saving my life."

Logan shook his head and said. "No need to thank me. Couldn't leave an innocent man to die."

Sadly, their conversation was brought to a halt as someone on the roof shouted. "The prisoner is getting away."

At that point, four people on the roof started firing in their direction, but thankfully they were missing their shots. Both he and Terry ran at full speed towards the woods, but they had a lot of space to cover—almost an entire parking lot worth of space. But when things looked grim, Jolene walked out of the woods with a rifle in hand and started shooting back at the man on the roof. They were almost there, almost out of sight for the guard, but one of the four people shooting at them had finally managed to hit someone. That someone was Jolene, who took a bullet in the forehead before her whole body hit the ground.

At that tragedy, Danielle ran from out of the bushes towards her mother, crying out. "Mommy, Mommy! Please no!"

But before she could get far, Logan grabbed her on his way before throwing the AK towards Terry, who caught it. He hugged her and tried to make her feel better, but all the young girl could do was cry into his shoulder as they ran away from the doomed community. The trio made their way as far away from the Save-Lots Jr. as they could in one day; they passed through train tracks and a bridge before they stopped for the night at one of the motels in East Macon.

What will Logan do?

A) Run away with Jolene and Danielle. - Terry would have died and Logan shot in the shoulder.

B) Try to save the old man. (Chosen) - Logan saves Terry, but Jolene dies in the gun fight.

Chapter Text

[2 weeks in]

It had been a couple of days—almost a week—since they made the motel their home, and the group was acclimating to this new world. Everyone picked their own rooms since the only thing they had in abundance was living space. The rooms were nothing to write home about, but given the circumstances, it was better than living on the streets. They lost power and water at the same time, which wasn't all that great, but they still had a roof over their heads, and in one week they managed to assemble a nice perimeter wall out of wooden plans they found behind the building and garbage containers. Overall, their base looked good, with a wall at the front, a fence around the buildings, a damaged RV as a watch tower, and wood all around them filled with enough foliage that nothing and no one could sneak up on them. Doug had been fiddling with the engine of the RV, but even he admitted that he most likely wasn't going to get that thing up and running since most of his knowledge is in electronics and he knows nothing about cars. They had a good enough supply of food and water; they've managed to scavenge that by looting the nearby houses, stores, and a gas station. But having said all that, it began to look clear that if they don't find the motherload of supplies, they won't last longer than a month.

"Hey, Lee." said Allen, waking him up by knocking at the door of his room. "Come on out; there's a meeting."

"Damn it, does it have to be so early in the morning?" Lee asked, annoyed, as he saw that the clock showed that it was five in the morning. The clocks were the only electric things still running at the motel, since they used batteries. Getting up he asked. "What is it this time?"

"Dunno. Lilly said that 'We're going to make a big move' or something like that." said Allen.

"Fine, I'm getting up." said Lee, putting on his clothes before walking out of his room, taking his axe on the way out. He wore a brown jacket he found in one of the houses because it was getting less warm by the day, and with winter getting closer, they could only hope it wouldn't be a long one.

Outside, he saw that today would be a cloudy day. Let's just hope it doesn't rain. Near the truck in the corner of their base, everyone was gathered as Lilly rolled out a map of Macon and the local area. He walked up to them, his late presents caught the attention of everyone. He couldn't lie; he was a heavy sleeper and usually woke up at eight or nine in the morning. He still wasn't used to Lilly waking everyone up so early because, for goodness’s sake, the sun was barely up.

"Well, look who decided to drag their ass up." said Larry mockingly, the man still didn't let up, even though the world ended.

"Dad, please." said Lilly, shutting up her father with one look.

"So, what's this all about?" asked Carley with a yawn, standing next to Doug. The two were spending more and more time together, and Doug seemed to have a thing for Carley from what he saw.

"Yeah, shouldn't we be out there getting supplies?" asked Doug.

"This is about that; I've been looking over the map and found a couple of places where we could find a shit ton of food and other useful supplies." said Lilly, pointing towards the map, where they could see five places circled with a red marker.

"Or we could find a better place than this dump." said Allen, not for the first time.

"Not this again, Allen." said Lilly with a hand over her temple, frustrated with the old man's insistence on finding a new home for them.

"No no no, this time you're gonna hear me out." said Allen firmly. "This place isn't safe, and it sure as hell ain't big enough for us to grow food-"

"Why should we be even doing that?" asked Carley, interrupting. "I get looting houses, but we only have to wait it out, right?"

"I'm sorry to break it to you, Carley." said Lilly, clearly not sorry. "But even if there is someone out there coming to save our asses, we'll starve to death long before they get here."

"That's what I'm saying." said Allen, throwing his hand in the air in frustration. "This place isn't ideal, we can't grow our own food, there are a thousand and one blind spots, no water, no power and while the fence will keep the walkers out, it sure as hell won't stop the living from getting over."

"Yeah, those are all valid arguments, but did any walkers actually show up since the power went out? Because I haven't seen one." said Lilly with a smirk. "And we don’t exactly have the manpower or firepower to clear out someplace full of walkers."

Doug nodded his head in agreement. "This place is isolated, so nobody will ever find us, and if we ever need to, I'm sure we can expand."

Larry shook his head and said. "Yeah, I'm sure the dead would appreciate the sweet sound of lumber hitting the fucking ground."

"Before anything, I'd like to know what are these places you want to loot." asked Lee, pointing towards the map. "We have to know what we're working with before shutting an idea down."

"What, you can't read a map?" asked Larry with a smirk.

Lee just ignored him, getting used to the constant verbal abuse, as Lilly started explaining. "First, the closest one is the Macon Juvenile Detention Center."

"A Juvenile Detention Center?" asked Carley. "What would we even find there?"

"Juvenile Detention centers operate a lot like actual prisons; they should have a shit ton of food stored up for all the kids in there." said Lilly. "I learned from one of the guys in the military that they get a food delivery every month with enough food for hundreds of people."

Carley gasped and said. "If we got our hands on that, we wouldn't have to worry about food for a long time."

"Yeah, IF." said Lilly, not as optimistic. "Because the place is like a prison, getting in or out won't be easy."

"Risk and reward." said Allen with a shrug. "Can't have one without the other."

Lilly nodded her head before saying. "Next one is the same, but more extreme. Robins Air Force Base."

"You wanna rob a military base?!" asked Doug, alarmed.

"The Commissary would have as much, if not more, food, and we could use whatever guns are left there." said Lilly with a shrug. "But who knows how many walkers could be there, not only is it a tourist attraction, but the fence ain't airtight."

"Yeah, but do you really want to risk getting shot at by professional killers?" asked Doug, sweating bullets.

"Yeah, it's risky, but the food that they have there would last us a lot longer." said Lilly. "It's all either canned or MREs."

"What's next?" asked Lee, wanting to know all their options.

"We could hit the Regional Airport." said Lilly, unsure. "From what I remember, there is a Save-Lots warehouse for the region, so there would be food, clothes, meds and anything else that we would need."

"But?" asked Carley, knowing it was too good to be true.

"It's on the other side of Macon." said Lilly.

"Hell, is it even worth it if it's so far away?" asked Allen, mostly rhetorically.

"I dunno, it's up to all of us to decide." said Lilly, looking at every one of them. "I want us to loot each and every one of those places in due time, but we pick where we'll go first."

"So, what's next on the menu?" asked Larry.

"Coliseum Medical Centers." said Lilly. "There should be a lot of meds and food there, but it's near the center of Macon, so there could be a lot of walkers when we get there."

"We could always use more meds, but now our main issue is food, so I don't think we should go there, at least not yet." said Allen. "What's the last one?"

"St. John's Dairy Farm, it's down the road away from Macon, so the walker won't be a problem, but truth be told, I don't know what we would find there." said Lilly.

"Obviously, food, seeds, farm animals, and farming tools." said Allen with a shrug. "Before joining up with the police force, I used to work on a farm near Macon. But that was before the 70s, so I can't say I know much about the new gear farmers got today."

"What?! You wanna bring pigs and cows here?" asked Larry, not liking the idea.

"No." said Allen with a shake of his head. "But if there are any, I could skin them, get us a good supply of meat."

"That's... a good option to have on the table." said Lilly, disturbed.

"Ahem." Doug cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "I actually have an idea how to fix our power problems."

"Really?" asked Larry with his constantly grumpy voice.

"Yeah, solar panels." said Doug with a smile.

"And would you know where to find them?" asked Lilly.

"Yeah, I used to install them for this one company." said Doug. "I know where we can find a lot of uninstalled panels, and we can get them installed on the roofs."

"How far away is that?" asked Lee.

"From here? I don't know." said Doug, shaking his head. "But it's just off Highway 16, exit 6. I used to take that road."

"That shouldn't be all that far away." said Lee.

"Lee, do you know of any places worth checking out?" asked Lilly. "You used to live in Macon, right?"

"You didn't?" asked Lee.

Lilly shrugged and said. "I spent most of my time at the airbase."

"Right." said Lee before trying to remember any places of interest for them. "There is a Sheriff's Training Range near Highway 16 and Central State Prison on the west side of Macon."

Allen shook his head before saying. "So, we have our targets, but that still doesn't help us that much."

"Why not?" asked Lilly with an edge to her voice.

"How are you gonna get it all here, carry it in our bags." said Allen with a chuckle. "Doubt it will be worth it. What we really need is a big box truck or something like that."

"And what do you think the military uses?" asked Larry. "Clown cars?"

"With how they're doing against the dead, I wouldn't be surprised." said Allen.

"Hmmm... There are warehouses down south of us." said Lilly, looking at the map. "We could go and pick up a vehicle on our way."

"So who will go?" asked Carley.

"We can't all leave the motel." said Lilly. "Lee, I want you to pick two people for the job; are you up for it?"

"Sure." said Lee with a nod. "Just let me think about it."

"Okay, just don't take too long." said Lilly as everyone dispersed, going to do their own thing. Lee could see that Doug went to work on the RV's engine while Lilly climbed onto the RV and sat on a chair, taking watch. Lee thought about who he should take with him for the supplies; he had to make the decision soon because they really needed those supplies.

Where will they go lookin for supplies?

A) Macon Juvenile Detention Center

B) Robins Air Force Base

C) Coliseum Medical Centers

D) St. John's Dairy Farm

E) Regional Airport

F) For the Solar Panels

G) Sheriff's Training Range

H) Central State Prison

Who will Lee take with him (Pick two)?

A) Carley

B) Doug

C) Officer Allen

D) Lilly

E) Larry

Chapter Text

[2 weeks in]

Lee thought about it and came to the conclusion that Robins Air Force Base would be the best place for them to hit right now. If the airbase is still manned, they could always change the target and still be good for a while, but if there was no one there, it was only a matter of time before people stripped the place clean of any supplies. They had to do it fast and quietly for it to be worth it; food was the most important, but Lee would lie if he said that he wouldn't want to grab some guns and ammo while they were there. Having made this decision, he turned towards the maps laid on the trunk of the truck and searched for the shortest path they could take. After having a good look at the map, Lee knew that they couldn't take any of the roads if they were to make it there in a timely manner. The woods were a part of the Ocmulgee Wildlife Management Area, and even on the map, he could see a lot of hiking paths, and after tracing them with his finger, he found one that would take them close to the airbase without the risk of them getting lost in the woods. It would be a massive problem if they did lose their way because the park was thick with trees and bigger than the whole city of Macon, nearly twice the size of the town from what he saw on the map. They would have to make their way around some swamps, but Lee made sure they would give them a wide berth. Now onto who he would take with him on this dangerous trek. He knew he had to take Lilly with him; she was the only one who could show them where the Commissary was. Not only that, but the woman was in the military, so she had to be at least a decent shot. And among the others, only Carley stood out as someone he would take because of her dead eye. That would leave Doug, Officer Allen, and Larry to protect the motel from walkers and other people who would want to take what's theirs. Checking his pockets, Lee was sure that he had a pen, and sure enough, he did, so just to be extra sure, he marked the path with the black pen. Picking up the map and pocketing both it and the pen, he turned around and searched for the two. Lilly was easy to find; she stood guard as often as she could.

Walking up to the RV, Lee looked up at her and said. "I think it's best to go for the airbase first, since it's so high profile."

"I agree." said Lilly with a nod. "A lot of people will scramble there in search of supplies or shelter."

"And since you know the layout of the base, I want you to come with." said Lee.

Lilly smiled at that and said. "Yeah, just let me grab something for the road."

Lee nodded his head as Lilly descended from the RV. "Sure thing."

"Who else is coming?" asked Lilly, walking past him.

"Carley." said Lee as he followed her. "She's a better shot than me; we could certainly use that."

"Good call." said Lilly with a nod as she entered her room. "Who knows what we will encounter there."

With Lilly on board, Lee turned his attention to Carley, who was currently leaning on the railing of the balcony. She was looking over the motel with boredom visible on her face.

Walking up the stairs, Lee approached the reporter and said. "Hey, Carley."

"Lee, you need something?" asked Carley as she turned towards him.

"Yeah, I could use your help." said Lee. "Me and Lilly are going to the airbase, and I thought that you could use something to do. You look very bored."

Carley chuckled before saying. "You could say that again. There's not much to do around here other than go on supply runs."

Lee sighed. "Yeah, I get you. But are you in?"

Carley thought about it for a second before saying. "Sure, just let me grab my gun."

"Shouldn't you have it on you?" asked Lee, knowing Lilly wouldn't like their best shot unarmed.

"I forgot it." said Carley, shaking her head. "Lilly really shouldn't wake us up so early; I keep forgetting the small things."

"I wouldn't say a gun is a small thing." said Lee with a chuckle.

"Well, it was for me." said Carley with a smirk on her face. "It's not exactly an essential item for a reporter."

"Ha, I guess not." said Lee, shaking his head in amusement as Carley walked into her room.

With all the preparations ready, Lee decided it was time to gather his things for the road. Walking down the stairs, he made his way towards his room, which was next to Lilly's.

Just as he was about to enter his room, Larry got in his way and said. "You taking my daughter with you, huh?"

"Yeah, she knows the layout of the airbase." said Lee with a shrug.

Larry scoffed at him before saying. "If anything happens to my daughter, you might as well not come back. Because what the walkers will do to you will be nothing in comparison to what I'll do. You got that?"

"Sure." said Lee with a frown; he was tired of Larry constantly threatening him. It happened almost every time he and Lilly went on supply runs together. As the older man walked away, Lee could finally make his way towards his room.

Entering the room, he looks around. It wasn't the nicest place he'd seen; hell, it wasn't even the nicest motel room he'd ever been to. But after two weeks, he's managed to make it better. The worst part about the motel was the beds; they were dirty and infested with bugs. They all had to scavenge for new beds, and while it was awkward walking down the street with a whole ass bed, they did what they had to. Walking towards the dresser with an old TV on top, Lee opened one of the drawers and found the photo of his family along with a diary. He found an empty diary on one of the supply runs and thought it would be a good idea to write down his thoughts in his spare time—not that he had much to write about.

Picking up the photo, he looked it over before saying to himself. "I just hope you all are in a better place."

He almost teared up, looking at the photo, but decided to put it back in the drawer before he ruined his mood for the day. Closing the dresser, he looks for his backpack and finds it leaning against the foot of the bed. Walking up to it, he picks it up and looks through it; inside, he finds the usual stuff. The box of bullets he got from Hershel back at the start, a pack of smokes he looted from those guys at the overpass, the single walkie-talkie he found in that one house near Atlanta, the pair of binoculars he got from Mitch, a can of nuts and two bottles of water he looted yesterday from one of the houses nearby, and finally a can of spray paint he used to mark looted houses. Overall, it wasn't much, but it would do for the trip to the airbase. He just hoped they would find enough food; the group ate less and less as time went on. They were forced to ration the food if they were to survive in this cruel new world, but that didn't mean they liked it. Zipping up the backpack, Lee put it on before looking for his father's cane, in the past two weeks, he discovered that it was a good tool for knocking walkers over. The monsters didn't put up much of a fight when on the ground, unless they were crawling. He found the cane leaning against the closet, and as he was making his way there, he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Lee! You ready?" asked Lilly from the other side.

"Yeah, just give me a second." said Lee as he picked up the cane and hooked it to his backpack.

Walking out of the room, he saw Lilly standing not far away with a rifle in hand and a military backpack on her. Not that long ago, Lilly and Allen went on a supply run deep into the Macon suburban area, where Lilly and her father lived. They grabbed all of their stuff, and from what he heard from Allen, they saw some people gunning down walkers, but they haven't seen anyone else since. Next to her stood Carley, holding her handgun, still the same one she had in the beginning.

"We ready to move out?" asked Lee as he walked by them.

"We have everything we need." said Lilly as she and Carley started following him. "Now just to get there in one piece."

"I have a path mapped out." said Lee as he took out the map from his back pocket and showed it to her.

"You wanna go through the woods?" asked Carley with a raised eyebrow.

"It's the shortest path." said Lee as they stopped before the entrance to their base. "If we take any of the roads, it'll take us more than a day to reach the airbase."

"Maybe, but it sure will be safer." said Carley, crossing her arms.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." said Lilly, shaking her head. "Walkers will be keeping to the towns and roads, since that's where their food is."

"I don't want to get lost in the forest, Lilly." said Carley.

Lilly took out a compass from her pocket and said. "We won't get lost; I have everything we need."

"Still, we don't have to decide now." said Lee, not wanting another argument to break out. "We'll have to take the road for quite a while, so we can make that decision when we get there."

"Lee, keep an eye out for any places that could be better than this shithole." said Officer Allen, walking up to him.

"Not this again." said Larry, shaking his head. He was currently working on the wall, nailing wooden planks with a brick since they didn't have any proper tools.

"I at least want to know if there are better options out there." said Allen, not backing down. "When this place falls, we have to have a backup at least."

Just a Larry was about to say something, and Lee cut him off. "I'll have an eye out, don't worry."

"Sometimes I think I'm the only one that does." said Allen with a sigh. "Thanks for having my back, and stay safe out there, Lee."

As the older police officer walked away, Lee moved over towards the garbage containers and started pushing them.

"Stay safe, and please stay calm." said Lilly, giving her father a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back soon."

As the trio walked out of the premises of the motel, Lee looked around as they moved deeper down the road. The motel was the last building before the road went through a part of the enormous forest. Trees surrounded them on both sides, and the sound of leaves rustling made them a little paranoid that a walker would walk out of the bushes. Lee held his axe tightly as he looked down the road; it was the same one that Mitch and his family took when they rode off towards Woodbury. He thought about them from time to time and hoped they made it there in one piece. He still had the revolver that Mitch gave him; he kept it most of the time in his left back pocket, but nowadays, he mostly used the axe when killing walkers. Lee thought as they walked, he had to make a choice: does he side with Carley and go against his original plan, or does he side with Lilly and stick to his plan. The most important thing was time; even though it was still pretty early in the morning, if they chose to take the roads, it'll take them more than one day, but if they took the paths through the woods, they might still make it back today. The question was which was more dangerous, and that sadly Lee didn't know he had to guess.

Which path will they take?

A) Woods

B) Roads

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Officer Allen- 11

Lilly - 6

She's happy that you picked the air base.

Larry  - -6

Isn't happy that you put his daughter in danger.

Carley - 7

Doug - 6

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

Box of Ammo

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

34 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 50%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

6 Adults

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[2 weeks in]

As they were walking down the road, Lee could see a dirt path breaking off the main road, and after thinking about their next move, he knew that they had to take the path through the woods. They didn't have the luxury to take their time, and besides, it would cut their journey in half. Next to the path was a sign with the words 'Macon Pines'. There was a camping site there from the looks of it, so they were going to most likely encounter some walkers.

Turning towards his two companions, he said. "We have to go through the woods."

"I agree." said Lilly, giving Carley a look. "We don't have the time to waste."

Carley looked at them both and realised that she was outvoted, so with a sigh, she said. "Fine, but don't come crying to me when we have to run back with nothing to show for it."

Lilly looked at her before shaking her head as they walked into the woods. It was a long while before they even saw anything other than trees and bushes, but after a while they saw the entrance to the trailer park on their left. Looking inside, Lee saw some walkers wandering around the place before a bloodcurdling scream rang out through the air.

"We have to-" said Lee, as he was about to run into the trailer park, but Lilly grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Lee, we can't. We have to keep moving." said Lilly.

"But-" said Lee as the screams slowly died out.

Lilly sighed before saying. "Whoever that was, they're probably already dead."

Lee looked towards the trailer park before cursing in frustration. "Damn it."

"Maybe we can still help them." said Carley.

"Can it, Carley." said Lilly, shaking her head. "It's already too late, and we should go before they see us."

And so they moved on. Death seemed to be more common in this new world, and Lee couldn't yet get used to it; hopefully he never will. It kind of scared him to think about what he would become if he allowed innocent people to die. He wasn't a saint by any means, but he would always lend a helping hand to people in need. It was how his parents raised him, and it was how he wanted to raise his kids. Kids—he always wanted to have them, but now he counted his blessings because this world was not one he would want a kid to live in. They walked and walked for what seemed like hours now, and they saw nothing to indicate they were any closer to the airbase than before—no landmarks, no buildings, no nothing. The only things they saw were leaves and trees, but Lee knew they were going in the right direction because the paths were a perfect match to the ones on the map.

It took them nearly four or so hours before they saw the fence of the air base in front of them. They saw a couple of walkers on their way; they were all too far away to be of any threat, but that only made Lee more concerned because there were less and less of them in Macon, so where did they all go. He just hoped they all fell into a ditch or something. There were a lot of people living in Macon, meaning there should be a lot of living people or a tonne of walkers, but they saw none of that. Walking up the fence, they made sure to keep quiet, and as they stood there, Lee took out his binoculars from the backpack. Taking a look through the chain link fence, he scanned the area and saw only a couple of walkers shambling around the place, but no living people in sight, not on the watch tower or in any of the visible windows.

"See anything?" asked Lilly, whispering.

"Not much; only a couple of walkers spread out across the place." said Lee as he continued to look around. "There could be more, so let's do this quietly."

"Shit, the whole place could be overrun." said Carley.

"It would be too good if it was easy." said Lilly as she looked through the scope of her rifle.

Carley turned to Lilly and asked. "Are you sure it's worth the risk?"

"It's either this or we starve to death." said Lilly as she turned towards them. "And I don't know about you two, but I'd rather not have a slow and painful death."

"I'd like neither." Lee put the binoculars back into his backpack and asked. "How do you wanna do this? We don't exactly have a way in."

"There's a hole in the fence somewhere in that direction." said Lilly, pointing towards their left.

"And how are you so sure it's there?" asked Carley as they all started walking in that direction.

"I'm sure." said Lilly, still keeping her eyes on the airbase.

Looking around the airbase, Lee could see a lot of buildings littering the place; there was even a water tower, and even though the absence of people made the place eerie, it looked well maintained. As they walked, he saw more of the base and even some planes and helicopters near the runway, but what he was on the lookout for was any type of truck, van, or anything else they could use to get the goods back to the motel.

"Lilly, you know where we could find a truck or something?" asked Lee, turning to look at her.

"A truck?" asked Lilly as she finally broke eye contact with the airbase. "Why?"

"We need to get the food back to the motel, Lilly." said Carley. "And if there's as much as you say, we can't carry it in our hands, can we?"

"We'll find some trucks near GOV Gas." said Lilly, turning back towards the base. "It should be on the way to the commissary."

They walked for a couple more minutes before they encountered a walker stuck halfway through a hole in the fence. It was not a pretty sight, as the monster had all the flesh pilled off of his face; it was hanging just below his chin. There was blood all over his uniform, and he had scorch marks all over his body along with what looked like bullet holes. It noticed them as its head turned towards them, and the walkers began flailing its arms in their direction as its jaw opened and shut repeatedly in a vain attempt to bite them.

"That's the hole." said Lilly, pointing her rifle towards the walker.

"Don't suppose you know of any other holes?" asked Carley with a disgusted look on her face.

Lilly shook her head and said. "None that would get us there in a timely manner."

"I'll take care of this." said Lee, walking up to the dead, who seemed to like that since it began trashing more violently.

Without a moment of hesitation, he split the skull of that walker in two before grabbing the body and dragging it through the hole. Now with their way cleared, they entered the airbase, and the whole place had a tense aura, the kind that was reserved for graveyards or haunted mansions in movies.

"Stay close and keep your eyes open." said Lilly as they entered the airbase. "And most of all, do not make a sound."

After receiving nods for both him and Carley, Lilly said. "Alright. I'll go in the front, Lee in the middle, and Carley, you guard our back."

Crouching down, the three began making their way through the airbase; they mostly walked behind buildings and stuck to the fences where they had to. Only on a couple of occasions did they have to run across an open field, but for the most part, they haven't seen all that much—no people and barely any walkers.

"You know how to fly one of those?" asked Carley, pointing towards the many planes near the runway as they were walking through an open space.

"No, I don't." said Lilly, shaking her head. "I was never a pilot."

Carley sighed before saying. "Shame, I was hoping you could get us to D.C. or somewhere safe."

"Best get comfortable, Carley." said Lilly, giving the other woman a look. "We're stuck here now."

"Look there." said Lee, pointing towards a gated parking lot with a bunch of military trucks in a line, all looking in perfect condition.

"At least we have some good news-" said Lilly, who was cut off as a bullet nearly hit her, but thankfully it didn't and only bounced across the pavement.

"Shit! Sniper!" shouted Lilly as they all began running towards anything they could hide behind. Lee hid behind a metal box with a lightning bolt on it, Carley behind a garbage container to his left, and Lilly run towards a building to their right. Peeking from behind his cover, he could see a guard tower not so far away, but thankfully he didn't look for too long because just after that, a bullet hit the box.

"You won't get me this time, ya bastards!" yelled out the person from the tower.

"What do we do?" asked Carley as the sniper shot a single bullet at her cover.

"We rush that tower, that's what!" yelled Lilly as she shot at the tower.

"That would only get us a bullet in the head." protested Carley. "We have to talk to him."

"TALK?!" screamed Lilly, outraged. "There's no way I'm walking with a fuck who shot at me."

"Whatever we gonna do, it better be now." said Lee as he looked behind them and saw a lot of walkers make their way towards them. "Cause we're going to have more trouble on our hands in a second."

How will Lee handel this situation?

A) Rush the tower.

B) Try to talk with the man on the tower.

C) Make a run for the truck.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Lilly - 7

She's happy that you sided with her.

Carley - 7

She doesn't mind your decision.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

Box of Ammo

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

35 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 50%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

6 Adults

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[2 weeks in]

The walkers were getting closer, and that man on the tower wasn't letting up. Lee knew it would be a long shot, but he had to try to get that guy to stop shooting at them.

"God damn it. Stop shooting!" yelled Lee at the top of his lungs.

"Why should I?" said the man.

"You'll bring a horde of walkers onto yourself." said Lee as he took out his revolver and began shooting at the approaching sea of walkers.

"I don't know." said the man as he shot a bullet at Lee. "I feel quite safe up here."

"Look, man." said Lee as he nailed one of the walkers in the head. "We're friendly; we're here just for the supplies."

"And why should I trust you?" asked the man as he stopped shooting. "For all I know, you could be bandits or something."

"The fact we're taking." said Carley as she shot a walker to her left. "I think that should be enough."

"...Fine!" said the man after thinking for a bit. "You better not make me regret this. Come on up here!"

With that, Lee and the rest ran at full speed towards the tower, dodging walkers on the way, and as he neared the doors, they heard what sounded like sirens coming from another part of the air base. Opening the door, Lee was the first inside as he held them open for the others, and as they ran through them, he and Lilly dropped a metal locker to block it. As they stopped to catch their breath while the man for the tower walked down, he looked to be in his mid-30s with a shadow of a beard on his face.

"Hi there, I'm Mark." said the man wearing a military uniform and aviator glasses.

"Thanks for the save, Mark." said Lee as he shook the man's hand.

"No problem. But why did you come here? This place ain't exactly safe." asked Mark as the walkers began slamming their heads against the doors.

"Name's Lee; that's Carley and Lilly. She used to work at the base, we came here to get food and a truck." explained Lee.

"Why would you need a truck?" asked Mark as they walked up the stairs.

"To get the food back to our base." said Carley.

"Well, there's a lot of that at the commissary." said Mark as they finally made it to the top of the tower.

"Yeah, we were hoping to get there as soon as possible." said Lee, looking out and seeing all the walkers moving towards the blaring sirens in the distance.

"I see. Sorry for shooting at you, but you wouldn't believe the number of people that attacked the base in the past week." said Mark.

"As if that gives you the right to shoot at us." said Lilly, pointing her finger at him.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I've lost a lot of friends to the bandits." said Mark, defending himself.

"Easy, Lilly, it was a mistake." said Lee, putting a hand between the two. "He clearly thought we were a part of some different group."

"A MISTAKE?!" said Lilly, outraged. "He opened fire on us with provocation; that's no mistake."

"I'm sorry. You guys were sneaking around the base; it looked sketchy." said Mark, putting his arms up. "What would you do in my place?"

"... Whatever, we don't have time for this." said Lilly, shaking her head. "As soon as the walkers are gone, we're taking one of the trucks and going for the commissary."

"What about Mark?" asked Lee, pointing towards Mark.

"What about him?" asked Lilly with a frown.

"Are we gonna leave him here or take him with us?" asked Lee.

"We're not taking this asshole with us." said Lilly.

"Whoa, Lilly.  We can't just leave him behind." said Carley. "Besides, we could use the help."

"I'm saying no, and that's final." said Lilly.

"He knows the base, and he could help us." said Carley. "We need more people to defend the motel. Come on, Lee, back me up."

"Lilly, I have to agree with Carley." said Lee. "We can't just leave him here."

"I can help." said Mark. "I got the keys to the commissary; I'm a great shot, and I know where the keys to the trucks are held."

Lilly looked at them before shaking her head and saying. "Fine, but you better not slow us down."

"Yes, ma'am." said Mark while doing a mock salute.

"But if you try anything, I'll put a bullet in your leg." said Lilly, making Mark back away. "Understood?"

"Y-yes." said Mark.

"Jesus, Lilly." said Lee, shaking his head in disapproval as Lilly walked away to look outside.

"I'd like to say you get use to it, but you don't." said Carley, shaking her head.

With that out of the way, Lee walked out towards the guardrails of the watch tower and looked at the base. He could see that their surrounding area was almost empty of walkers, and sirens were still going off. Up on the tower, he could see the massive forest on one side and the small town of Warner Robins to his right. He's been there maybe a dozen times, but never for long; it was mostly on his way somewhere else.

"What's up with the sirens?" Carley asked Mark as Lee walked back to the group.

"Oh, that would be me." said Mark before going over to a computer on a desk. "The entire base runs on one network, and with the emergency generators up and running, I can activate sirens all across the base."

"Wow, that's smart." said Lee, with a new appreciation for the guy.

"Yeah... Not my idea." said Mark, shaking his head. "One of the guys came up with it before we got attacked by bandits."

"I'm sorry to hear that." said Carley.

"It's fine" said Mark, as Lilly walked back into the room.

"The walkers are gone; let's get going." said Lilly as she walked past them.

Everyone walked down the tower, and on their way out of the building, Mark grabbed a pair of keys off the wall, while both Lee and Lilly dragged the locker out of their way. Looking around, he didn't see any walkers in the area near the tower, so without hesitation, they all booked it towards the trucks. With Mark in the front, he guided them to the vehicle that he picked, and they all entered it with no issue. Once inside, Lee saw that it was mostly clean, but there was some dust and candy wrappers on the floor. They drove by a lot of buildings and saw no life, no walker, but what they did see was a lot of corpses; all around the base there were corpses, most wearing military uniforms.

Turning towards Mark, who was driving, Lee asked. "What happened here?"

"People came looking for safety." said Mark with a sigh.

"Safe to say they didn't find it." said Carley, looking through the window.

"No, they didn't." said Mark, shaking his head slowly in sadness. "We were ordered to shoot anyone that made it past the fence."

"Damn." said Lee with wide eyes.

"Yeah. It didn't take a lot for it to break out into a full-on slaughter." said Mark. "Then the walker came, and not long after, it was just me and a couple of men, but now it's just me left."

"I'm sorry..." said Carley, trying to comfort the man.

"Don't be." said Mark, straightening himself out. "There's nothing you could have done."

As the conversation died down, they finally made it to the loading docks of the Robins Air Base commissary. The surrounding area looked awful, with military vehicles all around the place, corpses littering the ground, and even a crashed jet in the distance. There were a lot of bodies around there, as well as a lot of vehicles behind the barricades. The reason for this carnage, as far as Lee could deduce, was because the entrance to the base was within viewing distance. Mark backed the truck into one of the loading docks so they could more easily grab all of the supplies from the warehouse.

"We need to move fast and quietly." said Lilly as they all exited the truck. "No side tracking."

"We just need to get in and out." said Lee as they walked towards the back entrance. "How hard can it be?"

"Man, don't say stuff like that." said Mark, shaking his head. "You'll bring bad luck on us."

"You a superstitious type?" asked Carley.

"No, but you don't just say that kind of thing." said Mark, shaking his head.

"Shut it." said Lilly with no malice as she held her hand out to Mark. "Keys?"

Without a word, Mark took out a set of keys from his back pocket and handed them over to Lilly. Just as they were about to enter the building, a scream rang out throughout the base.

"Shit!" exclaimed Mark. "What was that?"

"I don't know, but it didn't sound good." said Lee with a frown.

"You think we should check it out." asked Carley.

"We don't have time for this." said Lilly. "We need to load up all the food and get out of here."

"I don't know, maybe we should-" started Mark, but Lilly cut him off.

"You shut up." said Lilly with anger in her voice. "Whoever's out there is ringing a bell for the walker; if we don't get to work, all of this will be for nothing."

"Where's your humanity, Lilly?" asked Carley. "We can't just leave people for the walkers."

"It's not our job to help every struggling survivor out there; we have to think about our people." said Lilly outraged.

"It won't hurt if some of us go out here to check things out." said Mark, a little unsure. "They're people just like us; we won't be any better than bandits if we don't help."

"We don't have to be better; we have to stay alive." argued Lilly. "And right now, that means getting that food back to the motel."

"And what if that was you out there?" asked Carley, not letting up.

Lilly scoffed before saying. "Never would've happened."

What will Lee do?

A) Get to work loading up the truck

B) Send someone to check it up (Pick two people)

C) Have everyone go towards the screaming.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Lilly - 7

She doesn't care, but would prefer to attack the tower.

Carley - 8

She's happy that you backed her up.

Mark - 7

He's happy to meet you.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

Box of Ammo

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

37 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 55%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

7 Adults

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[2 weeks in]

"Lilly." said Lee, cutting off the conversation between the others, not wanting for it to spiral into an argument. "Me and Carley can go check it out while you and Mark begin the work."

Lilly scoffed before saying. "So you want me and the new guy to do all the work?"

"No, Lilly." said Lee as he shook his head. "We'll see what's going on over there and come back to help."

"Yeah, it won't take long." said Carley with a nod.

"Fine." said Lilly after a moment. "But no guns; we don't need another walker horde on our asses."

"Have some faith." said Carley as both she and Lee started walking away.

"Come on, new guy, we have work to do." said Lilly as she turned towards the building and began opening the door.

"You can just call me Mark." said the man, confused.

Lilly gave him a look before saying. "No."

As Lee and Carley started walking away from the building, the voices of Lilly and Mark began fading in the distance. Making their way towards where the screaming came from, they had to walk around a lot of military vehicles like tanks, Humvees, trucks, and even a crashed helicopter. They made sure to keep an eye on the corpses lying on the ground; there was no point in taking a risk if one of them could be a walker. It took them a couple of minutes before they saw a dull yellow truck on the other side of the carnage. Inside the vehicle was an older man looking to be in his late 60s with a full gray beard, wearing a white sweater with a jacked over it. Banging on the door of the truck was a massive walker wearing a military uniform, but what caught Lee's attention was the hunting rifle on the ground near the monster. Seeing this, both he and Carley dropped behind cover to assess the situation.

"What do we do?" asked Carley, peeking from behind the tank they hide behind.

"We have to help him somehow." said Lee, looking down in thought.

"We could just shoot the walker." said Carley with a shrug.

"Lilly said no guns." said Lee, shaking his head. "And I have to agree that we need those supplies, so we can't risk it."

"How about I make a distraction, and you take it out with your axe?" said Carley.

Lee nods his head and says. "Alright, let's do it."

With that, they both went in separate directions around the tank; Lee kept his head down, sneaking behind the walker, while Carley stood up with her back straight and looked at the monster before making her way towards him. As Lee peeked from behind the back of the tank, he saw the walkers still attacking the truck and Carley standing a good distance to its right. Then the reporter whistled to gain its attention, and just as she did that, the walker turned to her. Without hesitation, Lee stood up and began carefully walking towards the monster, trying not to make a sound as it began approaching Carley. Walking up to it, Lee swung his axe straight into the walker's skull, splitting it in half before it dropped to the ground. Taking a breath, he looked around the place, making sure no other walker was drawn by the sound of the body dropping to the ground. Thankfully, he saw nothing, but while he was doing that, the older man exited the vehicle and walked up to him.

"Thank you for the help, young man." said the older man, shaking Lee's hand.

"It's nothing." said Lee as Carley joined them. "We did what anyone would."

"Yeah, we couldn't leave a person in need behind." said Carley.

"No no, that's more than most would do." The man shook his head as he said that. "But where are my manners. My name is Terry St. John. I own the St. John's Dairy Farm with my wife Brenda."

"I'm Lee, and this is Carley. What are you doing here, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Lee.

"Looking for supplies, mainly fuel, guns, and ammo." said Terry, pointing towards the back of his truck, where they saw a bunch of guns, ammo boxes, and four jerrycans that looked to be from the base. "Was doing a good job before one of those roamers sneaked up on me. What about you?"

"We came here for the food." said Lee, pointing behind him towards the commissary in the background.

"Two of our people are loading up a truck right now, so we shouldn't keep them waiting." said Carley.

"I see. Don't let me stop you." said Terry as he picked up his rifle from the ground along with his car keys. "I'll be going back to the farm."

"Stay safe." said Carley as they began walking away, but were stopped as the old man spoke up again.

"But if you ever need something, I could draw you up a map with how to get to my farm really quick." said Terry, looking through his pockets before talking to himself in a quiet but not subtle voice. "I could swear that I packed a pen and my notebook."

"Don't worry." said Lee as he took out the map that he had taken from the motel. "We have a map of the county. What was the name of the farm again?"

"St. John's Dairy Farm." said Terry with a smile. "Can't miss it; there's a massive field of corn all around it. See you folks around."

With that, the older man entered the truck before riding off in the other direction, and in no time he disappeared from their vision. Walking back, they made it in no time and saw that both Mark and Lilly were in the middle of loading a whole pallet of military food onto the truck. Lee couldn't exactly tell what kind of food that was, but he was just happy that there was a lot of it.

"You're finally back." said Lilly as the duo paused the work.

"What did you find?" asked Mark excitedly.

"An older fellow was cornered by a walker." said Lee.

"And where is he?" asked Lilly with a frown.

"He drove off back to his farm." said Carley.

Lilly scoffed before saying. "So you wasted time for nothing."

"We saved his life; that's something." said Carley with a frown as she gave Lilly a look.

"And that helps us how?" asked Lilly.

"He said that he would help us if we ever needed him." said Lee, getting in between the two. "His farm is called the St. John's Dairy Farm. You know, the one you wanted to loot."

"Hmmm, at least there's that." said Lilly, shaking her head. "But we better hold off on calling in that favor until we need it.”

"Yeah, I was thinking the same." said Lee.

"Don't just stand there; let's get to work." said Lilly with a frown.

"Alright, alright." said Carley as they both climbed the loading dock.

"Actually, could you two check if there's medicine inside?" asked Mark.

"Why would there be medicine there?" asked Carley, confused. "Isn't this just food storage?"

"Not entirely." said Lilly, cutting in. "The commissary is kinda like a supermarket for the military; there's a lot of stuff in there, and I have to agree with the new guy's idea."

"Really?" asked Carley mockingly. "Because earlier you made a big deal of us not helping here."

Lilly shook her head before saying. "I thought it would take longer, okay? Me and Mark are almost done here either way, so you two can at least do that."

"Come on, Carley, let's go." said Lee as the two entered the commissary through the back door.

Walking inside, they saw a large warehouse full of food, and with all the lights on, they could see that there were so many supplies that it would be impossible for them to take them all back to the motel. The good thing was that they could probably come back here in the future if they needed more food. Looking around, they decided to split up to cover more ground because they saw no medicine in the immediate vicinity, so they went deeper into the building in opposite directions. Lee clenched the axe in his hands, he could feel someone or something watching him, but even though he had his eyes wide open, he couldn't see anything. As he made it to the end of the warehouse, Lee saw a shit ton of meds stashed in the corner of the room, but just as he was about to go back and tell the other, a walker tackled him to the ground. As he hit the floor, his axe was thrown out of his hands, but Lee kind of got used to being in this kind of situation; frankly, it happened way too often. The only difference is that usually he would have something to bash the walker's skull in, but as he looked around, there was nothing. So without any other options, he held the walker back with one arm as he took out his revolver before stuffing it into the fucker's mouth and pulling the trigger. As the monster's head exploded, Lee was sprayed with blood and brain goo, but without hesitation, he threw the body to the side, picked up his axe, and ran back towards the truck. As he finally approached the exit, Carley too was running in his direction with a worried look on her face.

"Something happened?" she asked, a little winded.

"Walker got a jump on me-" said Lee before being cut off by Lilly, who stormed in.

"What the hell was that?!" asked Lilly, furious.

"A walker nearly got me." said Lee, wiping the blood off his face. "Had to shoot him."

Lilly looked at him, most likely to determine if he was telling the truth, before cursing. "Shit, let's get out of here, fast."

Neither Lee nor Carley protested as they all ran towards the truck and rode out of the air base. Mark took them through another exit, one that wasn't blocked up like the tourist one was. They didn't see much on their way out; there were more buildings, but none of them looked too interesting or important. The only thing that didn't change were the many corpses littering the base; they could still spot those. As Lee looked out of the back window, he could see that Lilly and Mark had filled the truck full of food and at least two pallets worth of water bottles. They had months worth of supplies in there—too many to say for certain—but they were set for a good while even if they didn't ration them all the time. That's at least what Lilly said on their way back; they took a road that came pretty close to the edge of Macon, but thankfully there were not enough walkers to stop them in their tracks. They made good progress until they came across a road block with too many cars for them to clear the way, but after taking out the map, Lee pointed out a road off to their left through a train bridge. They had to take a dirt road through the woods to get there, but when they finally made it, they saw a wide enough bridge for them to cross. Only as the full weight of the truck was put on it did they realize that it most likely wasn't a bridge in active use. But thanks to some divine miracle, they made it across the rickety bridge. Lee wasn't a Christian or anything like that, but for the first time in a long while, he thanked God for not letting them fall into the river. After riding through the woods for some time, they made it to a recognizable place, which was a crossroads near the edge of East Macon but thankfully not far from the motel. They knew the spot since they looted the gas station, which was now in front of them.

"We're almost out of fuel." said Mark as he stopped the truck. "You think that gas station works?"

"I should." said Carley. "Last time we were here, the lights still worked."

"Good." said Mark as he parked the truck next to the fuel pumps.

They got out of the vehicle as Mark began filling the truck full of gas; thankfully, it was for free, because as Lee saw the price, he winced. Looking around, there wasn't much of anything here—only a couple of houses they have yet to loot, some place where they sold portable buildings, and a truck dealership in the distance. They were ready to leave, but just as Lilly got into the driver's seat, they all heard a gunshot not far away from them. Lee saw that it came from one of the houses across the street.

Turning towards Lilly, he was about to say something, but the woman cut him off and, in a firm tone, said. "No, no, we're not going."

"Lilly-" tried Lee, but the woman didn't give him a chance to say much more than that.

"No, Lee." said Lilly, shaking her head. "I know you want to go and play the hero, but I'm not willing to risk all our hard work for some strangers."

"You can just wait as we-" said Carley.

"No, I won't wait." said Lilly with a scoff. "You go out there; I'm driving off to the motel. And that's final, so make your choice now, before walkers have us surrounded."

What will Lee do?

A) Go investigate.

B) Go back to the motel.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Carley - 9

She's glad to have helped the older man.

Mark - 8

He's glad that you save one's life.

Terry St. John - 6

Thankful that you save his life.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

Box of Ammo

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

39 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 55%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

7 Adults

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[2 weeks in]

Lee looked at Lilly and could see that she was being serious about this, but he knew that he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t at least try. He had to make sure they weren’t leaving some poor soul to die out here.

Lee looked the woman in the eyes and said. "Then go, but I’m not leaving without checking that out."

Lilly gave him a look of disappointment before turning towards Carley. "What about you?"

"I’m staying too." said Carley.

Lilly gave them a long look before shaking her head. "Fine, just don’t get yourself killed."

"I think I’m going to-" started Mark but was cut off by Lilly.

"You’re coming with me." said Lilly harshly. "I’m going to need help with unpacking all of this."

Mark looked between them and Lilly before saying. "Sorry guys."

"No worries." said Lee, waving him off.

"It shouldn't take us long." said Carley with a smile.

With that said, Lilly closed the door of the truck, and in no time, they watched the vehicle ride off in the direction of the motel. Lee looked around and admired the surrounding area, with orange and brown leaves falling from the trees and the sun hidden behind thick clouds. He could only think about one thing, and that was: how long will it take, how long will they have to live in this eat or be eaten world. A world where people are left behind to die because everyone else is too focused on their own survival. Maybe it won’t go away; maybe it’s just how the world’s going to be from now on, but Lee would make sure of one thing: to never leave people behind. He knew that it was idealistic of him, but from now on, he would always at least try to help others in need. He could only hope that the world would allow him to do that and that it wouldn’t work against him.

"Come on." said Carley, breaking him out of his thoughts.

They began walking towards the building where the gunshot came from. It was a one-story blue house; it looked in rough condition with nearly all the windows shattered, the front doors laying on the front yard, and it was heavily graffitied with the words ‘Black Crosses’ and a black cross next to it. Looking around, he saw that the house was surrounded by tall pine trees, and he also saw that the mailbox was sticking through one of the windows. There was clearly some kind of fight that broke out here, but Lee couldn’t be quite sure about the details. He knew about the 'Black Crosses', but that wasn’t saying much; they used to have a heavy presence in East Macon in the past. Thankfully, some years ago, they were busted by the cops for drug smuggling and human trafficking. They were simply the worst, so he could only hope that they didn’t survive the walkers. Walking inside the building, they could finally hear it—the sound of walkers banging on a door and someone crying. That crying was muffled, so it gave Lee some hope that they were safe, whoever they were. Moving quietly, they saw five walkers gathered around a single door with two others laying on the ground; one had its head smashed in and the other had blood leaking from the forehead. Looking around the living room that was between them and the monsters, he could see that it was trashed, with most of the furniture being knocked over and even more graffiti on the walls and the ceiling.

"How do we do this?" asked Carley in a whisper.

Looking around for one more time, Lee sees a knife set on the counter top in the kitchen to their right.

"Carley, get a knife from there." said Lee, pointing towards the kitchen. "I’ll get their attention, and we’ll take them one after the other. Silently."

Carley nods, crouches down, and makes her way over to the kitchen, where she grabs the biggest knife there before standing up straight. As Lee saw that, he too stood up, and they both made their way towards the walkers. The monsters didn’t even acknowledge them, so Lee swung his axe into the nearest one, sending it to the ground with its head split open. At the same time, Carley stabbed one of them in the back of the head before what was left of them turned towards them and began walking in their direction. One of the walkers was faster than the other, and it was a new kind of horror for Lee since it had all of its flesh burned black, so as the duo moved backwards, he swung horizontally, taking the monster's head off and sending it flying to his right. As the burned walker’s body hit the ground, both he and Carley moved towards the two that were still standing. In one swift motion, Carley stabbed the monster through the eye, as Lee used the top end of his axe to push his walker over before swinging the axe blade into its face, slitting it in half.

With all of the walkers dead, Lee wipes the sweat off his face and looks at the carnage around him. If before the room looked awful, now it was more akin to a crime scene than anything else. Blood covered the walls, ceiling, and furniture, but Lee didn’t have much time to think about that as he heard the sound of snapping, like someone was biting at you. Looking around, he couldn’t see anything until we turned towards the head of the decapitated walker. It was still moving, even though it was only a head. Lee felt sick to the stomach but gathered himself and swung his axe at the head, ending the walker once and for all.

"That was sick." said Carley, shaking her head in disgust. "What the hell are they?"

"I don’t know, and with every day I’m more convinced I don’t wanna know." said Lee, looking at the corpses of the walkers.

"Right." said Carley with a nod. "We should probably-"

Whatever Carley was about to say was cut off by the sound of the door opening; it was the same door that the walkers were attacking. Walking out of what seemed to be the bathroom were two girls; one looked to be 7 or so years old, while the other looked to be in her late teens. The teen was the first one out of the room, shielding the younger girl with her body. She had red hair, wore a dark green jacket, carried a giant backpack, and held a gun pointed at them.

"Who are you?!" asked the teen as she and the little girl slowly walked out of the bathroom.

"Whoa, come down." said Lee, putting his hand up and sadly ending up cutting his hand on his axe. "We’re not here to hurt you."

"And why should I believe that?" asks the teen.

"We came here to help when we heard the gunshot." said Carley, who also put her hand up.

"Why?" asked the teen with a scoff.

"Why what?" asked Lee, confused.

"Why would you want to help us?" asked the teen. "You don’t know us, so why should you care?"

Lee looked at them for a moment, seeing that all their clothes were dirty and torn up. With a sigh, he said. "Because it’s the right thing to do. You don’t leave people behind; it’s just not something I could ever live with. I know you don’t trust us, but we wouldn't try to hurt either of you."

The teen looked at him, most likely trying to determine if he was telling the truth, but after a moment, she slowly lowered her gun before saying. "Fine. You killed all of the walkers?"

"Yeah, we killed all of them." said Carley, looking around.

"There were more following us." said the teen in thought, and after a moment she snapped out of it. "Whatever, probably wandered off somewhere. Oh, I forgot. My name’s Sandra, and this is Clementine."

Clementine peeked from behind the teens legs and waved at them. "Hi."

"Hi." said Lee, waving back, which got him a smile from the girl. "I’m Lee, and that’s Carley." 

"We got a group not far from here." said Carley. "You could come and join us."

Sandra frowned at that and asked. "What makes you think I would ever do that?"

"For… safety?" asked a confused Carley.

"Safety from a bunch of strangers?" asked Sandra with a raised eyebrow.

"But Sandra, they saved our lives." said Clementine, pulling on the teenager's jacket.

Sandra looked at the little girl for a second before saying. "Fine, but I get to ask questions."

"I’ll be glad to answer them." said Lee with a smile.

Sandra gave him a nod before turning towards Clementine and saying. "Clem, how about you and Carley go search for supplies while I ask Lee some questions, okay?"

The little girl nodded before walking up to the reporter and dragging her away. As that was happening, Carley looked at Lee for help, but he just shook his head before approaching Sandra.

"So, what do you want to know?" asked Lee.

"Where does your group stay?" asked Sandra, straight to the point.

"At the last motel down the road." said Lee. "We've secured it from the walkers."

"But not people?" asked Sandra with a raised eyebrow.

"Not according to some." said Lee, remembering what Allen told him before they raided the air base.

"You have supplies?" asked Sandra.

"We have a lot of fuel and food." said Lee with a shrug.

Sandra chuckled a little before asking. "Should you really tell that to someone you don’t know, especially to someone who’s not part of your group?"

"Probably not." said Lee, shaking his head. "But somehow I don’t think you're a bad person; you have that girl to look out for."

"True." said Sandra with a smile.

"Where are her parents?" asked Lee without thinking about it.

"They’ve gone to Savannah." said Sandra in almost a whisper as she was looking down. "But they left messages on the answering machine... It didn't sound good. I think they’re dead."

"You told her?" asked Lee, looking into the other room where Clementine and Carley were talking.

"No, of course I didn’t." said Sandra, shaking her head. "I tried, but the words always died in my throat." 

"I can understand that." said Lee with a nod. "It ain’t easy."

"Yeah." said Sandra, nodding her head. "One last question: are your people good people?"

Lee thought about that before finally coming up with an answer. "They’re not perfect, but I would trust them with my life."

Sandra looked to be in thought as she looked at Clem before she spoke. "Fine. We’ll join for now, but if I ever see anything I don’t like, I'll take Clem and leave."

"That’s fine with me." said Lee with a smile as he extended his hand for her to shake.

Looking at the hand, she saw a cut and asked. "What happened?"

"I cut my hand on the axe; I'm still not fully used to it." said Lee as Sandra took out a bunch of things from her backpack.

Without hesitation or asking, she began patching up his hand. "Here, that should help. You're lucky I went to a med school."

"So are we ready to go?" asked Carley as she and Clem entered the room.

"Yeah, let's go." said Sandra.

"Finally, I’m so tired." said Carley with a yawn as she exited the building.

But just as she did so, a walker crashed into her and knocked her to the ground. Seeing this, Lee didn’t hesitate and ran to the rescue as Carley held the monster back from ripping her apart. With one hard kick, he moved the walker off of her and, in one swift motion, swung his axe into its head.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! SHIT!" yelled Carley.

Looking towards her, he saw a bit on her right hand and paled a little in fear. It must have happened when the walker knocked her over. Looking at it, he didn’t know what else to feel but sadness, pity and panic. There had to be something that they could do to help her, and then a stupid idea came to his mind. If it’s an infection and if it spreads through a bite, if they could cut off the arm, they could stop it. But could he really do it, could he really harm one of his own, whatever his choice was, he needed to think fast.

Will Lee cut off Carley's arm?

A) Yes

B) No

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Carley - 10

She's scared for her life.

Lilly - 5

She's angry with you.

Sandra - 4

She doesn't fully trust you yet.

Clem - 7

She's happy to meet new people.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

Box of Ammo

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

42 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 55%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

7 Adults

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[2 weeks in]

Lee didn’t think about it at all; what was the point? After all, being bitten was a death sentence. Carley would die if he didn’t at least try to do something, so with no hesitation, he ran over to her and grabbed her bitten arm. He held the axe with one hand near the blade and got ready to do what was needed. The bite was near her hand; it looked swollen already, with bits of black flesh stuck in the wound.

"Wha-" said Carley with confusion on her face before she screamed out in pain as Lee swung his axe just above the elbow. Lee was sprayed with fresh blood as the axe was stopped by bone, so he swung once more, breaking through it. This, however, caused the woman to scream again, after which she went limp. Giving it one more try, the infected limb fell to the ground. Without wasting time, he took off his belt and wrapped it around the wound, cutting off the blood flow and stopping the bleeding.

"What have you done?" asked a horrified Sandra as she walked out of the building and made her way towards him.

"She was bit." said Lee, out of breath. "I-I had to do something."

"What’s done is done." said Sandra as she walked past him and grabbed Carley’s legs. "Grab her; we have to get her inside so I can fix the mess that you made."

"You know how?" asked Lee as he grabbed the unconscious woman. Looking into the house, he could see Clem hiding behind a knocked-over sofa. "You did it before?"

"Nope." said Sandra as they passed through the doors into the house. "But I did learn how to do this, and let me tell you, you just made my work harder."

"How?" asked Lee, confused as they put Carley down in the kitchen since it was the only mostly clean room in the house.

"The way you cut it off." said Sandra, pointing at the wound. "It’s wrong, and I’ll have to correct it."

"I’m sorry." said Lee, looking down in guilt.

"Don’t be; it’s a good thing you acted fast." said Sandra as she took the belt off Carley’s arm and adjusted it a little higher. "Now get that stove fired up."

Lee turned towards the kitchen counter and did as he was told. "What for?"

"We’ll have to burn off all the nerves and blood vessels that you cut through." said Sandra, taking out all the medical supplies from her backpack and what looked like a medical saw.

"Why do you have that?" asked Lee, both happy and confused about how convenient it was for her to have that.

"I was training how to do this for my finals." said Sandra before she saw the look Lee was giving her. "On mannequins and stuff."

"Oh, okay." said Lee, nodding his head.

"What’s happening?" asked Clem as she approached them.

Looking at Sandra, he saw that the girl was too busy getting all the things ready, so with no other option, he crouched down to the little girl's level before he spoke. "Carley got bit by a walker."

"Oh no." said Clem, getting a worried look on her face. "Will she be okay?"

"I had to cut her arm off." said Lee, looking back at the woman in question as Sandra put a small pan on the stove. "I just hope she will live."

Clem nodded her head with determination. "I hope so too."

After a moment of silence, Lee didn’t want the innocent girl to think about what was happening behind them, so he asked. "What do your parents do?"

"My mom is a doctor, and my dad is an engineer." said Clem, turning her whole attention to him.

"Those are good jobs." said Lee, nodding his head.

"What's your job?" asked Clem.

Lee thought for a moment, thinking about how to describe his job, before saying. "I, uh, teach history and writing and things like that."

"Like... um... social studies?" asked Clem, a little confused.

"Yeah, like that." said Lee with a smile.

"Do you have kids?" asked Clem out of nowhere.

"N-no." said Lee, almost choking on his own spit.

"What about your family, are they safe?" asked Clem, looking down.

"How old are you, Clem?" Lee asks, not wanting to talk about his family.

"I’m 8." said Clem with a frown. "You didn't answer my question. Why don't you want to talk about your family? Do they, like... hate you?"

"Because they're dead." said Lee with a sigh.

Clem gasped at that before saying. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"You didn't know." Lee said, shaking his head.

"I'm just sorry for being mean." said Clem, looking down in guilt.

"Look, my family is gone, and I just wish things would've been different." said Lee, hoping to cheer up the girl. "But it's not your fault, so don't be sad."

"Okay." said Clem, wiping some tears from her eyes.

"Lee, I need your help." said Sandra loudly from the kitchen.

"Well, I have to go." said Lee, standing up. "Stay here."

Clem just nodded her head as he walked away.

Moving into the kitchen, he saw Carley still unconscious on the floor with a lot of meds all around her and a cloth stuffed into her mouth. Sandra was sitting near her stump with the saw in her hands, and the stove was still turned on with the pan under the flames.

"Hold her down." said Sandra as Lee followed her instructions. "I have to correct the cut, and I need her to stay still."

Holding her down by the shoulder, Lee asked. "Are you sure we need to do this?"

"Yes, otherwise she’ll get an infection or worse." said Sandra before she began cutting into the arm, at which point Carley’s eyes shot wide open as she began screaming into the cloth gag. After a couple minutes, the woman went back into unconsciousness as Sandra finished, throwing the chunk of human meat to the side.

"Pass me the pan." said Sandra, wiping away the sweat from her forehead.

Standing up, Lee walked over to the stove before giving it to the teen. "Here."

"Okay." said Sandra before putting the scorching-hot tool to the wound. The sound of flesh sizzling made Lee sick to the stomach, but he held strong and forced himself not to puke. Looking at the teen, he saw that she dumped half of a bottle of disinfectant before she began stitching the wound up with thread and a needle. In a couple of minutes, the operation was over, as Sandra cleaned the wound one final time before falling backwards.

Running up to her, Lee was worried. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I’m fine." said Sandra, out of breath, waving him off. "It’s just so nerve-racking. It’s the first time I did that; god, I hope I didn’t fuck it up."

"I'm sure you did your best, and that’s all that matters." said Lee with a smile.

"Oh, spare me that sappy B.S." said Sandra, amused, as she stood up on shaky legs. "We have to move; this house isn’t safe for the night."

"The night?" asked Lee, confused.

"Yeah, look." said Sandra, pointing outside, where Lee saw that the sun had already set with barely any sunlight left. "We won’t make it to that motel."

"You’re right." said Lee with a sigh. "You know anywhere that's safe around here?"

"We stayed in the house over there last night." said Sandra, pointing to her left. "It should still be fine to stay there." 

"Then let’s go there." said Lee, getting ready to move Carley.

"Although just to warn you." said Sandra awkwardly as she packed all of her supplies back into her backpack. "The toilet doesn’t flush."

"Yeah, I know water doesn’t work anywhere in the city- Oh." said Lee before coming to a realization of what she was saying.

"Yeah." said Sandra, scratching the back of her head awkwardly before she put the backpack on. "Let’s just not talk about that."

"Agreed." said Lee with a nod as they both grabbed Carley.

"Clem, come on, we’re going back to that house." said Sandra as the little girl walked over to her side.

"What? But you said that we wouldn’t have to." complained Clem, looking disgusted by the idea.

"I know, but this time we’ll be staying on the second floor; how about that?" asked Sandra, giving the girl a pleading look.

"Okay." said Clem with a pout.

With the conversation out of the way, they made their way over to a house just to the left of the last one. It was a two-story house with a dull cyan roof and white outside walls; the windows were boarded up thoroughly, and the doors were still on their hinges, so it was a major improvement over the other building, but it still had the same graffiti as the other one. Just like the other one, it was surrounded by pine trees, but not nearly as much since to the left there was an open field. Walking into the building, Lee was hit with a subtle but persistent smell of shit in the air. Now he understood why she even told him about that; it was awful, but he would only have to bear it for a moment as they walked up the stairs and laid Carley in the master bedroom.

"We’re all gonna sleep in one room." said Sandra as she closed the front door.

"Why?" asked Lee.

"I have to make sure, Carley doesn’t die in her sleep." said Sandra as they checked every room and window to make sure they were secured. "If worst comes to pass, I’ll need you to kill her."

"I-I see." said Lee as they walked up the stairs. "I’ll do it."

"Good." said Sandra with a nod as she locked the room in which they would all be sleeping. Towels, clothes, sheets, pillows, and two mattresses were all thrown on the carpet floor for them to sleep on. It wasn’t the best or the most comfortable, not even as comfortable as his bed in the motel, but they managed to sleep through the whole night with a couple wake-ups to check on Carley’s wellbeing. Waking up as the sun shined into his eyes, Lee looked around and saw that the others were still asleep. Walking out of the room with his axe, he stretched his legs as he walked quietly down the stairs, going to the bathroom to relieve himself. It was the worst experience he had in his life—no, maybe not the worst, but currently it is in the top 10 of his most regrettable moments. Moving past the front door, he heard the sound of growling. As he walked up to it, he saw a walker through the peephole. Looking around, he saw that the walker was alone, so opening the door fast, he swung his weapon at the monster, killing it instantly.

"What was that?" asked Sandra, standing halfway down the stairs as Lee closed the door.

"A walker, I took care of it." said Lee, walking towards her.

"Good." said Sandra in a tired voice.

Walking up the stairs, they made their way into the master bedroom, where Carley was lying. Approaching her, Sandra touched her forehead, at which the woman groaned, and Sandra jumped back in fear. Taking his revolver out, Lee took aim, praying that Carley didn’t become a walker.

"What the hell happened?" asked Carley groggily as she pushed herself up into a sitting position before she saw Lee pointing his gun at her. "Whoa, why are you pointing that at me?"

"Sorry." said Lee as he pocketed the gun in his pants. "Just had to be sure."

"Sure of wha-" started Calrey before coming to her senses. "Shit, I got bit. How am I- You cut my arm off."

"I’m sorry." said Lee, looking down.

"Don-" started angry Carley before stopping herself and shaking her head. "No. You did the right thing."

"It’s just-" said Carley, looking at her stump with sadness as tears began flowing out of her eyes. "It’s scary. I can still feel it; I can still move my finger."

"Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna go away anytime soon." said Sandra, looking at the stump. "But it looks to be healing well."

"You did this?" asked Carley, pointing towards the stump.

"Yeah, I used to be a med student." said Sandra, looking through her bag before taking out a bottle of pills and giving Carley two along with a water bottle. "Take this."

"Am I going to be okay?" asked Carley with a shaking voice.

Sandra looked at her before nodding her head and saying. "Yeah, you're awake. I didn't expect for you to wake up today, but that’s a good sign; means you're healing fast."

"Can we leave?" asked Clem, yawning. "This place stinks."

"You’re right, it does smell like-" said Carley, but she was cut off by Lee.

What will Lee say?

A) "Manure." 

B) "Shit."

C) "You know..."

D) Let Carley speak.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Carley - 11

She's unsure how to feel right now, but she's glad that you saved her life.

Sandra - 5

She sees that you would do anything for your friends.

Clem - 8

She's happy that you saved Carley.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

Box of Ammo

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

43 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 55%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

7 Adults

1 Teen

1 Child

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[2 weeks in]

Lee was about to cut the woman off, not sure what she would say in her current mindset, but decided against it. He only hoped that she wouldn’t say anything too bad with a kid in the room.

"It smells like an fucking outhouse in here." said Carley with a grimace on her face before coughing. “Damn, shit, let’s just get out of here. Now.”

Clem gasped at that before saying. “Swear!”

“How are you feeling?” asked Sandra as Carley took the pills before taking a sip of water.

“Weak.” said Carley, looking down as she gave the half-empty bottle back to the teen.

“Blood loss most likely.” said Sandra, packing everything back into her backpack.

“We can’t stay here. The others must be getting worried.” said Carley as she tried standing up.

“Whoa.” said Lee as he caught Carley, who almost fell to the ground. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah.” said Carley, nodding her head as she held onto him.

Sandra walked up to the woman and placed her hand on Carley’s forehead. “No fever, so at least you're not going to turn into a walker.”

“Are we ready to move out?” asked Lee, turning towards Sandra.

“Yeah.” said Sandra, putting the backpack on. “Come on, Clem. Hold my hand.”

With that, they left the house, and walking outside, Lee saw that even though the sky was clear of clouds, the air was freezing. It wasn’t all that long until winter; the only thing they could hope for was a mild one, but with every passing day, it seemed that wouldn’t be the case. Looking around the place, he saw that nothing had changed since yesterday, thankfully. And so, with Carley's hand over his shoulders, they began walking towards the motel. They moved slowly, so he had the chance to scan the area around the motel to make sure there was nothing suspicious. But truth be told, it was mostly because they had nothing to do. Walking past the gas station, he saw a satellite casino with a cop car next to it. The vehicle looked untouched, but next to it was a corpse with a police uniform on.

“Sandra, can you check that corpse for the key to the car?” asked Lee as they stopped walking.

“Sure, but why?” asked Sandra, turning towards him.

“It’ll be faster than walking all the way to the motel.” said Lee.

“I’m sorry for slowing you down.” said Carley, looking away.

“Carley, it’s not your fault.” said Lee, shaking his head.

“Feels like it.” said Carley, not looking at him.

Lee looked at her and realized that the loss of her right arm had a bigger impact on her than she let on. “Besides, we could use something more maneuverable than that truck.”

“Sure, I’ll get to it.” said Sandra before turning to Clem. “Stay right here with Lee, okay?”

“Okay.” said Clem, nodding her head.

Taking out her gun, the teen slowly approached the seemingly dead cop, and as she stood before the corpse, she gave it a kick to the side to see if it was dead for good. After a moment with nothing happening, she crouched down and began looting the dead man for all he had. Lee saw that she didn’t spare anything as she stuffed her backpack with all of his belongings. After a minute of searching through the man’s pockets, she finally stood up with the keys in the air before waving for them to come over.

“Come on, let’s get you inside.” said Lee as he helped Carley into the backseat of the police cruiser.

Grabbing the keys to the car from Sandra, Lee got into the driver's seat and rode off towards the motel. They passed by a lot of buildings, but none of them were all that interesting, maybe with the exception of the fire station, but with the black ‘X’ spray painted on the garage. He was the one to do that after they looted the place; sadly, the only things that were there were a couple of tools, two big torches, a single fireman’s helmet, and a fire extinguisher. Useful, but not all that helpful for them for the time being. However, now that they have more than enough food for the next couple of months, the most likely course of action will be to search the rest of the houses near the motel. He knew that Lilly wanted to make sure that their immediate surroundings were free of walkers and they could always use the supplies.

Just as the motel came into view, Lee slowed down the car and parked it just behind the main building, out of sight of the group. There was no need to startle them and risk getting shot at. Getting out of the police cruiser, Lee made sure the vehicle was locked before they made the rest of the way on foot and began hearing voices coming from the motel. Lee was still helping Carley walk after the woman nearly fell to the ground for a second time.

“We did what we had to!” said Lilly with a raised voice.

“And what’s that?” asked Doug in an angry voice. “Leave our people behind.”

“No-” said Lilly, but she was cut off by Officer Allen.

“How could you have left them behind?!” screamed Allen, pointing a finger at Lilly, just as Lee and the others saw what was happening.

“You really think I wanted to?” responded Lilly, as the motel inhabitants didn’t spot Lee and the rest. “We needed to get the food back here, but they wanted to play heroes and waste time. I had no other option.”

“Yes, you did.” said Allen with a sneer.

“My daughter made the tough call.” said Larry, backing up Lilly. “They’re both adults; they made their own decisions.”

“Maybe we should go-” started Mark, but was cut off by Lee.

“There’s no need; we’re here.” said Lee as he and the rest stood in front of the gates.

“Lee!” said Allen with a friendly smile.

“Carley!” said Doug with a wide smile before he noticed her missing arm. “W-what happened to you?”

Carley looked down before saying. “Let us in; we’ll explain inside.”

With that, Mark and Lilly opened the gate, letting the rest of the group inside. Just as Sandra and Clem walked inside, Lilly frowned and asked Lee. “Who are they?”

“They’re the ones we went to help.” said Lee as he walked over to the broken-down truck and helped Carley sit.

“And what? You really thought we needed more mouths to feed.” spat out Larry with venom in his voice. “You really are a fucking moron, Lee.”

“Dad, calm down.” said Lilly before turning towards Lee. “What happened, Lee?”

“I… got bit.” said Carley before Lee could explain anything.

“W-What?!” yelled Larry out towards Lee. “T-than, why the fuck did you bring her here? Are you trying to get us killed?”

“I cut the bitten arm off, as you can see.” said Lee, crossing his arms. “In hopes that the infection wouldn't spread.”

“And it worked?” asked Lilly, astonished.

“Yeah, it did.” said Sandra, standing near Lee with Clem behind her. “I’ve seen the infection in action; if she was going to turn into a walker, it would have already happened.”

“And who are you exactly?” asked Larry with a frown.

“Name’s Sandra, and I’m a med student.” said the teen, crossing her arms with a frown of her own. “And this is Clementine.”

“So, you’re a doctor?” asked Lilly, hopeful.

“I’m the closest thing to a doctor you could find out there.” said Sandra with a shrug.

“At least some good came from this.” said Lilly as the group disbanded and went to do their jobs. “Lee, would you show these two to a room? I've got to do inventory.”

“Sure thing.” said Lee as Lilly went to the RV, but before he could do anything, Officer Allen walked up to him.

“Hey, Lee.” said Allen. “How was the air base?”

“Overrun and too big for us to take if you’re asking what I think you're asking.” said Lee.

“Damn. Really that bad?” asked Allen.

“There were hundreds of walkers inside.” said Lee.

“Well, there’s always next time.” said Allen, shaking his head. “I just hope we won’t regret staying here.”

“Me too.” said Lee as the officer went to his room before turning towards the two girls. “Let’s get you a room, okay?”

“Sure, lead the way.” said Sandra as they walked towards one of the unoccupied motel rooms.

“Are you going to be okay?” asked Doug, holding the woman's hand as Lee and the other two walked past them.

“I-I don’t know.” said Carley, not looking him in the eyes.

[3 weeks in]

It had been a week since they raided the air base, and Carley had lost her right arm. She lost her dominant hand and had to train her aim with a BB gun they looted almost two weeks ago from one of the houses in the area. Not much has changed in the meantime except that the temperature dropped a couple degrees, but thankfully there has been no snow yet. They parked the police cruiser in between the two gates, just outside the walls of the motel, since with the RV and the truck, it was getting crowded. Doug made an alarm system using threads, tin cans, and planks; it was honestly amazing, and it worked, as one day they heard it go off and a walker showed up from the forest in front of the motel. That seemed to make Doug's day, as Lee never saw the man as happy as he was on that day. Other than that, they finished looting and securing all of the buildings near the motel; they even managed to find a carpenter's book, which he gave to Doug after the man asked for it. They even built a permanent campfire in the middle of the motel’s parking lot to keep themselves warm during the winter. They cut down branches from the many trees surrounding their new home to fuel the fire pit. In the meantime, they found no new people, but the number of walkers started growing with every day. It seems that their luck was over when it came to walkers, but it was not all bad. Sandra and Clem got used to the day-to-day life of the motel group pretty fast; the teen was designated as the group's medic since she was the only one truly qualified for the job.

Walking up one day, Lee got used to the strict wake-up hours Lilly imposed on them, but truthfully, he still didn’t like them. There was nothing to wake him up; back before the apocalypse, when he needed to wake up early, he would usually turn on the TV or play some music on the radio, but now they didn’t have access to any of that, and the only thing he could do was either slap himself or do some push-ups. Needless to say, he did the latter, which not only helped him get into shape but was also useful in getting the strength needed to carry all of the supplies. Carrying a backpack full of supplies was an agonizing task in the first week of their stay at the motel, but now it was getting easier and easier. He was walking out of the room with his backpack on and an axe in his hands, because yesterday Lilly announced that they would be hitting a big target; what that was going to be, she didn’t say. He could already see that almost everyone was gathered by the broken truck, and walking up to them, he saw that Doug was running towards them as well.

“Everyone’s here?” asked Lilly, looking around. “Good. Now that our food situation is fixed, we need to build up our defenses.”

“We needed guns, and lots of them.” said Larry with crossed arms.

“That’s not such a bad idea.” said Allen, agreeing for the first time with the other man. “I’m almost out of ammo for my shotgun.”

“What we need are those solar panels.” said Doug, almost out of breath.

“Why the hell would we waste our time with that?” asked Larry with a frown.

“Well, for starters, we could plug in a freezer for all that perishable food in it.” said Doug. “And that’s one of many things I could do if we got power. I got a look at the boiler, and it’s an electric one, so we can get hot water if we get the panels.”

“Hot water does sound good.” said Carley, standing next to Doug.

“I was looking through the medical supplies, and we are missing some very important stuff.” said Sandra before the whole conversion broke down into an argument about which idea was more important. Lee could see that they wouldn’t get anywhere with this, so he had to decide where they would go today.

What will Lee decide to do?

A) Side with Lilly and Larry

B) Side with Doug and Carley

C) Side with Sandra

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

No changes.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

Box of Ammo

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

55 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Group stats:

Integrity: 60%

The group seems to get along pretty well.

Members:

7 Adults

1 Teen

1 Child

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[3 weeks in]

Listening to their bickering was getting on Lee’s nerves; he didn’t like to show it, but he had a short fuse and a tendency to blow up in stressful situations. In the three weeks that they’ve been stuck here at the motel, they’ve gotten into a heated argument about every other day. It was tiring. And now, with this group getting along so poorly, he felt his head pounding.

“Everyone calm down!” Lee shouted, at which point everyone stopped arguing and turned to look at him. “This arguing will get us nowhere.”

“And why should he listen to you?” asked Larry with a frown.

Lee just looked at him before shaking his head and ignoring him. “I agree with Lilly; we need to bolster our defenses and stock up on weapons and ammo.”

“As much as it hurts, I’ll have to say this idea isn’t bad.” said Allen, crossing his arms. “We have to get the guns before someone else does.”

“Where would we even find a stockpile of guns?” Carley raised a valid point.

“They were setting up a FEMA camp north of here, next to a police station.” said Lilly, taking out the map of the area and pointing towards the northern part of East Macon. “The military sent a lot of their forces there along with trucks full of guns and ammo to protect the camp. If they made it there, then we would be set for life.”

“That seems to be a good place to start.” said Allen, nodding his head. “Alright, I’m going.”

“Alright, then it’s decided me, Lee, and Officer Allen will take the truck and move out.” said Lilly as she took the map before wrapping up today’s meeting. “Are you guys ready?”

“Yeah.” said Lee, having already predicted that he would be one to go.

“I got everything on me.” said Allen with his shotgun in hand.

With that, everyone parted ways to begin their daily chores, while Lee, Lilly, and Officer Allen got into the truck and left the motel. Lee was the one driving the vehicle, with Lilly next to him giving him directions on how to get to that police station.

[30 minutes later...]

After nearly half an hour of driving, which was spent going through parts of Macon’s northern suburban area, they finally arrived near their destination. Lee had never visited this part of the city, so it was all new to him, but even he knew bad news when he saw it. On their way, they passed entire neighborhoods that were either demolished or burned down. It was chaos. He wondered what could have happened to the place, but most likely the infrastructure was breaking down. Let’s just hope that the ground around the motel won’t explode. But that wasn’t the worst, as the road to the police station was blocked off by military barricades; they could see the building but couldn’t park the truck near it. Getting out of the truck, they could see a ton of military vehicles, including Humvees, helicopters, tanks, and even trucks like theirs. Turning towards Lilly, he saw that the woman was having a hard time accepting their predicament.

“FUCK of course that would happen!” Lilly said, throwing her hands up.

While such a reaction would seem like too much, lately they have been met with more than a few blockades on the roads. Which made Lilly more frustrated with time; this was the 20th road blocked up, and while usually it was by abandoned and broken cars, Lee knew that they would most likely never clear this one. And that’s not counting the growing number of potholes. While the roads around Macon were usually in good condition, it seemed that it had been quite a while since they were fixed.

“Let’s just look around; there should be more than enough here for us.” said Officer Allen as he started walking towards the mass of military vehicles.

Lilly just shook her head before following the officer into the military encampment, with Lee joining up not long after. They went in one group, looking around and checking each vehicle in order, but after nearly an hour of looking, they found nothing.

“If this goes on, we’ll have to go back with nothing.” said Lilly, furious at the lack of guns or even ammo.

“Let’s split up.” said Officer Allen as he exited the back of a truck with nothing to show for it. “That way, we’ll cover more ground.”

Lilly looked like she was about to disagree before she sighed and said. “Fine, but we’re meeting back at the truck in two hours tops, understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” said Officer Allen with a smirk before going to the other side of the blockade. “Holler if something happens.”

Lilly looked annoyed at the man’s words but just shook her head before turning to Lee and saying. “See ya in two hours.”

“Stay safe.” said Lee as he too started walking along the blockade, looking through all of the vehicles on his way.

[2 hours later...]

He made it to the end of the blockade, checking all the vehicles on his way, and found nothing as he neared the wall of the police station. Nothing. He found nothing—no guns, no ammo, not even a knife. The whole place was empty; there was nothing for them here, but most surprisingly, no walkers or corpses. The area was clear of both, and not that Lee was complaining; the smell still made him sick to the stomach, but it was highly unusual. Anyway, walking back to the truck empty-handed, Lee just hoped that the others had better luck than he did, but even then he had doubts. The place looked to be looted; most of the vehicles were wide open, so there was a good chance that they were simply too late and someone beat them to it. As Lee arrived back at the truck, he saw both Lilly and Officer Allen standing there talking before they noticed him.

“What’s going on?” asked Lee as he walked up to the two.

“I found this.” said Lilly, showing two big ass bullets.

“You found two bullets?” Lee asked, unimpressed and a little confused, why she would feel the need to show him the bullets.

“Not just these two.” said Lilly, shaking her head. “I walked over to the police station's entrance and found a whole trail of bullets leading into the building.”

“Someone must have looted the place and moved everything inside.” said Officer Allen with a frown.

“I was thinking the same thing.” said Lee with a nod.

“I think we should check out the main building.” said Lilly, looking towards the police station.

“Agreed.” said Lee before they began moving towards the main building.

With that said, they moved through the blockade and walked over to the police station entrance. As they moved past the FEMA mobile medical trailer, they saw the front of the building, and to call it crazy was an understatement. The walls were covered in graffiti with words such as ‘THEY CAN HEAR ME’, ‘LONGER THAN YOU THINK’ and ‘HAHAHAHAH’ along with various disturbing images. It made Lee nervous about who they could encounter there. Walking through the doors, they saw the place was in bad condition. The walls were covered with blood; multiple doors laid on the ground in one corner; there were no lights; and the smell was worse than anything he had ever encountered.

“Damn it!” said Officer Allen before coughing vigorously.

“Let’s just get to the armory and get out of here.” said Lilly with a disgusted look on her face.

Moving deeper into the building, they followed the signs on the walls until they finally made it to the firing range, where they stumbled upon a horrible sight. Inside, the whole place was turned into a provisional hospital with many hospital beds all around it. What made them sick to the stomach were all of the corpses strapped into those beds; they were mangled, not in the typical walker way, but by people. They had cuts, bruises, and stab wounds, but most had burns; some had a little burning here and there, but others were charred to the bone. Looking around, Lee had to force himself not to vomit, but thankfully he saw two doors. Going over to the closest one, he opened it only to be met with an even worse sight than before. Inside the room labeled ‘The Infirmary’, he saw an enormous pile of bodies going all the way to the ceiling and from one wall to another. The bodies were all covered in blood, with limbs sticking out in weird directions, head on head, eyes upon eyes, all turned towards him, lifeless just lying there. There was no movement from the pile, but even if there was, Lee wouldn’t notice as he was too busy puking to even care. As he finished puking his guts out, Lilly walked over to him and saw the wall of dead and decomposing flesh.

“God-” whatever Lilly tried to say was cut off as she too started puking to the side.

“Good God!” said Officer Allen upon looking into the room.

“Let’s just leave!” said Lee, walking out of the room and turning towards the way they entered.

“No!” said Lilly, grabbing him by the shoulder before pointing to the other room that had the words ‘The Armory’ written above it. “We have to get the guns; if we don't, it will be all for nothing.”

Lee looked at her for a minute and, with a sigh, said. “Fine, but let’s make it quick.”

Walking towards the door, they found that it was open, and with no resistance, they entered. Inside, they saw an empty corridor full of lockers filled with guns and ammo, along with a couple of crates at the end of the room. There were two entrances at the end of the room; both were missing their doors. Just as the doors made a creaking sound, a man jumped out of the left entrance with a woman held hostage. The man looked bad; he had blood all over himself and his clothes. He wore what looked like a military uniform top, but his pants looked like they were part of a police uniform. He had that look in his eyes that told everyone that he was either crazy or having a mental breakdown. The woman looked worse for wear, with tattered clothes and a loose cotton bag over her head.

“NOT ONE STEP CLOSER OR SHE DIES!” screamed out the man in a manic voice as he pressed a gun into the woman’s temple.

“Whoa, calm down, son.” said Officer Allen as he got into cop mode.

“I ain’t gonna be doing shit!” said the man, still yelling. “And I ain’t your son, so shut the fuck up, ya old shit staine! I knew you would come back for one of your own! So here’s the deal: fork over the keys to that truck out there or I’ll kill this bitch!”

Lee turned to Lilly, who shook her head before saying. “We don’t even know who she is.”

“Don’t be lying to me, girl!” said the man, pointing his gun at them with a shaky hand before quickly returning to pressing it into the woman's temple. “I know y'all’re working together to kill me, but guess what ya can’t.”

“What the…” whispered Lilly, looking at the man in confusion.

The man looked even more demented by the second as he began laughing. “I am the only one who knows the truth!”

Lee thought over the situation; there was no way in hell he would let that woman die, but he needed a plan, and looking around, he saw nothing that could help them. He would need to try and use his words to get them out of this situation, which wouldn’t be easy with a potentially insane man carrying a gun, but this was something he would have to deal with.

What will Lee do?

A) Agree to the man's demands.

B) Shoot the man.

C) Bluff and have Lilly shoot the man.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Lilly - 6

She's glad that you backed her up.

Larry - -4

He still hates you, but he's glad that you have some brains between the ears.

Doug - 5

He really hoped that you would back him up this time. There's something bothering him.

Sandra - 4

She's really worried about the lack of esental medications.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

Box of Ammo

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

55 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Members:

7 Adults

1 Teen

1 Child

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[3 weeks in]

Lee knew he had to tread lightly around the unstable man if he wanted to make sure that everyone lived. He slowly walked closer to Lilly as a plan formed in his head. As he got into the arm's length of the woman, the crazy man shot a bullet into the ground.

“Not one step closer!” yelled out the man.

“Look, man.” said Lee, holding his hands up. “We’ll give you the keys; just release that woman.”

“What the hell, Lee-” whispered Lilly with venom, as the crazy man looked to be deep in his thoughts.

“Trust me, Lilly.” Lee whispered back. “I have a plan.”

Lilly looked between him and the crazy guy before nodding her head. “Fine.”

“NO!” yelled out the man. “The keys first, then I’ll let her go.”

“And why should I trust that you won’t kill her as soon as you get the keys?” asked Lee, slowly approaching the man while simultaneously blocking Lilly from the man’s view.

The man chuckled before saying. “Ya just gonna have to trust me.”

“Fine, I’ll give you the keys.” said Lee, walking towards the man with his arm outstretched, holding the keys.

Just as Lee got into arms length of the man, he jumped the man, grabbing his arm and pointing the gun at the ceiling before shoving the woman away. Holding the man’s arm up, Lee tried wrestling the gun away from him, but thankfully Lilly shot him in the head, killing the man instantly. Looking at the dead man, he wondered what could have happened to the man to make him like that, but that was of no consequence right now. Turning towards the hostage on the ground, Lee saw the Officer run up to her. Just as he was about to say something, the older man took the bag from her face, revealing a gruesome sight. Behind the bag was a face with barely any skin on it and milky eyes; clearly, the woman was long dead, now a walker.

“My God!” said Lee, seeing the decaying face of a walker.

“It was a… walker.” said Lilly, shaking her head in disbelief at the walking corpse. “This is fucked up!”

“Well, the world just keeps getting weirder each day.” said Officer Allen with a sigh.

“Let’s- Let’s just get this over with.” said Lilly, looking away from the body.

“Agreed.” said Lee, nodding his head.

With that, they began looking through the lockers and realized that they were full of guns and ammo, with a lot of them being military-grade stuff. It took them almost three hours to pack everything into duffle bags and then take it to the truck, but they managed to clear out the place of everything there was in the armory. But after that, they walked back to the armory to check out the two other rooms in there and make sure they got everything out of there. Walking into one of the rooms, they saw that it was a shower room. The room had a mattress in the back with a lot of junk food all around the place, along with half-rotten fruits and half-empty cans. Not enough for them to bother taking anything, while searching the room, Lee did find something interesting: a folder with the words 'PPP-19' written on it, a stamp of the CIA seal, and a big red ‘Classified’ in the corner of it. He looked at it a little uncertain, but with the world going to shit there wouldn’t be much wrong for him to take this. It looked like one of those police folders you’d see in movies, but either way he stashed it into his backpack to check it out back at the motel. Having searched the shower room, they moved onto the other mysterious room, and as they walked in, they were greeted by crates upon crates, all labeled explosives, with many grenades, C4 sticks, and other dangerous things just lying around.

“Wow.” said Lee, walking into the room.

“That’s a lot of explosives.” said Officer Allen, not even entering the room.

“We shouldn’t touch anything.” said Lilly, looking around before she turned to Lee, who was holding what looked like an oversized grenade launcher.

Looking over the gun, Lee saw a manufacturing tag with the words ‘Made by Mann Co.’ on the handle. “These are wired.”

She gave him a disappointed look before saying. “Lee, put that down.”

“Yeah, we should just leave this here.” said Officer Allen from outside of the room. “No point in taking a risk like this.”

“Sure.” said Lee, putting the grenade launcher on the ground as they exited the building.

Walking towards their truck, Lee’s thoughts were still stuck with all that had just transpired: the corpses on the medical beds, the wall of bodies, the mad man, the walker hostage, the explosives. None of it made any sense to him, and no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out what happened there. On their drive back, only one thing became clear for Lee: that was the reason behind the destroyed neighborhoods. It must have been the crazy guy; he was the only one who could have done this much damage.

[30 minutes later...]

They finally made it back, and upon stopping the truck in front of the motel, they saw Mark on watch with Larry working on the wall and Doug fiddling with the RV’s engine. Seeing them return, Mark and Larry opened the gate, letting Lee park inside the motel.

“So, how was it?” asked Sandra as she walked up to him as he exited the vehicle.

“Weird to say the least.” said Lee, shaking his head as he tried to forget the events at the police station. “The place is full of corpses. It really wasn’t pleasant.”

“Damn, must have stunk bad, huh?” asked Sandra, amused.

“Yeah, you could say that again.” said Lee with a chuckle.

“Stop chit-chatting and help us stash the guns!” yelled out Larry from their left with a frown on his face.

After they unloaded all the guns and ammo from the truck, Lee went to his room for some alone time. In his room, he had a bookshelf; he grabbed it from one of the houses they looted in the past week when they were getting more furniture for the wall. That gave him an opportunity to display his ever-growing book collection; he started taking whatever book he found interesting since last week. The reason for that was the growing boredom combined with the lack of things to do at the motel. He usually spent free time reading whatever book caught his attention at that time, but now he had some new reading material, so he put all of his things down before grabbing the folder from his backpack. Looking it over, Lee had a feeling that he shouldn’t even have this in his possession, but there was nothing stopping him.

What will Lee do with the suspicious files?

A) Read them.

B) Stash them.

C) Burn them.

Where will the group go next?

A) Coliseum Medical Centers

B) For the Solar Panels

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Lilly - 7

She likes how you handled this situation.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

CIA files

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

55 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Members:

7 Adults

1 Teen

1 Child

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[3 weeks in]

[Pov: Lee]

Holding the folder in his hands, Lee sighed before sitting down on his bed. Looking it over one more time, he finally opened the damned thing, and the first thing he saw were the words 'Post-Mortem Plague Project’ at the top of the page in bold letters. That’s what the PPP on the folder must stand for, Lee thought as he began reading the pages of documents in front of him. While some of the text was redacted with a black marker, he managed to get a good idea of what it was all about. After he finished reading all of the pages, he put the folder to his left and tried processing what he just learned. According to the document, the CIA was trying to create a virus that would reanimate a body after death, but all of the tests described ended in failure. The simple fact that the government was involved in the end of the world filled him with anger and disappointment. There were no names or places named in the document, but it wouldn’t give him any satisfaction either way. Sadly, the folder only had reports and nothing else, but one significant thing that Lee managed to find in the pages full of text was a mention of some organization called the ‘Foundation'. That was the only word that this unknown secret organization was called in all of the reports. All of this gave Lee a headache, and he was half convinced that it was all fake or some elaborate piece of fiction, but with the way that man was acting, he truly couldn’t be sure one way or the other. If the walkers were not out there, he would just laugh it off before putting it with his other books, but he couldn’t do that. What he could do and started doing was to hide the documents somewhere safe and well hidden. He would have to think about what to do with the information he was given, but now was not the time for that.

[1 month in]

It was now the end of the first month of the apocalypse, or so says Officer Allen, who apparently kept checking off the days in his free time. And it sure felt like it; the temperature fell drastically in the past couple of days, and now they were freezing their asses off in their rooms, so they mostly spent their time around the fireplace in the middle of the parking lot. Walking out of his room, Lee got ready for a long day of keeping watch. Not much changed at the motel in the week since they got back from the police station. The parking lot was much cleaner since then, with all of their trash in the garbage containers, but even then, they tried to reuse most of it in one way or another. The only major thing that changed was the increase in walker activity; now they had to deal with at least four to six of the dead wandering towards the motel a day. They even had one jump over the back fence; thankfully, no one got bitten, but since then, they decided to build a back wall so such things wouldn’t happen again.

On his way to the RV, he saw Officer Allen getting off the vehicle. The old man must have been working the night shift, as he looked tired. Giving the police officer a nod, he began climbing the RV, and as Lee made it to the top, he sat in the cheap foldable chair. So began his shift; he would be sitting on the uncomfortable seat for the next half of the day before Lilly took over. He’d done it many times before and will do it many more, but there was never anything interesting happening. On one hand, it was a good thing, but it also slowly killed him inside because he would have to spend so much time doing basically nothing. He knew it was important to keep the group safe, but it didn’t make it any less boring. Off by the broken truck, he saw Larry, Lilly, and Mark planning today's supply run; they looted all of the nearby homes, so they would need to go further to get more. Doug was near the front wall, working on a detection system to warn them of a walker approaching, and Carley was sitting next to the fireplace with a book in her hand. Just as Lee was about to resign himself to the task of watching the empty street in front of them, he heard the door to Sandra’s and Clem’s room swing wide open as the teen ran out in a hurry. He saw that she was on route towards the broken truck, as he saw the panic on her face.

“Guys, we have a problem!” said Sandra, running down with panic clearly visible on her face.

“What happened?” asked Mark with a worried look on his face.

“It’s Clem; s-she’s got a fever, and it’s really bad.” Sandra said, breathing heavily.

“Well, give her some meds and stop bothering us; we’re kinda busy.” said Larry with a frown as he brushed her off.

“We don’t have the medicine I need.” said Sandra, standing her ground.

“What?” asked Lilly, turning towards the teen. “What do you mean we took plenty from the drug store?"

“Yeah, maybe, but right now we don’t have anything useful.” said Sandra with a frown. “We ran out like five days ago, so we have to go and get more, or Clem won’t make it through the winter.”

“Then why the hell did you not say anything?!” asked Larry angrily.

“I tried, but all you and Lilly did was brush me off.” said Sandra, shaking her head.

“I’m so-” started Lilly, but she stopped herself after seeing the look Sandra was giving her. “I guess it’s high time we secured whatever is left at the Coliseum Medical Centers.”

“Yeah, I guess.” said Sandra sarcastically as she gave Larry and Lilly a dirty look.

“I’ll take Mark and get the meds we need.” said Larry before anyone else.

"Dad, you really shouldn't; what about your heart?” asked Lilly, worried about her father.

“Can’t just stay here and do nothing.” said Larry with a frown. “Don’t worry about me; I’ll live a long time yet.”

“I’m going; you need me.” said Sandra as she saw Larry about to leave.

“Look, I don’t need a snotty teenager getting in my way.” said Larry, not even bothering to look at Sandra.

“No, I have to go!” said Sandra, blocking his way. “Do you even know what I need?”

“No, I don’t.” grunted Larry before walking away. “Fine, you can come with us, but don’t you dare slow us down.”

“I did fine on my own, old man.” said Sandra, shaking her head as she followed him to the truck.

As the trio entered the truck, Lee saw them leave the motel and ride towards Macon. He was a little worried about Clem, but truthfully, there was nothing he could do to help the little girl, so they would have to wait for them to return with the medication needed.

[Pov: Sandra]

Sandra sighed as they began their journey towards the hospital. She was scared and worried for Clem. The girl was like a little sister to her and the only person alive she cared about. Her parents died at the beginning of the apocalypse; she got a phone call from them and heard as walkers ripped them apart. It still haunted her nightmares—the screams, the begging for help, and the crunching sound of bones breaking. She barely slept for the next couple of days, and after that, she made herself busy keeping Clem alive. Not long after that, they had to leave the neighborhood because of the wave of walkers that made the area their home. She almost didn’t make it out of there alive, but somehow managed to keep them both safe. It was mostly a blur, as the next three days she and Clem spent walking as far away as their legs could take them. And so they began living on the road, desperately running away from the densely populated areas where walkers were abundant. She didn’t even know when they made it to Macon, but they did, and there they met Lee, Carley, and the rest. Truth be told, she still wasn’t sure about them staying there, and while it was nice to not have to sleep with one eye open, she really didn’t like Lilly and Larry. The father-daughter duo didn’t seem like the most compassionate people and looked out only for themselves. That’s why she was so insistent on going with the old fart; she didn’t trust him to get what Clem needed to survive, and while Mark looked like an okay dude, she didn’t know him all that well to put her faith in him. So sitting as far from Larry as she could, Sandra looked out of the window and saw the many abandoned buildings as they made their way towards the hospital.

After an hour or so, they finally saw the enormous hospital. It was big, so finding what they needed may take some time.

“Hey.” said Mark, grabbing the others' attention as they got out of the vehicle.

“What?” asked Larry, annoyed with the man.

“There’s someone over there.” said Mark, pointing towards a building on the other side of the road. Looking there, Sandra saw a vehicle with three people around it; she couldn’t make them out.

“We shouldn’t bother with them.” said Larry, shaking his head. “Let’s just get what we need and leave.”

“I don’t know.” said Mark, still staring at the group of people. “It’s been a while since we saw other people; maybe they could help us.”

“Or they could kill us.” said Larry with a frown. “We don’t know them, so we shouldn’t take risks like that; it’s goddamn stupid.”

“Well, I’d feel safer if there were more people watching my back, you know.” said Mark, turning his gaze towards Larry. “If a hoard attacked the motel…”

“And what, have more mouths to feed?!” asked Larry with a raised eyebrow. “We don’t have that much food, barely 2 months worth.”

Sandra watched as the two men bicker, but that was mostly Larry; Mark was more polite, trying to convince the other man of his argument. But she didn’t make a stand right now. On one hand, Mark was right; they could use more manpower, but on the other hand, Larry wasn’t wrong either; they only had so much food.

[Pov: Lee]

It’s been a couple of hours since the group left on the big supply run, and like almost every day, nothing happened. Carley has been keeping watch on Clem, making sure the girl’s condition doesn’t get worse, but other than that, everyone was doing small things. Lilly was checking their supplies, Doug was still working on the alarm system, and Officer Allen was reinforcing the back wall with planks and nails. Lee still kept watch with utmost vigilance, and just as he scanned the tree line, he saw a figure walking at the edge of the forest. Taking out his binoculars, he still couldn’t make out if it was a walker or not.

What will Sandra do?

A) Side with Mark

B) Side with Larry

What will Lee do?

A) Shoot the figure

B) Call the figure over

C) Ignore the figure

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

[Unknown] - -20

[Unknown]

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

CIA files

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

71 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Members:

7 Adults

1 Teen

1 Child

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[1 month in]

[Pov: Lee]

Lee couldn’t let them leave, so with no hesitation, he grabbed the rifle off the ground, stood up, and raised it, pointing at the figure.

“Hey you out there!” shouted out Lee, which caused the rest of the motel group to look at him. “Come out with your hands up!”

Walking out of the woods was a man in his mid-20s with brown hair, wearing a gray jacket, a rifle over his shoulder, and a machete strapped to his belt. He was taking his sweet time walking up to the motel as Lilly, Doug, and Officer Allen made their way towards the front wall.

“Don’t shoot!” said the man with a smile on his face while holding his hands half way up. “I come in peace.”

Lee sat down at the edge of the RV before jumping down, but regretted his choice as he landed. He thought that it would be the fastest way to get off the vehicle, but even so, it wasn’t worth it as he felt the weight of his body hit his knees. Fighting through the pain, Lee couldn’t afford to look weak in front of the stranger.

Ignoring the pain in his knees, he walked up to the rest of the group as he asked the man. “Then why hide in the woods?”

“I didn’t know if you wouldn’t just shoot me.” said the man with a shrug.

“And that gives you permission to spy on us?!” asked Lilly, outraged.

“In this day and age, it kinda does.” said the man with a smirk.

“Who are you, and what do you want?” asks Lee, still pointing the rifle at him.

“Name’s Gareth, and I was planning to approach you people and ask you to join my community.” said the man.

“Your community?” asked Lilly with raised eyebrows.

“Well, a community I’m part of.” said Gareth with a shrug. “We call it Terminus.”

“Terminus?” asked Officer Allen, confused.

“It’s what you call the end of a railway.” said Doug with a smile. “That’s where the name comes from, right? You’re staying at the railyard near Macon.”

“Yup, you got it right.” said Gareth, still smiling. “So, what do you think?”

“Why should we trust you?” asked Lilly, with a frown on her face.

“You don’t have to trust me.” said Gareth with a shrug. “We have our gates opened to everyone.”

“What do you think, Lee?” asked Doug, much to Lee's surprise.

“I don’t know.” said Lee, shaking his head. “But one thing’s for sure: we can’t decide now.”

“Why not?” asked Officer Allen. “This is our big chance to find a better place than this shithole of a motel.”

“Maybe, but what about the others?” asked Lee. “We can’t make this decision on our own.”

“What about you, Lilly?” asked Doug, bringing everyone’s attention to the woman who looked deep in thought.

“It sounds too good to be true.” said Lilly, shaking her head. “We should send someone to check it out.”

“Me and Lee should go.” said Officer Allen, walking forward.

“Why the two of you?” asked Lilly with a frown.

“You know why, Lilly.” said the officer, giving the woman a look.

“Fine, so we've decided on this?” asked Lilly with a sigh before turning to Lee.

[Pov: Sandra]

Sandra looked towards the three figures in the distance and thought about what could have happened to her and Clem if Lee didn’t find them. As much as she believed in her own strength, she wasn’t sure they could have survived that much longer on their own. And while Larry made a couple of good points, she didn’t have the heart to leave people behind.

“We should approach them at least.” said Sandra, cutting into the conversation.

“And why the hell should we?” asked Larry with the same perpetual frown on his face.

“If they’re friendly, we could use the help, and if not…” said Sandra before looking towards the truck. “If they’re not friendly, it’s better to take care of them sooner than later, don’t you agree?”

Larry thought for a second before letting out an audible grunt and saying. “Fine, let’s just get this over with quickly.”

“Thanks, Sandra-” said Mark as they started walking towards the unknown people.

“Don’t thank me yet.” said Sandra, cutting him off.

The motel group began making their way towards the unknown people, walking through a street filled with abandoned and burned-down cars. The whole area looked like there had been a war of some kind that was going on not long ago. Buildings were half burned down or had a car or a van of sorts crash into them; there were a lot of military and police vehicles all around the place; and most of all, a helicopter crashed into the side of a nearby gas station. It was truly a chaotic scene, one that Sandra was thankful she did not see unfold. Sandra saw that they were standing around a car, and as they got closer, she began hearing them arguing about something. One other thing that she noticed as they approached was that the people were wearing black cloth masks. That was already a bad sign, but what was worse happened when the unknown people saw them. Almost immediately, as the figures turned towards them, Sandra noticed that they had rifles, and seeing that, she dove behind cover. Sadly, she didn’t have enough time to warn the others as the unknown man began shooting at them. Larry was thankfully unharmed, managing to hide behind a van, but Mark got shot and fell to the ground.

“Fuck, damn it!” screamed out Mark, holding his shoulder as he crawled behind cover.

“Motherfuckers!” yelled Larry, taking out his gun.

“You okay, Mark?” asked Sandra, looking at the man with a worried look on her face.

“Got hit in the shoulder- Fuck! It hurts like a bitch!” said Mark clearly in pain.

“Fuck this.” said Larry as he moved around the van, leaving Sandra’s sight.

Just as she was about to say something, she heard a gunshot, and one of the bandits yelled. “They got Frank!”

Peeking from behind the cover with her gun in hand, she saw their attackers looking towards where Larry went off to. Seeing this opening, she took aim and shot at one of them. The bullet hit the man in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground, and just as the last man standing turned towards Sandra, he too got shot by Larry. As the last bandit fell, Sandra let out a sigh, happy that it all went well enough, and as she stood up, she saw that the guy she shot was rolling on the ground. Just as she was about to approach him, Larry stood up and shot the man in the head.

“I’ll see if they have anything interesting.” said Larry as he began walking towards the bandits car. “You check up on Crybaby over there.”

“Sure thing.” said Sandra as she started walking towards Mark. ”Asshole.”

“Fuck. Fuck.” she heard Mark curse under his breath as she approached him.

“Show me the wound.” said Sandra, taking off her backpack before taking out all the supplies she’s gonna need to help him. “Hold still; I’m gonna patch you up.”

“How does it look, doc?” asked Mark, hiding his pain behind humor.

“Please don’t call me that. Ever. Again.” said Sandra with an amused look on her face as she checked his wound. “It seems like the bullet went through.”

“That’s good, right?” asked Mark in pain as Sandra got ready to disinfect the wound.

“Yeah, I'mma just bandage you up and you’ll be good to go.” said Sandra before taking out a piece of rope. “Bite into this.”

“Why-” started Mark, but he cut himself off when he saw that Sandra had taken out a bottle of disinfectant. “Oh shit!”

“Yeah, try to stay still.” said Sandra with a nod before pouring the liquid at the wound.

[Pov: Unknown]

He saw what happened. A group of idiots were walking up to a bunch of bandits, who in turn opened fire on them. He was almost impressed by the balls on them, but what he needed right now wasn’t the best, but something, anything. Trying to keep his family alive just on his own was something he was always ready to do, but it was getting harder with each passing day. But now he had the chance to try and join a group of people, securing a safe place for his son and wife. But the question was if he could trust them.

Will Lee and Offcier Allen go to Terminus?

A) Yes

B) No

Wil the Unknown man try to join the group?

A) Yes

B) No

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

[Unknown v2] - 0

He's considering it.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

CIA files

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

71 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Members:

7 Adults

1 Teen

1 Child

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[1 month in]

[Pov: Lee]

Lee looked the man in the eyes, thinking about the proposition. Truth be told, he didn’t trust the man at all; he seemed all too relaxed and laid back for someone out alone. But maybe that’s just his paranoia talking; Gareth didn’t do anything to earn such suspicion. Still, it would be a good idea to check it out, even if they won’t join them.

“Yeah.” said Lee before turning back to Gareth. “Me and Officer Allen will go with you; check it out. Only after that will we make the decision, that alright with you?”

“Sure thing, man.” said Gareth with a smile as he put his arms down. “We can go right now, if you're ready.”

“I’m good to go.” said the officer with a yawn.

“Right…” said Lee, passing the rifle to Lilly. “Just let me get my things.”

“Alright, just don’t take too long.” said Gareth with a smile.

“Yeah.” said Lee, walking away towards his room.

While walking, Lee thought more about this whole situation. People were setting up communities; it’s been quiet on the radios for the past 3 weeks; no messages from the government; and even the automated warnings stopped being broadcast. It cemented one thing in him: that this new cruel world wasn't going away, and they would need to forget about someone coming to save them. Entering the room, Lee sighed before grabbing his backpack and checking his ammo. Satisfied, he walked out, ready to see if his group would be safe in this so-called Terminus.

[Pov: Sandra]

Having just finished patching up Mark’s wound, Sandra let out a sigh of relief as she stood up. Looking around, she saw Larry still looking through the trunk of the bandit car, and as she was about to help Mark onto his feet, she felt the barrel of a gun press against the back of her head.

“Hands up, bitch!” yelled a man standing behind her as she put her head in the air. “And you on the ground, don’t you fucking move or I’ll blow her head off!”

“Hey, calm down, man-” started Mark, but was cut off by the man.

“Don’t you fucking tell me to calm down! You fuckers killed my friends-” yelled the man with fury, but whatever he was about to say was cut off as his head exploded with the sound of a shotgun being fired.

Turning around, Sandra saw the corpse of the man lying on the ground, with a pool of blood growing at a rapid pace. As she looked up, she saw a man in his mid-40s holding a shotgun with a frown on his face. He was wearing a light brown jacket with a black bulletproof vest underneath; he also wore a red cap on his head and had a horseshoe mustache.

“You okay there?” asked the man in a southern accent.

“Just peachy.” said Sandra, picking up her backpack.

“Thanks for the help, man.” said Mark, slowly standing up.

“No problem.” said the man with a smile.

“I’m Mark, and that’s Sandra.” said Mark before pointing towards Larry. “That over there is Larry.”

“Who the hell are you?” asked Larry, approaching them with his gun raised.

“Name’s Kenny.” said Kenny with a frown. “And how about you show a bit more gratitude? I’ve just saved your daughter.”

“She ain’t my daughter.” said Larry, pointing a finger at Kenny. “And…”

Larry was most likely about to go on a rant, but just at that moment, a whole walker horde sprung up from all around them. The dead were crawling from under vehicles, from alleyways, and from storefronts; there were hundreds of them, too many for Sandra to truly comprehend.

“Shit, fuck!” yelled out Larry with fear and shock on his face.

“Motherfucker.” said Kenny with wide eyes.

“Run.” said Sandra loud enough for everyone to hear.

At that point, all of them began running away from the massive horde of walkers. As they made their way past the many abandoned cars, Sandra looked back and saw three of the dead running towards them. Even though the sight terrified her, she took out her gun and started frantically shooting at them. Most of the shots missed their targets, but she still managed to hit two in the head and one in the knee, sending it falling to the ground.

“Where are we going?!” asked Kenny, looking towards Sandra.

“The hospital!” said Sandra, almost out of breath.

The walkers were gaining on them rapidly, but thankfully, they managed to make it in time. The first to make it near the entrance to the hospital was Larry, who immediately opened the glass doors and was met with metal shutters. Looking down, he saw that they were not fully closed, so using both hands, he opened them.

“Inside now!” said Larry, holding up the shutters with some difficulty.

Just as everyone was inside, Larry let the shutters fall to the ground, just in time too, as a wall of walkers slammed into the barrier.

“F-fuck!” said Larry out of breath with his hands on his knees.

"Shit! That was close." said Kenny, looking around. "Looks empty; we should be safe for the time being."

“We should look around, make sure.” said Sandra before looking around the place. She saw that there were two hallways, one to the left and the other to the right, but she could see more than that because they were poorly illuminated.

“Good idea.” said Larry, looking into the darkness before them. “I’ll take crybaby and search the left side.”

Larry began walking away alone before turning towards Mark and saying. “That’s you. Now move it; we don’t have all day.”

The inside of the hospital was in shambles, to say the least, with paperwork all over the floor and seats, stretchers in almost every corner, and seemingly random splotches of blood everywhere. The building evidently still had access to some power source, because even though most of the lights were off, half of the working ones occasionally flickered on, and the others were thankfully fully functional. It also smelled awful, but the closest thing Sandra could compare it to was the smell of rot mixed with burning chemicals. Scanning the entrance area, she couldn’t see any walkers, nor any corpses, for that matter. She could only pray that it was a good sign and that they weren’t walking into some kind of trap.

[Pov: Lee]

Lee and Officer Allen walked for the past one and a half hours, following Gareth as lead then towards Terminus. They had passed through the forest and then walked along the train tracks. On their way, he saw a poster with the location of the community and the words 'Sanctuary for All’ written at the top. It looked like they were advertising themselves for everyone to see. In Lee’s mind, it wasn't the best idea; who knows what kind of people that might attract.

“If you don’t mind me asking, who’s the leader of your group?” asked Gareth.

“We work as a group, all of us looking out for each other.” said Lee with a shrug.

“And you all stay at that motel?” asked Gareth with a raised eyebrow. “No offense, but that place doesn’t look like much.”

“I keep saying that, but some in our group don’t agree.” said Officer Allen with a frown.

“Yeah, but we still haven't found a better alternative.” said Lee, turning towards the officer.

The officer nodded his head before saying. “Yeah, yeah, but that still-”

Whatever Officer Allen was about to say was cut off by a gunshot coming from their left, along with the sound of people screaming. Turning towards the noise, Lee was startled with his gun raised, ready for a fight. He could see that the woods from where the sound came were not as thick as the rest. Before he could say anything, Gareth beat him to it.

"Down!" yelled Gareth in a hushed voice as he dropped to a crouching position. "We should check it out."

Following their guide, both Lee and Officer Allen crouched down. Walking through thick foliage, it didn't take them all that long to see what was happening. The first thing they saw was a group of around 10 armed and masked people, all wearing black clothes. Down on the ground were three dead people, with 6 more on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs. They were all behind a chain link fence, in what looked like the back of some old abandoned factory. That was what Officer Allen and Gareth saw, but Lee saw more; he recognized the man leading the bandits. It was his lifelong friend, and the man who betrayed him, it was Sam. Lee could barely believe it—not only that the man was here, but mostly what he was doing. The Sam that he knew would never fall so low, but then again, he never would have thought that he would fuck his wife. Maybe he just thought too highly of the man; you can truly never know someone enough.

“We have to help them.” said Lee, standing up, but was cut off as Gareth grabbed him, stopping him from doing something stupid.

“We can’t.” said Gareth in a hushed voice as he pushed Lee to his knees. “Look how many of them there are.”

“He’s right.” said Officer Allen with a sigh. "There's too many of them for us to take on."

"Damn it." said Lee under his breath as they watched the rest of the people get executed.

"We should go." said Gareth with a saddened expression before the trio quietly walked back to the train tracks.

Continuing their journey, it didn’t take them that long to finally make it to their destination. The first thing that tipped them off about it were the big, bold letters in the windows of the building that looked like the main building. It spelled out ‘Terminus’ for all to see, and just before the building was a chain link fence that looked like the beginning of a wooden wall being built around it. The whole place was surrounded by railways on both sides, with trains dotted around the place, most looking rusted and long since abandoned. Lee also noticed at the top of the main building a couple of people with rifles, most likely on watch.

“Here we are.” said Gareth, looking at the place with pride. “Welcome to a sanctuary for all. Welcome to Terminus.”

[Pov: Sandra]

Sandra and Kenny were searching the hospital for a good couple of minutes, finding nothing but empty beds, empty shelves, empty rooms, and freshly killed walkers. The whole place looked like someone ransacked it not that long ago, mostly because the blood didn’t have time to dry. Most of the right wing of the hospital was blocked off and barricaded with heavy machinery. So since they couldn’t explore much of the first floor, the duo decided to search the upper levels.

“Hey, Kenny?” said Sandra, breaking the silence as they ascended the stairs.

“Yeah?” asked Kenny, turning to the teen.

“I’m curious; why’d you help me back there?” asked Sandra.

“Couldn’t just leave you to die.” said Kenny with a shrug. “But honestly, me and my family need a permanent place to stay.”

“You have a family?” asked Sandra, with a surprised look on her face.

“Sure do.” said Kenny with a smile. “My wife, Katjaa, and son, Kenny Jr., but we just call him Duck.”

“Duck?” asked Sandra with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah. Nothing bothers him.” said Kenny with fondness in his voice. “Like water off a duck's back, y'know.”

“A good trait in these times.” said Sandra, opening the doors to the second floor.

“No kidding. But frankly, I think it's because he's dumb as a bag of hammers.” said Kenny, shaking his head. “But he makes up for it with enthusiasm.”

“Hmm, that’s good to know.” said Sandra with a smile before a frown made its way onto her face as they entered the first room on the left. “You really took a risk trusting us; why?”

“Life’s hard on the road; me and my family aren’t really used to it.” said Kenny with a sigh. “More so, even with a second kid on the way.”

“Shit.” said Sandra with a shocked face. “How long?”

“I don’t know.” said Kenny, shaking his head. “A good couple of months at least.”

“...I’ll be on the lookout for any supplies we would need.” said Sandra, turning towards one of the shelves.

“Thanks.” said Kenny quietly.

“Where are they, by the way?” asked Sandra, searching the shelves.

“Oh, they’re-” started Kenny, but he was cut off by the sound of gunfire coming from the outside.

“What the-” started Sandra, but got started by more gunfire as she finally got a good look out the window.

Out there, on what looked to be the other side of the hospital, were five massive black trucks with what looked like a lot of masked men. They were positioned on the road, and most took cover behind their vehicles. All of them are armed to the teeth and are currently firing at a walker horde numbering in the hundreds. Sandra could count at least 20 or so gunmen, but she was sure there were more than that.

“Who the fuck are they?” asked Kenny, looking out the window.

“No idea.” said Sandra, shaking her head.

“Damit, Katjaa, and Duck are out there.” said Kenny, looking worried.

[Pov: Lee]

Walking past the gates, Lee wasn’t all that impressed. All the buildings were made out of red bricks, with most windows blocked off with metal sheets, but other than that, it looked as if they were abandoned long before the apocalypse. What did bring him more hope for the place were the many greenhouses built on the roofs as well as the sheer number of people. He could count at least a dozen or so people, and they just started the tour that Gareth insisted they take before meeting the person in charge. Just as they were about to walk into the workshop, a loud bang and then a shockwave cut them off. Turning towards the sound of the explosion, they saw a fire coming from the left side of the compound. At that, a short man with a yellow hard hat and welding goggles hiding his eyes, holding a wrench, came out of the workshop, his clothes covered in oil.

“What the hell’s going on out there, Gar?” asked the short man with a frown.

“No clue, Dell.” said Gareth, shaking his head before turning towards Lee and Officer Allen. “You two stay here; I’ll check out what’s going on.” With that, the man left, running towards the fire with his machete drawn.

The short man, now known as Dell, sighed before telling them. “Whatever, yell out if the world's ending.”

“This… isn’t good.” said the officer, turning to Lee.

“Yeah.” said Lee, focusing on the commotion.

“What do you-” started Officer Allen, but he was cut off by another explosion now from the right side, this one closer.

The power of it blew them off their feet as a ball of fire swallowed half of the building in front of them. Slowly standing up, Lee coughed as dust got into his lungs. Looking to his side, he could see Officer Allen still laying on the ground. Taking a better look at the man, Lee saw a steel beam sticking through the man’s stomach and another sharp piece of metal piercing through his left eye.

“SHIT!” yelled Lee in shock.

Turning towards the source of the explosion, as Lee saw the dust settle, a large number of figures stepped out of the hole. As he got a better look at them, Lee could make out that they were all wearing leather over their normal clothes and that they were all well armed. Seeing this, Lee made a run for it towards the workshop, opening the steel doors. He immediately shut them behind himself as the attackers opened fire.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Gareth - 6

He was glad to meet you, but is now very occupied.

Lilly - 8

She's glad that you at least decided to check the place out.

Offcier Allen - 11

He was hopeful about Terminus, but now he's dead.

------------------------------------------

Inventory.

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

CIA files

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

71 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Members:

7 Adults

1 Teen

1 Child

---------------------------------------

Episode 2: "Long Road Ahead" - Act 1: "The Next Day”

1) Where will they go looking for supplies?

A) Macon Juvenile Detention Center- They would meet a couple of kids and have a chance to stay at the juvenile detention center. They wouldn’t meet Clem and Sandra in this episode.

B) Robins Air Force Base - The group recruits Mark and gets a good supply of food.

C) Coliseum Medical Centers - The group meets Kenny earlier and gets a good supply of medicine.

D) St. John's Dairy Farm - They met the St. John's before Terry St. John died and could have joined up with them.

E) Regional Airport - They would meet some people there, get attacked by an unknown group, and get a small amount of food and guns.

F) For the Solar Panels - They would get the solar panels and hear some military people on the radio.

G) Sheriff's Training Range - They would meet and recruit the mad man, who at that time was sane. They would get a lot more guns and a lot more explosives.

H) Central State Prison - They would have the choice to try and take over the prison.

2) Who will Lee take with him (Pick two)?

A) Carley 

B) Doug - If he had come along, he would have died.

C) Officer Allen 

D) Lilly 

E) Larry - If Larry had come along, he would have killed Mark.

Trivia:

1) Anything other than 1) B) would result in Mark joining up with a different group.

2) If 1)G) is not picked some else gets their hands on the explosives.

Episode 2: "Long Road Ahead" - Act 2: "Preparations”

Which path will they take?

A) Woods - Gave the group a chance to save both Mark and Terry St. John.

B) Roads - Would have taken longer, but the group wouldn’t have been cornered by the walkers. Terry St. John would have died.

Episode 2: "Long Road Ahead" - Act 3: "Airbase”

How will Lee handle this situation?

A) Rush the tower. - Lilly gets shot in the shoulder and gets eaten by walkers.

B) Try to talk with the man on the tower.  - Lee defuses the situation, and they recruit Mark.

C) Make a run for the truck.- Lee gets shot in the leg before getting separated from Carley and Lilly. Lee makes it to the tower, while Lilly and Carley leave in one of the trucks.

Episode 2: "Long Road Ahead" - Act 4: "On the Mark”

What will Lee do?

A) Get to work loading up the truck - Terry St. John dies, but the group leaves the place earlier and doesn't meet Clem and Sandra.

B) Send someone to check it up (Pick two people)  - They save Terry St. John and get a lot of supplies.

C) Have everyone go towards the screaming. - They get less supplies as walkers descend on them.

Episode 2: "Long Road Ahead" - Act 5: "Saving a St. John”

What will Lee do? 

A) Go investigate. - They meet Clem and Sandra, but Carley gets her arm bitten.

B) Go back to the motel. - They don’t met Clem and Sandra yet.

Episode 2: "Long Road Ahead" - Act 6: "No Good Deed”

Will Lee cut off Carley's arm? 

A) Yes - Carley loses her arm but lives.

B) No - She dies. (What else did you expect?)

Episode 2: "Long Road Ahead" - Act 7: "Goes Unpunished”

What will Lee say? 

A) "Manure." - Sandra appreciated that.

B) "Shit." - Sandra will remember that.

C) "You know..." - Sandra speaks up.

D) Let Carley speak. - Sandra’s opinion of Carley drops.

Episode 2: "Long Road Ahead" - Act 8: "Back at the Motel”

What will Lee decide to do? 

A) Side with Lilly and Larry - They meet the madman and get a lot of guns.

B) Side with Doug and Carley - They get electricity, and Clem doesn’t get sick.

C) Side with Sandra - They get the medications they need and meet Kenny.

Episode 2: "Long Road Ahead" - Act 9: "Welcome to the Tombs”

What will Lee do? 

A) Agree to the man's demands. - The man gets away, and they could meet him another time. They can’t take that many guns anymore. The bandits clear out the place and are more dangerous in the future.

B) Shoot the man. - Lee shoots the man, but the madman gets a lucky shot at Officer Allen.

C) Bluff and have Lilly shoot the man. - Lee shoots the man, and they get a lot of guns.

Episode 2: "Long Road Ahead" - Act 10: "Top Gun”

What will Lee do with the suspicious files?

A) Read them. - Small bits of lore were revealed, but they may have some consequences in the future.

B) Stash them. - Consequences, no lore.

C) Burn them. - No consequences, no lore.

Where will the group go next?

A) Coliseum Medical Centers - They leave to get the meds for Clem.

B) For the Solar Panels - Clem's situation gets worse, and she and Sandra leave the group in the middle of the night.

Episode 2: "Long Road Ahead" - Act 11: "Conspiracy”

What will Sandra do?

A) Side with Mark - They meet Kenny, but Mark gets shot.

B) Side with Larry - They don’t meet Kenny yet, but Mark doesn’t get shot.

What will Lee do? 

A) Shoot the figure - Gareth dies, and they don’t get to know about Terminus.

B) Call the figure over - They meet Gareth and get the option to go and join Terminus.

C) Ignore the figure - They don’t meet Gareth in the future.

Episode 2: "Long Road Ahead" - Act 12: "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly”

Will Lee and Officer Allen go to Terminus?

A) Yes - They see Sam on their way and get a tour of Terminus, but Officer Allen is killed in the attack.

B) No - They don’t get to know where Terminus is, but Gareth says he will come back in a couple of days to see if they want to join. Officer Allen lives, but Lee loses points with both Gareth, Officer Allen, and Lilly.

Will the Unknown man try to join the group? 

A) Yes - Kenny joins the group.

B) No - Kenny doesn’t join the group yet but does keep an eye on them.

Character status:

Lilly - 5 (Alive)

Larry  - -5 (Alive)

Carley - 7 (Alive)

Doug - 6 (Alive)

Mark - 8 (Alive)

Clem - 8 (Alive)

Sandra - 6 (Alive)

Officer Allen- 11 (Dead)

Kenny - ? (Alive)

Sam - ? (Alive)

Dell - ? (Alive)

Gareth - 6 (Unknown)

Terry - 9 (Unknown) 

Katjaa - ? (Unknown)

Kenny Jr. "Duck" - ? (Unknown)

Madman - ? (Dead)

Chapter Text

[41 days in…]

Driving past a gas station called Gil's Pitstop in a yellow car were two men in their 20s. Eddie was the one driving; he wore a gray and black beanie, a white shirt, and a dark blue jacket over it, covered in blood. His face was full of piercings, and he had a regretful look on his face as he drove through a wooden red and white roadblock. Next to him was his best friend, Wyatt, who was wearing a red t-shirt and a pair of black glasses. He had long, dirty blond hair and a full beard.

“God, this is so fucked!” yelled Eddie, speeding down the road with his eyes firmly on the road.

“Why the hell did you shoot that guy, man?” asked Wyatt, throwing his hands in the air, still trying to process the events that happened not even one hour ago. “What the hell WAS that?”

“I didn't mean to do it! It just happened, okay?” said Eddie defensively. “Where the fuck were you with a warning?”

“Me? You're putting that on me now?” asked Wyatt with a raised eyebrow, a little bit outraged at his friend. “I didn't see the guy, either! I was too worried those dudes were going to pull guns on us or–”

“Shit! Dude, how'd they catch up to us?” asked Eddie, cutting his friend off, as a truck came speeding towards them from out of the thick fog.

Wyatt turned around before saying. “Who gives a shit? Just–”

But was cut off again as the people behind them started shooting at them and managed to smash their back window.

“Hurry up, Eddie!” said Wyatt, turning towards his best friend.

“Here, man! Shoot!” said Eddie, handing him his gun.

Wyatt looked at the revolver that his friend was giving him and remembered that he had never killed a living person before or even shot one. He wasn’t sure he could do it; it wasn’t normal to shoot at people, and he sure as hell didn’t want to live with the guilt, but they were in deep shit now, and he had to think about their lives now.

“Wyatt, take the damn gun, man!” said Eddie, bringing him back to the present.

“Get 'em, man! Jesus, man, Jesus…” said Eddie as Wyatt grabbed the gun and turned towards the pursuing truck.

“I can't see a damn thing out here!” said Eddie, looking around the road, making sure not to hit anything. “We're gonna hit a car or a tractor or something in this shit!”

In the meantime, Wyatt shot at the truck following them, desperately trying to do as much damage as he could. Sadly, most of his shots either missed or didn’t hit anything important as the truck swerved to each side of the road.

“God, this is so fucked up.” said Eddie with regret in his voice. “I didn't mean for this to get this fucking fucked up. Fuck!”

Wyatt didn’t give up and finally managed to shoot out one of the truck's headlights. At which point their pursuer swerved to the right and drove into the bushes, disappearing out of Wyatt’s sight.

“Holy shit, man, did you get 'em? The truck swerves off the road.” said Eddie, expecting some kind of response from his friend, but Wyatt stayed quiet as he scanned the road behind them to make sure they weren’t being followed anymore. “Are they back there? Wyatt? Dude, are they there or not? Come on! Wyatt, talk words at me, man! Say something, you fat asshole!”

Having had enough, Wyatt snapped back at his friend with the only answer he had. “I don't see anything!”

“Are you sure?” asked Eddie, still a little bit nervous. “Those guys wouldn't just give up!”

“I said I don't see anything!” said Wyatt, turning back to his friend.

“Here, here, I'll turn off!” said Eddie before turning the car into the first right turn that came up. They drove onto an off-road route, where the fog became even thicker than before. As they drove deeper into the woods, Eddie turned off the car lights, at which Wyatt gave him a look.

“I feel that look on me, man. I'm not being an asshole; I'm being smart. No lights, no... uh, you know. They can't see us.” said Eddie with the utmost certainty. “Christ, I can taste blood in my mouth. I don't think it's mine.”

Not agreeing with the stupid decision, Wyatt said the first thing that came to his mind. “Crashing into a cow ain't gonna help anything, man!”

"Oh, shit. I should watch out for cows! Cows! Why didn't I think of that?” said Eddie mocking Wyatt. “When's the last time you saw a cow, dude?"

“Okay, bad example, but you could still hit something, man.” said Wyatt, defending his point before dropping the gun into the glove box. “God, I can't believe we're in this shit.”

“Don't barf just yet, okay? Please?” pleaded Eddie. “This road is really straight; we'll be fine.”

“At least slow down!” said Wyatt.

“What?! Fuck no.” said Eddie with a frown. “Did you see that one guy's eyes, man? He is fucking gorked. I don't want that guy in my life, Wyatt.”

“Dude, you are covered in that guy's blood.” said Wyatt, just now noticing that.

“I know, Wyatt. My shirt is soaked.” said Eddie with frustration. “It's... like... I just... Why didn't they say anything? Guy's taking a shit over there. That's all they had to say!”

“I told you not to keep that gun on you.” said Wyatt while looking out the window to his right.

“Fuck right off, Wyatt.” said Eddie, making his friend turn sharply towards him. “Those guys were going to kill us and take all our shit.”

“You don't know that.” said Wyatt, not quite convinced himself.

“Yes, I do. That gun saved your chubby ass.” said Eddie with a smirk before his mood switched as he remembered what he had done. “Look, Wyatt. All I know is that those guys had me all... jacked up like I was on speed or something. I was just on edge, you know? Then I was, like, watching that guy's brains come out the back of his head. I'm sorry, man. I…”

“Don't sweat it, man.” said Wyatt, trying to comfort his friend, who nodded in appreciation before turning the lights back on. Seeing this, Wyatt let out a sigh of relief before saying. “It's about time.”

“I will punch your eyes.” said Eddie with an annoyed look on his face before pointing towards the road ahead. “See? It's fine. Road's straight as my dick.”

Both of them smirked as they were finally in the clear, with no lunatic chasing them, no walkers in sight, and the road not being blocked by cars or debris.

“You think we're in the clear?” asked Eddie, still a little worried.

“We're probably fine.” said Wyatt with a wave of his hand. “We don't even know where we are.”

“Yes, we do.” said Eddie with a smile. “We're in the middle of The Hills Have Eyes. The Hills Have Lips? The Hills Have Balls. The Balls Have Eyes? The--“

“What the fuck are you talking about?” asked Wyatt in confusion.

“Dude, leave me alone. It's been a long night.” said Eddie, shaking his head. “Alright, let's Tom Cruise outta here.”

“Really?” asked Wyatt with a deadpan look on his face.

“See if there's still any sticky in the glove box.” said Eddie, pointing towards the glove box while completely ignoring his friend's question.

Wyatt shook his head before opening the compartment, and after searching through it, he didn’t find any weed. “I don't see anything.”

“Dude, it's in there. Look harder.” said Eddie confidently.

“I don't see it.” said Wyatt, turning towards his friend. “What I do see is that ammo that you lost last week.”

“Oh, my God, really?” asked Eddie sarcastically. “But is there any weed?”

Instead of answering him, Wyatt grabbed the revolver and started reloading it with the couple bullets that he found.

“You know, one time I was going out with this girl, right-- Abigail, you remember her, and she told me that, when she was five, I think... her dad took her to this circus sideshow.” Eddie started retelling one of his many weird and distracting stories. “They walked around for a while, saw the chick with two heads, saw a dude with lobster hands, some kind of monkey human with a dick for a face, I don't know.”

“I think loading the gun is probably more important right this second, thanks.” said Wyatt, really not wanting to be distracted.

“Okay. Weird, but okay.” said Eddie nodded his head in understanding. “Shit!”

Just as Wyatt was about to put the revolver back, he heard Eddie yell out as their vehicle crashed into what looked like a person before spiraling out of control. Thankfully, they stopped in the middle of the road, not with their engine, half way through one of the many trees surrounding them. They paused for a second, but quickly recovered from the shock of what just happened.

“Holy shit, dude. Holy shit! Did you get a look? I think that was a guy.” said Eddie, freaking out before waiting for his friend to say anything. ”Wyatt, come on, man, say something! Was that a dude or not? What the-- the fucking fog... This night is so fucked, man!”

At the same time, Wyatt was looking back and thinking about what he saw before coming to a conclusion. While he couldn’t see anyone out there in the thick fog, he was quite sure that the figure they just ran over wasn’t a walker but a living, breathing person. “I think it...I think he was alive.”

Eddie punched the steering wheel in frustration before saying in a somber voice. “Let's see if there's anything around the car. You know, anything that'll, like, tell us one way or the other. That way, we can just book. But I'm not leaving if we hit a human being, man. I'm just...not.”

Wyatt nods his head before rolling down the window. Seeing his friend do that, Eddie said. “Man, don't roll it down broken!”

“I can't see through the cracks. Look, it's fine, see?” said Wyatt with a frown before noticing something in front of him. “Does that blood look fresh to you?”

“Yeah, but it's kind of dark.” said Eddie, unsure.

“Yeah. Damn.” said Wyatt, shaking his head in frustration.

“Look, Wyatt...it was a guy.” said Eddie with guilt in his voice.

“Are you sure?” asked Wyatt.

Eddie closed his eyes for a second before nodding his head and saying. “Yes.”

“How sure?” asked Wyatt.

“Pretty fucking sure.” said Eddie with a straight face. “Don't pay for sex drunk, sure.”

“Jesus.” said Wyatt, looking down for a second. "So, what do we do?”

“What do you mean, What do we do?” asked Eddie with a frown. “We go out there.”

“Go out there and what?” asked Wyatt, already not liking the idea.

“Find the guy and help him.” said Eddie as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Who the hell ARE you tonight?”

“IF it's a guy.” said Wyatt, still unconvinced that it was a good idea.

“It's a guy. I saw him.” said Eddie with confidence. “Come on, man. This is stupid. We go out there, we check it out, we get moving.”

Wyatt sighed, knowing it was a bad idea, before asking. “Both of us?”

“I mean, I don't know... Me? I hit the fucking guy. One of us should stay here, though. In case.” said Eddie, a little unsure. “Okay. Well. Shit, okay. Here, we'll rock, paper, scissors for it.”

“Are you fucking serious?” said Wyatt with a deadpan look on his face, as if he heard the stupidest thing in the world.

“No. Come on, sitting here's making me nervous.” said Eddie, sounding nervous about the whole situation.

What will Wyatt do?

A) Refuse to play.

B) Leave the car.

C) Play.

If you choose to play, what will you choose?

A) Paper

B) Rock

C) Scissors

Chapter Text

[41 days in…]

Wyatt knew they were in a fucked-up situation; there were people out there looking for them, and he was really tired of Eddie's shit by now. They may be best friends, but he would appreciate it if he were a little bit more serious.

“I'll go, you pussy.” said Wyatt, shaking his head as he grabbed the gun.

“No, man. Not fair. Come on, man.” said Eddie, pleading with him. “You usually win anyway.”

"No, man, we don't have the time for this. Those guys are still probably looking for us.” said Wyatt firmly before opening the door. “Just keep a lookout, okay?”

“Fine.” said Eddie, looking down in guilt. “Be careful, dude.”

“Alright, I got this.” said Wyatt, walking out of the vehicle.

Looking around the road, he couldn’t see anything as much due to the fog and it being the middle of the night. The only things that he could see were the many trees all around him, what looked like a wooden fence to his left, and some kinda vehicle behind the fence. Most likely a farm or a ranch from what he knew of the area; not that it mattered much, but he really needed anything to take his mind off of the creepy atmosphere. Taking a couple of steps forward, he felt his foot bump into something. Looking down, he saw what looked like a boot.

“Shoe.” said Wyatt to himself. “Can't tell if it belonged to our guy or not.” 

“You gotta hurry up, dude.” said Eddie in a whisper.

Wyatt looked back at his friend before shaking his head and continuing to walk forward until he saw what remained of the rear view mirrors. Which was barely more than a handful of glass shards and some plastic.

“Thing is jacked.” said Wyatt before turning back towards the car. “Should I take it?"

“No, man!” said Eddie as Wyatt began moving further into the fog; now he could no longer make out the face of his friend.

Only a couple of steps later, he saw a backpack laying on the group. Walking up to it, it didn’t look like anything special, so Wyatt picked it up. Searching through it, he didn’t find anything all that useful—just a can of beans, two triple-A batteries, and a notebook.

“It'd be great, backpack, if you could tell me if your owner was alive or not. Well, no point in leaving you behind.” said Wyatt to himself before he put on the backpack. “Alright, I guess I'll just keep talking to myself out here, because that makes sense.”

“MAN, I wish I was high right now.” said Eddie from the car, but Wyatt could barely even hear him at this point.

“Holy SHIT, that's a fuckton of blood.” said Wyatt, as not even two steps from where he found the backpack, he stumbled upon a big, fucking pool of blood. It didn’t look like a healthy amount of blood to lose. With no other option, he began following the trail of blood. “Why the hell am I following this thing? Nothing good's at the end of it.”

It didn’t take him all that long to find the source of the blood; in the middle of the dirt road laid a man. Walking up to him, Wyatt rolled over onto his back and saw that the man’s face was fucked beyond repair.

“Unnnnnngh.” the man lets out a moaning sound.

“Shit. Are you okay? Uh, sir? Can you--can you hear me? Damn it, man, are you gonna be alright? Fucking help me out!” said Wyatt, trying to get the man’s attention, but the guy didn’t seem to notice him. “Looks like he's pretty out of it.”

“Jesus. This is BAD.” said Wyatt as he noticed the guy's bloodied clothes before seeing something else. “Man, this guy's a COP? COP, PLEASE BE OKAY.”

“Okay, uh…” said Wyatt, a little unsure before picking up the man from under his arm with a little difficulty. “Hrrrk!”

Wyatt began dragging the man back to the car, and as everything seemed to be finally going his way, he heard the unmistakable sound of a walker creeping up from behind him.

“Son of a...!" said Wyatt in frustration.

Dropping the man, Wyatt wasted no time in shooting the monster in between the eyes. Watching the corpse drop to the ground, he knew that more would be coming after them, and looking back at the cop, he hesitated for a second before walking over to the man. He really didn’t want to have the man’s life on his conscience.

“Ah, fuck it.” said Wyatt, shaking his head. “Alright, let's get your ass to the car.”

Grabbing the man one more time, Wyatt began hauling him towards the car. He had to stop a couple of times to shoot more walkers emerging out of the fog. Finally making it back to the car, Wyatt leaned the man on the vehicle before taking care of the final two walkers that he could see.

“Eddie, come help me get this guy in!” said Wyatt, almost out of breath.

“Sure thing bud-” said Eddie, but he was cut off by a truck slamming into the side of their car. “Shit! Wyatt, hurry up, man! Wyatt!”

Looking back, Wyatt saw that it was the same truck that was chasing them before. The door opened, and a man holding a gun jumped out. Seeing the guy make his way towards them, Wyatt opened the rear door of the car and threw the injured cop onto the back seat.

“Wyatt! Wyatt! Shit!” said Eddie, struggling with the attacker. “Get...the fuck...off!”

Seeing his friend being attacked, Wyatt opens the front car door and shoots the guy in the shoulder before hopping into the vehicle.

“Motherfucker!” yelled out the attacker.

“Go, Eddie. Go!” said Wyatt as his friend slammed the gas pedal.

As they made their escape, Wyatt heard two gunshots fired in their direction before the guy attacking them said. “Come on, man, we was just gettin' started!"

Wyatt gathered his breath before looking back; he could see that the guy was just standing there.

“That was close.” said Eddie, letting out a sigh of relief.

“No shit!” said Wyatt, letting out a small laugh. “Let’s hope there won’t be more of that in the future.”

“Amen to that.” said Eddie with a chuckle before turning serious. “So, how’s our guest?”

Turning to look in the back seat, Wyatt saw the man they ran over was still out of it and bleeding all over their back seats. “Yeah, we should get him some help ASAP.”

[4 months in…]

[Outskirts of Savanna]

It was the middle of the day when a short man in his late 30s was running through a hotel lobby, trying his hardest to escape from someone. He was wearing a heavy winter jacket and holding an empty gun in his hand. The whole place was trashed, the windows shattered, the furniture either knocked over or in pieces, and there was even a hornet nest visible on the ceiling. Outside, the world was covered in a blanket of snow, with more falling from the sky and thick clouds blocking out the sun. The man was smiling as he saw the exit; it was a straight line between him and freedom, but as he passed by a column, a steel bat hit him right in the face. Walking out from behind the support structure was Eddie, now wearing a cozy-looking black winter jacket and heavy military boots.

"Damn, that must have hurt!” said Eddie, holding the steel bat with one hand.

“P-please-” started the man, but was cut off by another person walking from behind.

“Just kill him, Eddie.” said Wyatt with a frown on his face. “We don’t want walkers to be on our asses, not after the last time.”

“Fine.” said Eddie, taking out a revolver from his pocket and pointing it at the man.

“No no no no no no, p-please, I’ll do anything, please-” begged the man, but was cut off by Eddie pulling the trigger and killing him.

“There you go.” said Eddie, pocketing the gun before turning towards the exit. “So, you found any-”

“No, I didn’t find any weed.” said Wyatt, not even letting his friend finish the sentence as they walked side by side. “I did find a couple cans of corn, some beef jerky, and a half-full bottle of whisky.”

“Eh, more corn.” said Eddie with a disgusted look on his face.

“Be happy we have food.” said Wyatt, opening the doors and walking out. “ ‘S not like you can go and buy groceries at a Save-Lots.”

The outside was just as big of a mess as the hotel, with cars crashed all over the road, most of them either long since burned or taken apart by scavengers. The road was in much worse condition, with cracks and potholes all over the place and even a couple of patches of grass growing in them. Most other buildings around them were mostly in good shape, other than the shattered windows and graffiti. But among the many abandoned cars laid dead bodies, with fresh pools of blood forming all around them. In the middle of that carnage was one of the few working cars and a tall man holding an AR in his hands.

“I know.” said Eddie, scratching the back of his head as they walked towards the car. “I’m just sick of eating the same thing over and over again.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” said Wyatt as he looked over the corpses before shaking his head.

“You know it’s not our fault.” said Eddie, snapping his friend back to reality. “They attacked us. It’s as simple as that.”

“I know.” said Wyatt, shaking his head as they got closer to the car. “Doesn’t make it feel any better.”

“And it shouldn’t.” said the man wearing a winter police uniform and a police cap. The man looked to be in his late 40s with graying black hair, taking a puff of a cigarette. “It means you still have some humanity in you.”

“So what, that’s your wisdom of the day, old man?” asked Eddie with a chuckle.

The old man just groaned before asking. “Did you get the runner?”

“Yeah, we got him, Hank.” said Eddie, leaning against the car. “Didn’t even break a sweat.”

“Good.” said Hank, dropping his cigarette and putting it out with his foot. “At this pace, it’ll take us 3 to 4 hours to get to the docks, and that’s praying we won’t run into a horde.”

“Do you think we’ll find it?” asked Wyatt, turning toward the city.

“There’s bound to be a boat here somewhere.” said Eddie with confidence.

What will Wyatt do?

A) Refuse to play. - Eddie would go out, and Wyatt would have to leave him.

B) Leave the car. (Chosen)

C) Play. - If Wyatt lost the game, he would go out but wouldn’t have enough time to get back to the car. If Wyatt won, the outcome would be the same as A).

Chapter Text

[September 14th, 2011]

[Henderson County, Tennessee]

[ Pov: Ernest Rowley ]

“Shit! Shit! Fuck!” yelled Ernest, running through a corridor of a long-since abandoned high school.

The whole week has been shit, nothing, but walkers and walkers wherever he went. He was lucky not to be cornered by one of the many hordes out there, but sadly, all good things have to come to an end. He was tired, which caused him to get sloppy and careless. One knocked-over can was all that it took for the dead to lock onto him. And now he was running for his life with only an empty shotgun for protection, and he really didn’t want to test his luck against that many walkers with only that. Taking a sharp right turn, he finally saw it—the entrance to the gym—and using all the strength that he had left in his legs, we bolted down the corridor. Slamming through the doors, he looked around for anything that he could use to keep them shut. It didn’t take him all that long to find the perfect tool for the job—a chair not even ten steps away from him. Without wasting any time, he grabbed it, and in one swift motion, he stuck it in between the crossbar door handles. And it was just in time, as a few seconds after he did so, the walker horde that was chasing him slammed into the doors. Ernest frowned, knowing it would not hold for much longer; he needed to find a hiding spot of some kind if he wanted to live another day. Looking around the decrepit gym didn’t inspire much confidence in him, but after a short while, he saw two ways out of this mess. One was mostly the entrance to the changing rooms, and the other was a pair of opened doors leading to the dark and hellish outside. Without much thought, he ran towards the door of the changing rooms and almost jumped into the room. Quickly shutting the door behind him, he grabbed the nearest locker and pulled it to block the entrance. Thankfully, he did just in time, as he heard the walkers break through the doors, and one of them let out a loud and creepy shriek. Ernest held his breath until he heard the sound of a car alarm, and with a deep sigh, he dropped to the ground as all of the adrenalin left his body. Looking down for a second, Ernest let himself rest for a minute or two before looking around the locker room. Standing up after a few more seconds, he scanned the area, and it was filthy as shit. Quite literally, he could smell it coming from the restroom off to the side, but other than that, there were clothes everywhere, along with school bags, rooting food, and empty bottles of water. Of course, it was so dark he could barely see, so without much choice, he took out a flashlight from his back pocket. Turning it on, he was immediately met with the sight of a walker to his left. Spooked a little by this, he took a step back before seeing that it was stuck under a knocked-over locker with only his head and the upper part of his body poking out. Shaking his head, Ernest walked up to the walker.

“You scared me, you fucker.” said Ernest with a small chuckle before he stomped on the walker's head. “Just… fucking… die…”

It took a couple of tries before he crushed its skull, but finally the coast was clear and he could take a breather. Looking around the place, he found out that there was only one way out of this place. With no danger in sight and being extremely exhausted, he sat on the cold floor with his back against the lockers and took out his wallet. The only reason he kept it all this time was for its sentimental value and to carry a photo. That photo was the only one he had with his entire family—his parents, him, and his brother—all sitting on a bench. It was taken quite a few years ago, just before their final hiking trip. His parents loved to take long trips into the woods and mountains.

“It’s been so long…” said Ernest, looking at the photo.

[August 27th, 2010]

[Savanna, Georgia]

[ Pov: Ernest Rowley ]

It was the middle of the day; normally, on such a day, Ernest would be hard at work making money to ensure he and his brother still had a home to go back to. But the past couple of days have been more than difficult, so the captain ordered him to take a day off, much to his dismay. To make the day even worse than it already was, his younger brother Matthew spent the entire morning packing clothes and other stuff. When he confronted him about it, he said that he would be taking their youngest brother, Mike, on a hiking trip. And here he was standing in the driveway, trying to discourage his brother as he was stuffing the trunk of his car.

“Matthew, I still don’t think you should go.” said Ernest, crossing his arms.

“Don’t care.” said Matthew, shaking his head as he put the last of their stuff into the trunk before turning back to his older brother. “Listen, we need this; hell, you need this. The only reason I’m not forcing you to come is because you're a cop.”

“Listen, it’s not safe out there.” said Ernest with a frown as he crossed his arms. “Do you know how many people go missing every year in those mountains? I do; it’s a lot more than I’m comfortable with.”

“Yeah, you said the same thing last time.” said Matthew, closing the trunk before leaning against the car. “You stopped this trip from happening for far too long, Ernest, and I no longer care what you have to say.”

"Matthew, listen to me-” said Ernest, but was cut off by his brother.

“NO! You will listen to me!” said Matthew, having had enough and lashing out for the first time in years. “Dad and Mom would have wanted this; I’m doing this in their memory! I’m 27, Ernest. I’m an adult; I can take care of Mike. You have nothing to worry about.”

“And what about Mike?” asked Ernest. “Does he even want to go? I thought kids his age only wanted to play games and stuff like that.”

“Maybe you should spend some more time home.” said Matthew, shaking his head in amusement. “Little man couldn’t stop talking about the trip since I told him about it last week.”

“You’ve been planning this for a week?” asked Ernest with a raised eyebrow.

"Longer, actually, but what can I say?" said Matthew with a shrug. “Well, expert, it's been a long time coming.”

Ernest let out a sigh of defeat before asking. “Where are you headin’ anyway?”

“Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia. I’ve mapped out the path we’ll take.” said Matthew, taking out a map out of his back pocket and passing it to his brother. “We’ll make a stop at the Moonstar Lodge for the night, then loop around, and we’ll be on our way back.”

“I see…” said Ernest, studying the map.

“It’s just six days; there’s nothing to worry about.” said Matthew, seeing that he was finally getting through to his brother.

“J-just promise to call if anything happened.” said Ernest, passing the map back to him.

“I promise.” said Matthew sincerely. “But keep the map; I’ve got another one in the car; I know it’ll make you feel better.”

Just as Ernest was about to ask another question, the two of them heard the front door of the house quickly open and close as a child ran out. It was his youngest brother, Mike; he was 13 years old, with black hair and green eyes. He was not a tall kid, even for his age, but he was extremely fast on his legs. He wore a dark green jacket and a black backpack on his shoulders. Without hesitation, the kid ran towards them with a wide smile on his face, making it next to them in no time.

“Are we finally going?!” asked Mike, excited about the trip, more so than Ernest thought he would be.

“Hell yeah, kiddo!” said Matthew, giving the kid a high five.

“Woohoo!” yelled out Mike as he high-fived his older brother.

“You packed everything I told you to?” asked Matthew as he ruffled the kids' hair.

"Yes, sir!” said Mike, still wearing his wide smile.

“Then jump in the car, and we’ll be on our way.” said Matthew with a smile, while giving Ernest a look and challenging him to stop them.

“But what about Ernie?” asked Mike with a frown before turning towards him. “Why aren’t you coming with us?”

“Someone has to keep the bad guy in check.” said Ernest as he kneeled to his youngest brother's height and messed with his little brother's hair. Then Mike did something he didn’t expect: hug him.

“Alright, alright, stop.” said Mike after a few seconds, laughing as he tried to escape his brother's grip.

“Only if you promise to stay safe and listen to Matthew.” said Ernest, not letting go.

“Fine, fine. I promise.” said Mike.

“You promise what?” asked Ernest, still not letting him go.

“I promise to stay safe.” said Mike, expecting to be let go, but Ernest gave him a look. "And... listen to Matt.”

“Good.” said Ernest, letting his brother go before taking off his police cap. “Here, take care of it for me.” Without a second thought, he put the cap on his youngest brother's head.

“Wow!” said Mike, in awe. “So cool!”

“Come on, let’s go.” said Matthew as the two entered the vehicle.

Ernest walked up to the porch and sat on the stairs as he saw the car make its way off the driveway. He saw Mike waving towards him, so he waved back with this weird feeling of sadness building up as he saw the vehicle get further and further away until he couldn’t see it anymore. Shaking his head, he turned back and walked into the house, not knowing that was the last time he would see them in a long time.

[September 15th, 2011]

[Henderson County, Tennessee]

[ Pov: Ernest Rowley ]

It was the next day, and Ernest was rudely awakened by the sounds of a bug buzzing in his ear. Swatting the bugger away with his hands, he felt a little refreshed, although still tired from sleeping on the ground, but after stretching a little bit, he was up and ready for the day. Exiting the locker room, Ernest was taking his sweat time in case there were any walkers still in the area. Making his way through the big open school gym, he was happy not to see any walking corpses; the car alarm from yesterday must have attracted them all.

“Help.” yelled someone from the outside; it sounded close, most likely out in the field. “God damn it! Help me.”

“We’re kinda busy!” yelled out what sounded like a woman before Ernest heard someone open fire. “Shit, Annie, look out!”

And just as she said, Ernest heard another woman scream as she was being most likely ripped apart by walkers. Standing there in the big open area of the school gym, he was unsure of what to do. He could help out the people out there, and maybe they could, in return, help him find his brothers, or they could shoot him at the first chance they got. He met a lot of people in his travels, and not always were they nice people.

What will Ernest do?

A) Leave the area.

B) Help the people.

Chapter Text

[September 15th, 2011]

[Henderson County, Tennessee]

[Pov: Ernest Rowley]

He stood there for a good second, thinking about it, and even though he’s been through a lot since this shit started, he was still a cop at heart. He just couldn't, in good conscience, leave them to die out there. So without much hesitation, he ran out of the building with his empty shotgun in hand. Stepping through the exit, the first thing he saw was a giant wall of walkers just outside a chain link fence that surrounded the basketball field. It kept him safe from the horde for the time being. To his left, just outside the perimeter, there was an old military truck and a chubby black lady in her late 30s with a big mop of hair on her head. She wore a blue Howe's Hardware employee vest and had what looked like an AK in her hand. She was a couple of feet away from the vehicle, shooting at the walkers, killing quite a few of them, but it was mostly in vain since there were so many of them. Among the approaching wall of death, he saw a number of walkers all gather around a corpse, devouring what must have been the woman he heard dying not even a minute ago. While sad, it wasn’t the most pressing matter, since just a little to the right, he saw a man being pinned down to the ground by a walker. Just behind the guy was a hole in the fence, and he saw that more of the dead were trying to get through. He saw all of that in but a second, and without wasting time, he ran towards the man before grabbing the walker by the shoulders and throwing it to the side. Seeing the fucker fall to the ground, he immediately grabbed his shotgun by the barrel and began slamming the stock of the weapon into its face. With a few good swings, he managed to cave its skull in, taking it out with no issue.

“You okay?” asked Ernest, holding out a hand to the man.

“Still alive.” said the man, taking his hand and standing up. “Thanks for that, but we need to get out of here.”

“Agreed.” said Ernest, seeing a couple of the walkers getting through the fence.

“Tavia, get the truck!” yelled the man as he turned towards the woman. “We’ll meet up back at home base.”

“What about Annie?” said the woman with sadness in her voice as she slowly moved back, still peppering the walkers with bullets.

“She’s dead; nothing we can do about that.” said the man in a stern voice as the woman, with a little hesitation, ran towards the truck.

“Follow me; I know a way out of here.” said Ernest before running into the school.

“Right behind you.” said the man as he followed him.

They ran through the school and, in no time, made it outside, where they were met with empty streets. Closing the school behind them, Ernest finally got a good look at the man, and he saw that his companion was a white guy with brown hair and a mustache in his mid-40s wearing a police jacket with King County Police Department written on it.

“Name’s Ernest Rowley.” said Ernest, reaching out to shake the man’s hand.

“Pleasure to meet you. The name’s William Carver.” said the man, shaking his hand before he started walking. “You’re from Savanna? You’re a long way from home.”

“How did you-” said Ernest in surprise.

“Your jacket.” said Carver, cutting him off with a smirk on his face as he pointed at it. “The only way to make it more obvious is if you tattoo ‘Savanna’ on your forehead.”

Ernest looked down at his jacket as the other man chuckled. “I... forgot about that.”

“What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere, Rowley?” asked Carver, looking at him with curiosity. “If you don’t mind me asking?”

“It’s no secret.” said Ernest as he followed the man. “I’m looking for my brothers.”

“Really?” asked Carver with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, they were going on a hiking trip just before it all began.” said Ernest, looking down for a second. “They should be somewhere in the region… if they’re alive. What about you?”

“After the whole world fell apart, I wandered around the place for a while.” said Carver, looking around. “About 4 months ago, I met a couple of people, and together we made a community in an abandoned Howe's Hardware. We had all the tools we needed to make a true home. We have around 26 people living there now.”

“Wow, that’s quite something.” said Ernest, impressed with what he was hearing.

“Ha, just wait until you see it.” said Carver with a grin.

“You don’t think that…” said Erenst with a little hope.

Carver's smile fell, and his demeanor turned serious before he said. “I’m sorry, but we don’t have any Rowleys in our group.”

“It’s fine. I know I’ll find them one day.” said Ernest as they turned a corner.

“I'm sure you will. Oh, there it is.” said Carver, pointing towards a blue building surrounded by wooden walls with what looked like a glass house on the roof and people with guns on the lookout. There were a couple other stores to the right, a comic book store and a gym, from the looks of it. 

“So what do you think?” asked Carver as they slowly approached the building.

“Well, it’s certainly better than anything I’ve seen.” said Ernest with a smile.

[June 20th, 2012]

[Henderson County, Tennessee]

[Pov: Ernest Rowley]

It’s been nearly a year since then, since he met Carver and the rest of the people that made Howe's Hardware their new home, and nearly two years since the world fell to the walkers. In hindsight, it’s been a long time since he last saw his brothers, but in the first days after he met the group of survivors, he scoured the city, each and every building, looking for them. They even allowed him to take their truck to search the neighboring towns as long as he brought back more gas, but he didn’t find anything that could point him in the right direction. In only a few months, he gave up, decided to take Carver's offer, and officially joined the group. It hasn’t been easy getting their trust, but with enough time, effort, blood, and sweat, he could sincerely say that he found a new family here. Today was an important day. He and Troy were going out to meet a couple that got in contact with their group through the radio. After a talk with Carver, the boss decided to give them a chance to join the community. And now the two of them were on their way to meet them, ask a couple of questions, and make the final decision. As Ernest parked the truck in front of an abandoned clinic, he got a good look at the building. It was a mess; half of it was filled with bullet holes, and the other half was covered in blood. God knows what happened here. The roof had a big hole in it, and all of the windows were broken. Getting out of the vehicle, the duo were more and more concerned that they were going to walk into an ambush.

“You sure it’s here?” asked Troy, looking around with an annoyed look on his face.

“It’s the only place that matches their description.” said Ernest, looking at the decrepit building.

Troy frowned before saying. “This looks like a fucking trap.”

“Let’s find out, eh?” said Ernest before he began walking towards the building.

Troy stood there for a second before shaking his head and saying under his breath. “Crazy motherfucker.”

They didn’t get that close to the building, as when they were a couple feet away from the front door, a shot was fired from the building, and a man yelled out. “Not a step closer! Who are you?!”

“Whoa!” said Ernest, taking a step back. “Name’s Ernest, and my friend here is Troy.”

“Friends is a strong word.” said Troy with a smirk as he aimed his rifle at the building.

“Shut up, Troy, and let me do the talking!” said Ernest firmly as he forced the other man to lower his gun before turning towards the building. “Carver sent us; we were supposed to meet up with someone!”

“Carver sent you?” asked the man more calmly. “William Carver?”

“That’s the one.” said Ernest with a smile. "Now, can we put down the gun and talk inside?”

“Sure, come on in.” said the man as the duo approached the building and walked inside.

Upon entering the clinic, Ernest realized that it was just as bad inside as outside. Blood, trash, and other filth littered the ground, and most of the furniture was broken, rotting, or both. Looking to his right, he saw a black man in his early 40s with graying hair holding a hunting rifle. The man looked visibly tired, like he hadn’t slept for the past few days, at least.

“Sorry about that.” said the man leaning on the reception counter. “Met too many wrong people on the road, hope you understand?”

“Just don’t do it again.” said Troy harshly.

“Sure thing.” said the man with a nod. “I’m Alvin, and my wife Rebecca is in the back. I guess we’ll be joining your group.”

“Yeah, but before any of that, we have a couple of questions for the two of you.” said Ernest, stopping the man in his tracks. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing too personal; we just have to make sure it’s safe to let you join. Hope you understand.”

“Sure thing, let’s go.” said Alvin as he led them deeper into the building.

What will Ernest do?

A) Leave the area. - Ernest meets Arvo and the Russians who shoot him.

B) Help the people. (Chosen) - Ernest joins Carver's group.

Chapter Text

[October 13th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Carley]

Carley stood outside Sandra’s room, looking over the parking lot of the motel. Lilly was standing guard over the place after Lee and Allen left with that Gareth guy. Doug was outside the wall setting up some kind of warning system with wires and bells, and she was making sure the little girl in the room didn’t die. It was heartbreaking to see an innocent kid in so much pain, but someone had to watch over her. Looking back towards the doors to the room, Carley sighed. It had been a while since she went in there, so with little hesitation, she made her way to the entrance. Trying to open the door with her right hand, she looked at the stump before shaking her head in frustration. Entering the door, Carley was met with a dimly lit room, and to her left, she saw a bed with Clem laying under the blankets. Carley sighed before walking up to her and checking the girl’s temperature with her left and only hand, and upon touching the little girl's forehead with the back of her hand, It felt warm—too warm and moist from the sweat, it would be clear for anybody that the child was sick. Next to the bed was a bucket of cold water with a rag in it. Without hesitation, she took the rage before wiping the sweat from her forehead. After doing that for a couple of minutes, Carley walked out of the room and quietly closed the doors. Walking over to the railing, she leaned against it before rubbing her temples. Clem’s temperature was too high for any healthy kid her age. Carley clenched her fist in frustration, knowing the only thing she could do was stand and wait for the others to come back. Looking at her amputated arm, she silently cursed herself for being so careless. The only thing she brought to the group was her good aim, but now she was useless. All because of one moment, one decision, and now everyone was treating her like she couldn’t do anything.

She stayed there for what seemed like an hour, looking over the motel, before Doug came back. Walking through the main gate, the man looked around, spotting her on the second level. He began making his way towards her.

“How are you doing?” asked Doug, walking up to her.

“I… I’m fine.” said Carley, lying through her teeth. “I’m more worried about Clem.”

Doug looked back toward the doors behind them before asking. “How’s she doing?”

“The fever’s not letting up.” said Carley with a sigh. “I just hope they get back soon.”

“Yeah.” said Doug with a nod, as silence fell between them for a good minute or two.

“I’m useless.” said Carley in a deafening tone as she looked at her stump.

Doug was shocked to hear her say that; it almost seemed out of character for her to say that. Carley was a confident, no-nonsense reporter who was never afraid to speak her mind, but it seems like the loss of her arm affected her more than anyone knew.

“Carley, that's not true.” said Doug, trying to comfort her.

Carley closed her eyes in frustration as Doug spoke. She really liked him, but there was no point in him lying like that. She knew what she was good at, and it wasn’t a lot to begin with. She was a great reporter and decent enough with a gun, but now that she lost her dominant arm, she had nothing to contribute to the group.

[Coliseum Medical Center, Macon]

[Pov: Sandra]

“Are they safe?” asked Sandra, a little worried. “Should we go and get them?”

“No.” said Kenny, shaking his head. “They’re safe. 'Sides, we wouldn’t make it past the walkers, let alone whoever those guys are.”

Kenny took out what looked like a sniper rifle scope from his back pocket before looking through it. After a few seconds, he lowered it with a frown on his face before turning to her.

“They don’t look like raiders to me.” said Kenny before handing the scope to her.

“Raiders?” asked Sandra with a raised eyebrow as she looked through the scope.

Now having a better look at the people outside, she saw that they wore pitch black military-like uniforms with combat helmets covering their entire faces. Checking the vehicles, she saw a weird symbol on the side; it was three white circles. The only thing it reminded her of was the biohazard warning symbol. The soldiers were methodical, quickly thinning down the number of walkers.

“Yeah, saw a bunch of people hold families at gunpoint, take their stuff before killing them.” said Kenny with a frown as he eyed the group through the window. “Never had to deal with any of them, thankfully.”

“How do you know they're not raiders?” asked Sandra, giving the scope back to the man. “Cause they don’t look all that friendly to me.”

“They’re too uniform, too organized.” said Kenny before shaking his head. “There’s something going on, and A’h don’t like it. Not one bit.”

“Let’s just search for the meds and get out of here.” said Sandra, walking away from the window.

“You can say that again.” said Kenny, shaking his head.

The two went to search every room on the floor but only found some basic medical equipment and a half-empty bottle of disinfectant. Sadly, nothing that would help kill Clem’s fever, which was causing Sandra to grow more and more frustrated. As they were walking back to the staircase, she heard the gunfire outside die down, meaning either the walkers overran them or they killed most of the walkers. But seeing that there were no cries for help or screams of agony, it was most likely the latter rather than the former. Upon opening the doors to the staircase, Sandra was met with an even more shocking scene. A woman in her late 30s wearing medical scrubs was walking down the stairs with a gun in one hand and a box of medicine in the other.

“Who the hell are you?!” asked Kenny, pointing his shotgun at the woman.

“I’m Dr. Belshaw; are you with THEM?” said the woman with her gun pointed at them.

“And who exactly are them?” asked Kenny with a raised eyebrow.

“They said that they would take me to my family if I helped them.” said the woman, looking disheveled as she pointed her gun at them, looking ready to shoot. “If you’re not with them, then who the hell are you?!”

As the two spoke, Sandra noticed that the woman had the medications she needed for Clem. She could simply ask for them, but the woman looked too unstable, and she wasn’t about to risk getting shot. Whatever Sandra decided to do, she had to do it fast.

[Coliseum Medical Center, Macon]

[Pov: Mark]

Mark sighed after searching yet another room with nothing useful in it. He and Larry scoured through nearly every nook and cranny, with nothing to show for it. It looked like this place was looted a long time ago. Mark just hoped they would find something to help the kid. Walking out of the room, he looked down the hall to his right and saw that there was only one more room left for them to search.

“You find anything?” asked the older man walking up to him.

“No, nothing.” said Mark, shaking his head.

“GOD DAMNIT!” said Larry as he punched the wall in frustration.

“This is the last room.” said Mark, pointing towards the doors. “Hope that others had better luck.”

“And what are you waiting for, an invitation?” said Larry before opening the doors.

Once inside the room, the duo was met with rows upon rows of file cabinets on both sides and, in front of them, a table with a box. Even from that far away, Mark saw that the box contained a lot of pill bottles, which caused him to smile. The room was much better lit than the rest of the hospital and looked practically untouched by looters. There was no blood or filth anywhere in sight, but it was a little dusty. Walking towards the table, the two had their eyes peeled for any sign of danger; the room must have been an archive of some kind. Just as they were about to make it to the center of the room, they heard a loud thud, like someone was kicking a door open.

“LOBBY CLEAR!” yelled out someone from behind them.

Hearing this, the duo looked back down the corridor and saw two people clad in black. Seeing this, both of them immediately ran to hide behind the file cabinets, furthest away from the doors. They heard the people make their way through all the rooms before approaching the archives.

“ROOM CLEAR!” yelled out one of the soldiers as they entered the archives.

Hearing this, Mark peeked around the file cabinet and saw the two well-equipped soldiers make their way inside. They looked menacing, to say the least, with their gear all black and their weird big helmets that covered their entire faces. They also had an insignia on their uniform, one that he couldn’t recognize.

“There’s some medicine here.” said the female soldier as she walked towards the table with the box.

“Take them, and let’s get out of here.” said the other soldier standing guard at the door.

“Who are they?!” asked Larry in a hushed voice.

“Military… mercenaries… I-I don’t know. Never saw the insignia that they wear.” said Mark in a whisper. “There’s only two of them, but they're heavily armed.”

“We can’t let them take those meds.” said Larry, standing up.

“They’ll gun us down.” said Mark, grabbing the man’s arm.

“You can stay here if you’re such a wussy.” said Larry with his signature frown and his gun at the ready. “But I’m not gonna let them take our meds. That little girl needs them.”

What will Sandra do?

A) Try to take the medicine from her.

B) Try to negotiate.

C) Ask for the meds.

D) Let her go.

What will Carley say?

A) “You’re wrong!”

B) “Maybe you’re right.”

What will Mark do?

A) Stop Larry.

B) Stay hidden.

C) Join Larry.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

71 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Members:

7 Adults

1 Teen

1 Child

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[October 13th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Coliseum Medical Center, Macon]

[Pov: Sandra]

“I’m Sandra.” said Sandra, hoping to make some kind of deal with the woman. “We were here looking for meds, so I have to ask, is there-”

The woman, who looked both paranoid and extremely impatient, cut her off by saying. “Yeah, I’m not giving my meds to two junkies.”

“Listen, we can work something out. We really need those meds-” said Sandra, but was cut off by the woman.

“I don’t have time for this.” said the woman with anger in her voice before she shot Sandra.

“AHH!” yelled out Sandra in pain as she felt the bullet go clean through her shoulder, which caused her to fall to the ground.

“You bitch!” yelled Kenny, shooting her in the head, which caused her head to explode, covering the walls in gore.

“Are you okay?!” asked Kenny as he helped her stand up.

“I’m fine.” said Sandra, struggling to get up. “It hurts like hell, but it went clean through, so I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, let’s go somewhere safe and patch you up.” said Kenny as he picked up the box of meds from the floor.

“Let’s search the upper levels first!” yelled out someone from below. “The shots came from up there!”

“Shit!” said Kenny in a hushed voice.

With that said, the duo went back to the second floor as they heard multiple people climbing up the stairs. Quietly closing the doors behind them, they didn’t have much time to hide before those people would get here.

“Where do we hide?” asked Sandra, looking around frantically.

Looking around, Kenny pointed towards a door that they didn’t open—a door leading to a storage closet. “There.”

Without hesitation, they ran towards the door and entered the room, trying their best not to make any noise in the process. Upon entering the room, they were met with a lot of cleaning supplies, mops, and other stuff like that. But the most prominent sight in the room was a desk covered in blood and a single-soaked sheet of paper in the middle of it.

“SHIT!” said one of the people, who sounded like a guy. “She’s dead; what do we do now, ma’am?!”

“We tell dispatch and wait for orders.” said the other one, but this time it was a woman.

“Command, this is Lieutenant Colonel Scarlett O’Hara, copy.” said the woman, possibly to a walkie-talkie or something. “We found the VIP, but she’s dead... Looks fresh, the blood hasn't even dried up yet, and I believe we’ve heard the shot that did it. Understood… Yes, sir. Copy that, sir. Over and out.”

“What are our orders, ma’am?” asked the man.

“We’re leaving. Now!” said the woman.

“But ma’am-” said the man, but he was cut off.

“Those are the orders, so follow them, soldier!” said the woman in an authoritative voice. "Everyone, get back to your vehicles; we’re leaving.”

After a few seconds, they heard the two leave down the stairs. Sandra and Kenny let out a sigh of relief.

“That’s a relief.” said Sandra, wiping the sweat off her face.

"Still, we should wait here for a while until they leave the area.” said Kenny, adjusting his hat.

“I agree, but at least we have the meds.” said Sandra, leaning against the doors. “All in all, this is a mild success.”

“You got shot.” said Kenny with a deadpan expression. “And we’re hiding from God knows who.”

“But we got the meds; that's all that matters to me.” said Sandra with a smile as she looked at the box. “With this, I can keep Clem safe and healthy.”

“Clem? Who’s that?” asked Kenny with a raised eyebrow.

“She’s a kid; I used to babysit.” said Sandra, looking down for a second. “But with her parents in Savanna or dead, I have to take care of her.”

“Damn. How old is she?” asked Kenny, surprised.

“She’s 8.” said Sandra as she took off her backpack and began patching up her wound.

“How old are you?” asked Kenny, now getting a little worried. “You even know anything about raising a child?”

“I’m 19.” said Sandra, wrapping up the wound with bandages. “Truth be told, I don’t know the first thing about raising a kid, but I have known Clem since she was 5, so I know how to take care of her.”

“At least you're honest. Shit, better than I was when Duck showed up.” said Kenny, shaking his head fondly. “You'll figure it out. Besides, if you ever need help, Katjaa and I will help however we can.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep that bundle of sunshine safe…” said Sandra with the utmost seriousness as she finished patching up her wound. “Even if it kills me.”

“I’m sure that with you around, that girl has nothing to worry about.” said Kenny with a smirk.

“I sure hope so.” said Sandra with a smile. “I’m the only one she has left, and she’s the only one I have left.”

They sat in silence for a good couple of minutes before finally deciding to leave the storage closet. Walking out of the room and onto the staircase, Sandra saw that the soldiers didn’t even bother taking the woman’s corpse, even though he was some kind of VIP to them. Looking over the body, she took the dead woman’s gun before noticing a white card with ‘PPP’ written in big black letters on its front and center sticking out of her pocket. Taking the lamented card, there was nothing else on it, which only confused Sandra even more.

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Carley]

“Maybe you’re right.” said Carley, looking down in thought. “And while I’m thankful that you think that, Doug. It doesn’t change how I feel.”

The two stood in silence for a good few seconds before Doug spoke up again. “Well, then... umm, maybe we should address the core of the issue?”

"Really, Doug?” asked Carley with a raised eyebrow.

“...What?” asked Doug, confused.

“Doug, I like you. I do. I really do.” said Carley, which brought a smile to his face. “But I don’t think I need you playing a therapist or a concerned boyfriend right now.”

“WH-no, no- That-” said Doug, caught off guard by the comment before gathering his wits again. “That’s not what I‘m trying to do.”

“Really?” said Carley with a smirk. “Could have fooled me.”

“Carley.” said Doug with the utmost seriousness in his voice. “If we can get to the root of the issue, we can work together to rectify it.”

Carley looked at him for a second before letting out a sigh and shaking her head. “Doug, I don’t know-”

“You’re not alone, Carley.” said Doug, cutting her off. “Let me help you.”

“Alright.” said Carley with a small smile, but before they could start the improv therapist session, they heard a vehicle coming.

Turning to their left, they saw the truck that Sandra, Larry, and Mark took this morning, but they only saw the two men inside. As Lilly opened the gate, Carley and Doug made their way down and saw the two exit the vehicle. While Larry only looked tired and slightly bruised, Mark looked like he was at death's door. He was pale as a ghost, all of his clothes were covered in blood, and he looked ready to fall over at any second. And just as it looked like he was about to hit the ground with his face, Larry came to the rescue and grabbed him. The older man was helping Mark to his room as his daughter went after them and asked with a concerned voice. 

“Dad, what happened?” asked Lilly, following her father. “Where’s Sandra?”

“There were... compilations.” said Larry, which was very unlike him not to immediately bitch about what must have gone wrong. “I’ll explain everything when the others get here. Right now, we need to get him inside.”

“Dad, what do you mean ‘others’?” asked Lilly, not letting up, until Larry gave her a look and she finally backed off.

“Lilly-” said Larry in a dangerous tone.

“Alright, I get it. We wait.” said Lilly, walking away from the two and getting back to her shift.

As Larry and Mark entered the latter’s room, Carley felt the tension rise. Something big must have happened for Larry to act so weirdly hostile towards Lilly, and the fact that Sandra didn’t return with them. Carley just hoped that it wouldn’t be too big for them to handle.

[Coliseum Medical Center, Macon]

[Pov: Mark]

It didn’t take Mark a lot of time to realize that there was nothing he could do except help Larry. Because if he stayed here, the older man would get himself killed, and Lilly would either kill him, throw him out of the group, or make his life a living hell. On the other hand, there was nothing he could do to stop the guy; he was like a wall of pure muscles, too strong for him to do anything without making a ruckus.

“Fine, let’s do this.” said Mark in a whisper as he took out his revolver.

Hearing this, Larry nods before beginning a countdown, and as the older man puts down the last finger, they run out from behind their cover. The two soldiers had their guards down, thankfully, and their weapons pointed to the ground. Larry was the first one to engage the enemy and slammed one of them to the ground.

“ACK- Fucker-” said the man, falling to the ground.

Just as Larry was about to shoot the man, he got kicked in the knee by the soldier. The force of the blow caused Larry to fall on top of the man and drop his gun in the process. 

“What the-” said the woman going for her gun as she was distracted by Larry beating the ever-loving shit out of her partner.

Making use of this distraction, Mark aimed at her and pulled the trigger, nailing the woman in the neck. The woman couldn’t even let out a scream as she grabbed the side of her neck, sadly for her not making the blooding any slower.

“You fuck-” said the woman, barely pointing her weapon at him.

“Nadia! You asshole's are fucking de-” said the man on the floor before Larry snapped his neck.

As the woman was slowly dying in the last moments of her life, she pulled the trigger on her assault rifle just before falling to the ground. While the spray of bullets was mostly ineffective, sadly, one of them managed to hit Mark. The bullet hit him in the knee, blowing a big chunk of flesh off and sending him falling to the ground in pain.

“Son of a bitch!” said Larry as he stood up. “WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!”

“AHHH! AHHH! She shot my kneecap off!” said Mark on the floor, holding his bleeding knee. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

As Mark said all of that, Larry grabbed the box of meds before making his way towards the injured man.

“... I’ll get you out of here, soldier. You just hold onto the meds.” said Larry before handing Mark the box. “You ready?”

Mark looked at the box for a few seconds before nodding his head and taking it. The only thing on his mind right now was that little girl, who needed them to live. Larry grabbed Mark before practically throwing him onto his shoulder, and finally they were getting out of there. On their way back, thankfully, they didn’t see any more of the soldiers in black, but Mark managed to spot a bunch of black trucks in the distance driving away. As they exited the building, Mark saw that the area was clean of any walkers, but there were a lot of corpses around. He was still confused about who they were or if attacking them was even a good idea. It was clear that they were well armed and had a military background of some kind, but why did they wear only black, and what was with that insignia. Before he could ponder any more, Larry put him on the ground, learning against their truck.

“How are you holding up?” asked Larry in his gruff voice.

“Hurts like a motherfucker.” said Mark, surprised that Larry cared, but it seems like the guy isn’t a total asshole.

“Sandra will patch you up when she gets back. So stop acting like a baby.” said Larry, erasing any good will that he built up with the previous question.

Mark looked at him before shaking his head. “At least it’s not bleeding that much.”

Mark sat there as they waited for the others to come back; meanwhile, Larry took the box of meds and stashed it inside the vehicle. In the meantime, Mark looked around the town, and it was in bad shape. That wasn’t anything new; he had seen it before, but as he looked at it now, he could only see how the military failed to keep the people safe. As he scanned the area, he saw a slowly rising pillar of smoke in the distance. He could only hope that it was a campfire and not a forest fire. They had to wait a long couple of minutes before they saw the two come back. Kenny was carrying a box of what most likely were more meds and Sandra was holding her shoulder.

“Holy shit!” said Sandra before running over to Mark. “Let me have a look at that! Now!”

“So how is it, doc?” asked Larry as the teen threw her backpack off and grabbed her supplies.

“It didn’t hit any arteries. So, you’ll live…” said Sandra after giving the wound a good look.

“Hell yeah!” said Mark as she began cleaning the injury. “Can't wait to be back on my feet.”

“But-” said Sandra as she took out a roll of bandages.

“Fuck… no…” said Mark with dread in his voice.

“-you won’t be able to use that leg ever again.” said Sandra as she finished wrapping the wound.

“Fuck, so that’s it for me, huh?” asked Mark, hitting the ground with his fist. “Can’t we make a prosthesis of some kind or anything like that?” 

“I’ll see what I can do when we get back, Mark.” said Sandra, packing her things back into her backpack and putting it on. “But I can’t promise anything.”

“So, we have everything we need, yeah?” asked Larry, looking ready to go back.

“Yeah.” said Sandra, nodding her head in thought.

“Then let’s get out of here.” said Larry, walking towards the truck.

“Hey, wait a goddamn second.” said Kenny as he walked up to the older man.

“What more do you want?” asked Larry, stopping in his tracks and turning to look at Kenny. “We have to go before more of those guys come here.”

“My family- ” Kenny started.

“What, there’s more of you?!” said Larry, cutting him off. “We don’t have the-”

“Larry!” said Sandra with a harsh tone. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“Wha- But-” said Larry, frustrated, before letting out a grunt. “Fine, but you better not take long.”

“Just get Mark and the meds back.” said Sandra with a sigh. After saying that, she opened the box that Kenny was holding and took out a sheet of pills. Handing them over to Larry, she said. “Give Clem one pill with water. Got that?”

“Yeah.” said Larry, taking the pills.

“Just one, you hear.” said Sandra as Larry turned to help Mark. “Any more, and she’ll only get worse.”

“I heard you loud and clear the first time, doc.” said Larry, helping Mark into the truck.

With that said, Larry got back into the vehicle and took no time getting out of there. Mark looked back at the two figures, getting smaller with every second, hoping that they would make it back without an issue. It was one of their most unlucky days since he joined the group, and he wasn’t sure if they could take more losses.

[Coliseum Medical Center, Macon]

[Pov: Sandra]

Kenny and Sandra stood there for a second or so, seeing the truck ride off towards the motel. A couple of walkers, attracted by the sound of the engine, were shambling after the vehicle. The sight of the walkers still filled her with unease. It didn’t matter how much time passed or even how many of them she killed; Sandra wasn’t sure if she would ever get used to them. Seeing the decaying bodies itself wasn’t the issue here, but the thought of her family, her friends, even just her neighbors as walkers—that’s what scared her. At the start of it all, even before she and Clem ran away from her neighborhood, she tried calling her parents. Sadly, they didn’t pick up, but still, she wasn’t sure what was worse: the uncertainty of their fate or the dread if she ever came close to finding out. Anyway, she must have stood there for a second too long as Kenny brought her out of her thoughts with a fake cough, and they began making their way to Kenny’s family.

“Hey Sandra, I’ve been wondering about something.” said Kenny as they walked through the streets.

“Yeah?” asked Sandra.

“You said you knew Clem since she was 5, and she’s 8 now.” said Kenny before asking his question. “So what, you've been babysitting her for 3 years?”

“Nah. My parents and her parents were good friends in their youth.” clarified Sandra before diving deeper into the explanation. “Sometimes they’ve left me at Clem’s place, and sometimes Clem stays at our place, but since I’m legally an adult now, both of our parents decided to take a vacation at the same time and left me to take care of the kid.”

“That’s quite the story.” said Kenny, shaking his head. “But I have to say Clem was quite lucky.”

“Lucky? How?” asked Sandra, confused.

“She was lucky to have you there to keep her safe.” said Kenny as they stopped before a local hardware store called ‘Cogs and Bolts’. “Anyway, they should be around here somewhere.” 

“You’re not sure?” asked Sandra with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I know where I left them before approaching you people.” said Kenny as they entered the building. “But you know how it is nowadays.”

“Yeah, I do.” said Sandra with a tired voice.

“Kat, are you there?!” yelled out Kenny as they entered the room.

“Kenny?” asked the woman. “You’re back. How did it go?”

As Sandra saw the two talk, it made her smile because, even though it was the end of the world, there was a normal family acting like it was before the walkers. Before she could even regain her composure, Kenny waved to her to come closer and introduced her to his family.

What did Sandra do?

A) She took the card.

B) She left the card.

Chapter Text

[October 13th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Sandra]

It only took them a couple of minutes to get back to the motel; they used a white van that Kenny apparently found in a back alley somewhere in Macon. On their way, Sandra got to know Katjaa and Duck; the older woman was a veterinarian, while the kiddo was an overly energetic 10-year-old boy. She also learned that Katjaa was two months into her pregnancy, saying that it must have happened before the walkers showed up. They seemed like good people, and while Kenny was a little overprotective and only thought about his family, Sandra was glad to welcome them to their group. But it seems like she was one of the few, as the moment they left the vehicle, she heard Lilly scream out.

“What the fuck, Sandra?!” yelled Lilly, walking up to the gate with her rifle in hand. “Are you fucking insane?” 

“Who’s the loud one?” asked Kenny as they walked towards the gate.

“That’s Lilly; she gets better when you get to know her.” said Sandra with a forced smile.

“Really?” asked Kenny with a raised eyebrow.

“Sure hope so.” said Sandra with a shrug. “Haven’t gotten there yet.”

“What good reason would you have to bring us more mouths to feed?!” asked Lilly, outraged.

“Listen here, little lady-” said Kenny, ready to start a fight.

“Hey Kenny.” said Sandra, cutting off the man. “How about you, Katjaa, and Duck get your thing into one of the rooms?”

“Sandra!” yelled Lilly with anger in her voice.

“That one over there should be well enough furnished.” said Sandra, pointing to one of the doors of the motel. “Make yourself at home.”

"Yeah, I think I will.” said Kenny, nodding his head before he and his family started walking towards the door. “Come on, Kat, let’s get inside.”

“What the fuck, Sandra? You can’t be making decisions like these on your own!” said Lilly, having had enough of being ignored.

“Shut the fuck up, Lilly!” shouted Sandra, shutting up the older woman. “You too, Larry! You two should know that you're not always in the right, especially after your last fuckup!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Larry, crossing his hands.

“You brush people off, thinking that you’re the only ones with the right ideas.” said Sandra with a frown. “And it’s starting to piss me off.”

“Look, I’m sorry about that, but I’m trying to do what's best for the group!” said Lilly, not apologetic in the slightest. “And bringing in more people isn’t what we need.”

“Well, hang on! Guy's, maybe she has a good reason.” said Carley, hoping to defuse the situation.

“Do you?” asked Lilly, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, I do.” said Sandra as she crossed her arms, mocking Lilly. “The older woman, Katjaa, she's pregnant.”

“Holy shit!” said Doug as he looked towards where the newcomers went.

“Look- I’m sorry.” said Lilly with a guilty look on her face.

"Yeah, I can see that.” said Sandra, letting out a sigh. "Listen, Lilly, I don’t have anything against you; really, I don’t. I appreciate all that you do for the group, but please don’t question my judgment. Or at least hear me out before blowing up like that, okay? I have Clem to take care of; I wouldn’t risk her life for anything. You got that?”

“Yeah, I got that.” said Lilly with a nod.

“Good.” said Sandra as she started walking away. “I’m gonna check up on Clementine.”

“She’s one tough kid, that’s for sure.” said Larry with a chuckle.

[Terminus, Macon]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

Slamming the steel doors behind himself, Lee locked them as he heard bullets bounce off them. Looking around the place, he saw two vehicles in the workshop: one was a car reinforced with metal panels but with no wheels, and the other was a military Humvee. The room was big, sparsely lit up, and smelled of oil and chemicals—a place that he wouldn’t choose to spend more time in than he had to. Off in the back of the room was Dell, looking through an open window, holding his wrench in one hand and a heavy-looking handgun in the other.

“This can’t be good.” said Dell under his breath, walking up to Lee. “What in tarnation is going on?”

“We’re being attacked; they blew up an entire building!” said Lee, still startled by the event.

“Who the hell would—wait, did they wear animal leather on their clothes?” asked Dell.

“Yeah, how did you know?” asked Lee, surprised and suspicious of the man.

“They were harassing some of our scavenging teams for the past month. We call them the Hunters for obvious reasons.” said Dell before scratching his head. “But we always made sure not to lead them back here; how in the hell did they find us?”

“I don’t think that matters right now!” said Lee as he heard another explosion go off in the distance.

“You’re probably right.” said Dell, walking up to a workbench. “We have to get to the armory if we want to stand a chance.”

“The armory? Why?” asked Lee, confused as he followed him.

“Listen. What do you hear?” said Dell as he installed a silencer on his gun.

Lee was a little confused, but did as the man said and started to hear less and less gunshots by the second.

“That’s not the sound of us winning; I'll tell you that.” said Dell, walking towards a door in the back of the building.

“But how will more guns help?” asked Lee, still following him.

“We keep the better stuff in the armory.” said Dell as they entered a big warehouse. “Stuff like explosives and high-caliber guns—besides, the others might need them when we come to rescue them.”

Going through another door, they found themselves in a long corridor, and as Dell opened the door, he peeked and looked to the left and then to the right. As they slowly entered, they were caught off guard by the sound of doors being kicked open to their left. The one responsible for this was one of the crazy people attacking Terminus. He was a tall man wearing a trenchcoat covered in blood, and a deer hide on top of it. He was carrying a long machete that was also covered in blood, and Lee could see the crazed look on his face. Without saying a thing, the man charged at them, and before Lee could even react, Dell shot. As the bullet hit the crazy man, his head exploded, and his body was sent flying backwards.

“What kind of gun is that?” asked Lee, looking at the weapon in surprise.

“I made it myself.” said Dell as they walked up to the closest doors on their right. “Here we are.”

“Whoa, that’s a lot.” said Lee as they walked into the room full of all kinds of guns.

“Yeah, we’ve emptied most of the gun shops, a good chunk of houses in Macon, and raided the local air base.” said Dell, picking up what looked like an assault rifle with a grenade launcher under the barrel.

“Why keep it all here?” asked Lee, looking at the arsenal of weapons. “Why didn’t you arm your people with these?”

“Walkers are easy to kill; there's no need to waste this on them.” said Dell, checking the mag of the gun. “Besides, they make too much noise.”

“So, how do you want to do this?” asked Lee.

“Look, you're not a part of this; nobody would hold it against you if you left, you know.” said Dell with the weapon at the ready. “It’s not your fight, man; we’ll manage.”

Dell was right; this wasn't his fight; he didn't have to stay and help them, but could he really live with himself if he didn't at least try to do some good. These Hunters acted more like animals than people; Lee couldn't rationally explain why they did what they did, but he could only imagine what they would do to the people of Terminus if they won. That being said, he had people waiting for him back at the motel—people that depended on him—and every moment he spent here, there was a bigger risk that something bad could happen at the motel. He wasn't sure which was the right choice, but he knew that whatever happened wouldn't come without consequences.

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Doug]

It was around an hour or so after Sandra and the newcomers arrived, and it was getting pretty late. The sun was setting soon, and the group was getting a little worried about Lee and Officer Allen since they still hadn’t returned to the motel. It was getting too dark for him to work on anything, so Doug decided to train at the ‘shooting range’, which was really a couple of circles drawn with paint on the side of one of the buildings. He was holding a very realistic-looking BB gun; it was practically undistinguished from the handguns that they had in the ‘armory’. He was just about to finish up when he heard someone walking towards him.

“Hi there!” said someone behind him.

Turning around, he saw that it was the newcomer, but Doug couldn’t quite remember his name.

“Whoa, don’t point that at me!” said the man, backing up a little.

“Shit! Sorry.” said Doug before lowering the BB gun. “Still not used to it.”

“Really?” asked the man. “So, what are you doing with it?”

“Training. It’s a BB gun.” said Doug with a smile.

“That’s a BB gun?” asked the man with a raised eyebrow.

“Sure it.” said Doug before taking out the mag and showing it to the other man.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” said the man with a small laugh as he saw a mag full of BBs. “It looks so real. Where did you even find it?”

“We found a lot of these in one of the houses nearby. Name’s Doug, by the way.” said Doug before shaking hands with the man.

“I’m Kenny.” said Kenny, shaking his hand. “My wife’s Katjaa and my son’s Kenny Jr., but we call him ‘Duck’.”

“Duck, really?” asked Doug with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, nothing bothers him, and he could talk your head off in no time.” said Kenny fondly.

“Sounds like a cool kid.” said Doug with a smile. “And Clem will finally have someone to play with.”

“Hey, I gotta ask, that woman, Lilly I think her name is. Is she always like that?” asked Kenny with worry in his eyes.

“She always had some anger issues, but this was the first time that I’ve seen her go off like that.” said Doug as honestly as he could. “I think she sees herself as the leader and doesn't like when people undermine her authority.”

“I don’t think I’m gonna like her.” said Kenny with a sour face.

“Hey, that’s just my opinion, man.” said Doug, worried that he said the wrong thing. “You should at least try to get to know her.”

“Might as well.” said Kenny with a sigh. “No point in causing trouble. I’ll talk to you later, Doug.”

“Sure.” said Doug before walking over to the fence.

Sitting near the fence was a wooden box with the label ‘Training Guns’ that had a lot of handguns, a few SMGs, and even a rifle inside. All these weapons were, in fact, BB guns that the group used for training, and along with the weapon were a few containers full of BB pellets and a couple of CO2 capsules. Putting the gun with the others, Doug looked around and saw that most people were getting ready for the night. Tonight, Mark was supposed to be on watch, but due to his injuries, Lilly decided to make Doug sit through the night. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about it, but as they say, ‘shit happens' and besides, he could use the time to think about some of the stuff that’s been happening lately. Walking up to Lilly, he gave her a nod as she handed him a hunting rifle that those on watch used before climbing onto the RV and sitting down in the chair. Looking over the road and the forest, Doug settled down and began his shift. He had a few things to think about, mostly to do with prosthetics, and boy was he happy that he had found a book about those a couple of weeks ago. He hasn’t read it yet, but with Mark’s leg and Carley's arm, he would put that book to good use; he was sure of it. The only thing that stopped him from doing anything with it yet was the simple fact that they didn’t have much scrap to make two of those. While he was sure that he could find enough for one, he wasn’t sure which he should prioritize. On one hand, Carley was one of their best fighters before losing her right hand, but on the other hand, Mark needed it more since he couldn’t walk at all.

What will Lee do?

A) Help Terminus

B) Go back to the Motel

If you choose A) how will Lee go about helping them:

A) Wait until an opportune moment and strike quietly.

B) Wait until an opportune moment and go guns blazing.

C) Go now and strike quietly.

D) Go now and blow them away.

Who will Doug help first?

A) Carley

B) Mark

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Hunters - -20

You're just pray.

Dell - 5

Appreciates you watching his back.

------------------------------------------

Inventory:

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

CIA files

------------------------------------------

Kills:

1 human

71 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Members:

8 Adults

1 Teen

2 Child

---------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[October 13th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Sandra]

Sandra stood outside of her and Clem’s room, leaning against the rail and looking over the courtyard of the motel. It was getting pretty late already; the sun was setting as she saw Kenny walk up to Doug. They talked for a short time, but she couldn’t hear them from up here. She was deep in thought for a good while before taking out a white card from her pocket—the same card that she took from that doctor lady. She wasn’t sure what the “PPP” stood for or what purpose the card even served, but it was clearly important. Putting it back into her pocket, Sandra turned to look towards the setting sun, and for a second, she could swear she saw a helicopter in the sky. But it disappeared as fast as it appeared; maybe she was just tired; yeah, that must have been that case. Turning around, she walked towards the door to her room and entered, happy to finally rest after such an eventful day.

After walking inside, Sandra began getting ready to sleep as she changed into her pajamas. As she emptied her pocket, Sandra stared at the white card again for a good minute before shaking her head and putting it along with all her things on a nightstand next to her bed. Today was one of the most stressful days since the world ended, and maybe even in her whole life. After she finished getting ready for bed, Sandra walked over to Clem to check on how she was doing.

“You're back.” said Clem, slowly but still recovering.

“Yeah, I'm here.” said Sandra, sitting next to her. “How are you feeling, Clem?”

“Tired.” said Clem with a big yawn.

Sandra placed the back of her hand on Clem's forehead to check her temperature, and she was satisfied to feel that it was going down.

“You were gone the entire day.” said Clem as Sandra got into her bed.

“Yes, I was.” said Sandra, nodding her head.

“Where did you go?” asked Clem, turning to face the teen.

“I went to the hospital.” said Sandra with a smile. “To get medicine for you.”

“I see. Thank you.” said Clem with a smile. “Goodnight Sandra.”

"Goodnight, Goofball.” said Sandra as they drifted off to sleep.

[Terminus, Macon]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

Lee looked around the many weapons that littered the room before his eyes landed on a sniper rifle. Picking it up, he checked the mag before turning towards Dell.

“I’m not about to just walk away, Dell.” said Lee.

“Thanks, Lee.” said Dell as he packed a duffle bag full of guns and ammo. “Now, we just need to figure out how to go about it.”

“I’ll go to the roof and try to take out their leader.” said Lee as they walked out of the room. “You should get the guns to the others.”

“Good idea.” said Dell before pointing towards a door at the end of the corridor. “The stairs are through there; I’ll make my way around and help the others.”

“Stay safe.” said Lee before walking to the door.

“You too.” said Dell before walking out of the building.

Walking up the stairs, Lee could see that the sun was close to setting. He was worried about the others back at the motel, but he was confident that they would be safe. And as he stood before the doors to the roof, he felt a big weight drop onto his shoulder. A lot of lives now hang in balance, and if he failed, it would be his fault. But just as he was about to open the door, he heard laughter coming from the other side, which confused him for a second. The Hunters must have gotten onto the roof, and with that realization, Lee placed the sniper rifle against a wall and took out his revolver before quickly opening the door.

It all felt like slow motion, but upon opening the door and stepping onto the rooftop, Lee saw two Hunters standing near the edge of the building, shooting down at the people of Terminus, and multiple corpses laying next to them. Without giving them a chance to react, he shot the first guy, and the force of the bullet hitting him in the chest threw him off the building. But as he pulled the trigger to shoot the next man, nothing happened. Lee tried again, but as he checked the revolver, he noticed he was out of ammo.

“Hahahaha!” laughed the Hunter, slowly walking towards Lee with a handgun pointed at the ground. “That was good! I’m gonna fuck you up so much! How can you be so fucking dum-”

As the man was monologuing, Lee took the opportunity and, with his axe in hand, charged at the man before slamming the blade of the weapon into the man’s stomach. The force of the blow made the Hunter fall to the ground and vomit, but Lee didn’t stop at that and immediately separated the man’s head from his shoulders, killing him. Lee stood over the man’s corpse, breathing heavily, as he watched the blood seep into the roof of the building. Letting out a sigh, Lee wasted no time and walked back towards the entrance to the roof and took his sniper rifle. Walking up to the edge, Lee looked down onto the battlefield and could see some people still fighting against the Hunters, but there were a lot of corpses all over the place. In the distance outside of the Terminus community, he saw five big trucks, and as he looked over them, he recognized one of them; it was the same truck he saw when it all started. It was the same truck and, most likely, the same people that he encountered back at the overpass near Atlanta. He didn’t finish them off, and now other people were paying for his weakness, but he could still fix this. Looking through the scope of the rifle, Lee saw a figure standing on top of a tank wagon: a man wearing a deer skull holding what looked like an AK-47, shouting orders and shooting at the remaining defenders of Terminus. Kneeling at the edge of the building, Lee aimed with his sniper rifle for a good minute before pulling the trigger. Sadly, the bullet missed the target and only grazed the side of the leader's head, but even that caused him to fall over. 

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” laughed the mad leader so loudly that even Lee could hear him. The mad man slowly and with some difficulty stood up before taking out a remote from his coat.

“What the-” said Lee, confused about what the man was doing.

“What a wonderful day!” screamed out the mad leader before pushing the button on the remote.

And just as he said that, Lee felt multiple waves of air hit him at the same time as many of the buildings that the people of Terminus called home blew up at the same time. Lee felt the force of the explosions push him backwards, and as he fell to the ground, the impact knocked him out, but not before he heard the sound of a helicopter above him.

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Doug]

After what must have been at least an hour or more, he came to the conclusion that Mark needed more help. As much as he liked Carley, he knew that she would support his decision. It would take some time, but he was sure that he would be up to the task. Sadly, that was the last thing he had to entertain himself with, and the rest of the night would be spent staring at the dark woods and the empty road. It was utterly boring, and he'd rather do anything else, but what can you do. After an hour or so, he saw a walker stumble onto the road from the woods. It's been a while since any walkers even got close to the motel. Doug stared at it with the rifle raised and pointed at it, but after a few seconds, he lowered it with a sigh. There was no point in shooting the monster. It simply was not worth the risk of alerting more of them or waking up the others. Doug watched as the walker stumbled about and saw that it was making its way towards the wall. With a sigh, he stood up before quietly making his way down the RV and grabbing a firepoker that was leaning against the vehicle. He had to quietly kill the bastard before it did any damage to their defenses. And as he walked towards the wall, he saw an arrow nail the walker in the head before hearing people approaching. Without even thinking, Doug dropped to the ground and took cover behind the wall.

“Haha, did you see that?!” said a man with a gruff voice, and Doug could hear him take the arrow out of the walker's head. “Straight in the noggin! Hell yeah!”

“Shut up, man. It's just a fucking walker.” said the other man; he sounded younger.

“I bet you can't do better than that.” said the gruff man with a grunt.

“Nah, the shot was okay, but come on, it's just a walker.” said the younger man as he kicked the walker. “If it was some poor sucker, now that would be different.”

“Yeah, it's been a while since we had the chance to kill a fool.” said the gruff man with a sigh.

“Damn, I miss it, man.” said the younger man with sadness in his voice, which made Doug sick. “Remember the screams of the mother.”

“Those were the days.” said the gruff man fondly. “There's just not as many stragglers around any more, walkers got most of them.”

“Yeah-” said the younger man before spotting the motel. “Hey, maybe there's people in there.”

“It does look lived in.” said the gruff man, sounding happy.

"So, are we going in?” asked the younger man eagerly.

“Just the two of us?” said the gruff man, shaking his head. “Yeah, no. I'm not risking it. We should come back with the others, no point in risking our lives like that.”

“Could be five to ten people living there, and they have no one on watch.” said the younger man.

“Just because they got no one on watch don’t mean it will be easy.” said the gruff man. “I ain’t risking my life just for some playtime.”

“Man, maybe you’re right.” said the younger man, sounding sad.

“Damn right, I am.” said the gruff man, proud of himself. “We didn’t live this long by playing fair.”

“I know.” said the younger man. “Shame, I'm itching for some fun.”

“We'll all have some fun.” said the gruff man with a dark chuckle. “I'm sure the boss will reward us for this find.”

“Haha, I can barely wait.” said the younger man with a small laugh.

“Hahaha.” the gruff man let out a laugh before he said. “It's gonna be a good day tomorrow.”

Doug listened and grew more and more disturbed by the seconds. These people were sick, and while he couldn't be certain of what they were talking about, he had a good idea. He could try to take them out now on his own, but he wasn't sure how armed they were. There was the option of calling the others, but the fuckers could bail and still attack the motel on a later date, or he could simply wait for them to leave and tell Lilly immediately. None of the options seemed optimal, but this was on his shoulders now, and he had to act soon.

What will Doug do?

A) Let them go and warn the others.

B) Try to take them out on his own.

C) Call the others for help.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Hunters - -20

You're just pray.

Dell - 10

Appreciates that you've decided to help.

------------------------------------------

Inventory:

Revolver

Axe

Sniper Rifle

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

CIA files

------------------------------------------

Kills:

4 human

71 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Members:

8 Adults

1 Teen

2 Child

----------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[October 14th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Doug]

Doug knew he couldn’t allow these sick fucks to walk away and reveal the location of the motel to their friends; god knows how many of them are out there. But having said that, he wasn’t sure if he could take them on himself, so that left only one option available to him. And that was screaming loud enough that the others woke up and joined in the fight.

“WE HAVE INTRUDERS!” yelled Doug at the top of his lungs. 

“What’s the hell's going on?!” screamed Lilly, walking out of her room with a gun in hand.

Following her were a couple of other people, opening their doors with weapons in their hands and ready to fight.

“Shit!” yelled the younger man in a panic. “Let’s get the hell out of here!”

“Stop him!” screamed Doug towards Lilly, who immediately opened fire on the bandit.

“Fuck!” screamed the younger one as Lilly nailed the fucker and he fell to the ground.

“Get down, kid!” said the gruff one with anger in his voice. “We are fucking pinned down; we’ll have to fight our way out of here.”

As he said that, the gates to Doug’s right began opening, and he saw two people wearing facemasks enter the motel courtyard. He didn’t waste any time and pointed his rifle at the nearest one, and just as he was about to pull the trigger, the gruff man jumped at him.

“I will kill you, you motherfucker!” screamed the gruff man, spitting saliva at Doug’s face as they wrestled for the rifle.

Doug didn’t entertain the wannabe bandit as the fucker tried to rip the gun out of his hand. Seeing an opportunity, he slammed the weapon into the gruff man’s face, making the bandit let go of the gun and fall to the side, holding his face in pain.

“FUUUUUUUUCK!” screamed out the gruff man in pain as the bullet hit him, sending him to the ground. “Motherfucker, you hit me!”

"Die, you fuc-” said the younger man upon seeing his companion hurt, but he was cut off by a bullet going through his head.

“Fuck this shit. I’m out.” said the gruff man before standing up and trying to run away.

"No, you don’t.” said Doug under his breath as he pointed his gun at the gruff man.

“Damn it!” screamed out the gruff man as Doug pulled the trigger.

As he pulled the trigger, Doug didn’t have much faith in hitting his target, but by some miracle, the bullet hit the man in the leg, sending his face first to the ground.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! MY LE-!” yelled the gruff man before hitting his head on the pavement and knocking himself out.

As the fight ended, Doug could see that most of the group were out of their rooms and wearing only their sleeping clothes.

“What the hell is happening out here?!” asked Kenny, running out of his room with a gun in hand.

“Doug, what happened?” asked Carley, approaching him with a worried look on her face.

“Yeah, I’d like to know as well.” said Sandra with crossed arms and a sour look on her face. “Waking up like this isn’t good for anyone’s health.”

“I think we all deserve an explanation.” said Lilly, dragging the unconscious gruff man. “Right, Doug?”

“They were talking about attacking the motel.” said Doug, slowly standing up.

“And what? Your first thought was to open fire.” said Sandra with a frown, looking not pleased with his answer. “How exactly does that make you better than them?”

“They were laughing about the thought of killing us, Sandra.” said Doug, trying his best to explain his reasoning.

“Oh.” said Sandra with wide eyes at the realization.

“You did good, Doug.” said Lilly, throwing the gruff man into the middle of the group. 

“I guess you’re not entirely useless.” said Larry, shaking his head with a chuckle.

“Thanks, I guess?” said Doug, unsure if it was a compliment or not.

“But what do we do with him?” asked Larry, looking down at the would-be raider.

“Let’s just kill him and be done with it.” said Lilly before pointing her handgun at the gruff man.

"Lilly, wait.” said Doug in a panicked tone.

“What?” asked Lilly, raising an eyebrow at him.

“They said that there’s more of them.” said Doug.

“Shit!” said Lilly, putting her gun down.

"Well, that’s just fucking great!” said Larry, throwing his hand in the air in frustration.

“I think we should let him go.” said Sandra after a couple of minutes of silence.

“What?!” said Larry, genuinely caught off guard by the suggestion, as were most of the people present.

“Think about it. He’s no threat to us anymore, and he’ll die from his injuries soon enough.” said Sandra.

"That's gotta be the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.” said Larry.

“I’m sorry, Sandra, but I’ve gotta agree with Larry.” said Kenny, sounding conflicted. “It ain’t worth the risk.”

“Yeah, we can’t risk him getting back to his friends and telling them about the motel.” said Larry, exasperated.

“He won’t; he’s losing blood rapidly.” said Sandra, shaking her head.

“So, why not just kill him ourselves?” asked Larry, not seeing the problem with that.

“Because there will be blood on our hands.” said Sandra.

“We already killed hundreds of walkers; what makes this different?” asks Lilly, confused by her reasoning.

“It’s not the same. We kill in self-defense.” said Sandra as she looked at them with worry in her eyes. “Now we’ll be killing an unarmed man. We can’t cross that line.”

“Sandra, he’s a threat to our group; he can’t just let him go.” said Carley.

“Whatever.” said Sandra, shaking her head in disappointment. “If you want to do this, do it without me; I won’t be a part of it.”

“Sandra-” said Carley, as Sandra began walking away but was stopped by Doug.

“Let her go.” said Doug, grabbing Carley's shoulder. “She’s too young to understand.”

“So, who’s gonna do it?” said Larry after a minute of silence.

“Let’s just get it over with.” said Lilly, ready to kill the man, but was once again stopped by Doug.

“We don't have to kill him, at least not now.” said Doug.

“What do you mean?” asked Lilly with a raised eyebrow.

“It would be good to know where he and his friends stay.” said Doug.

“So, what?” asked Carley, looking surprised. “You wanna torture the information out of him?”

“I did mean that.” said Doug, looking a little ashamed.

“Then what did you mean?” asked Carley, giving him a nasty look.

“If we’re gonna kill him, we might at least try.” said Doug before looking down for a second.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to know.” said Carley with a heavy sigh.

“I don’t know.” said Lilly, looking conflicted. “It’s a good idea, but I’m not sure if it’s worth the risk.”

There was a lot of risk, no matter what they decided to do that night. The easiest would be to just kill the guy and never think about what happened again. But then they would never know how close those bandits are to them. There’s also the issue that they might stumble onto their base one day and be caught off guard. They have no idea how many of them there are, how well-armed they are, or even if they are on the same side of the river as them. There were a lot of unknowns, but if they tried to get that information out of the man, there’s always the risk he might escape. They could take him as a prisoner, and he might spill the beans in time, but that had even more risk attached to it. There simply wasn’t an easy solution to this problem that wouldn’t have any risk attached to it.

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Terminus, Macon]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

As Lee woke up, he felt sore everywhere; his head throbbed like crazy, and his ears rang as he slowly came back to the land of the living. Opening his eyes, he saw the starry night sky and the full moon above him. He must have been out of it for quite some time if it's already night. 

Slowly standing up, he saw that most of the buildings around the place were destroyed in the explosions, and he could even see a couple of trains derailed and covered in soot. Looking around the place, he couldn’t find the sniper rifle anywhere, but after checking his backpack, he could see that he still had his axe. Walking to the edge of the building with a little of a limp, Lee searched the battlefield for any survivor, but the only thing he saw were scorched corpses, a couple of walkers stumbling about, and a ton of rubble.

“God!” said Lee, looking at the carnage, he couldn’t be sure if anyone survived the fight.

Backing away from the edge of the building, Lee made his way towards the stairs and down to the ground floor. On his way, he checked his revolver, and since it was out of ammo, he decided to stuff it into his backpack and walk with his axe in hand. As he walked through the doors to the hallway, Lee made sure the coast was clear, but as he looked to his left, he saw that one side of the building had collapsed. This wasn’t good; the building wasn’t stable and could fall on top of him at any moment. He was lucky enough that it didn't happen before he woke up. Walking towards an exit on the other side of the hallway, Lee peeked through the door and noticed just one walker haunting the courtyard of what was once Terminus. Walking out of the building with his weapon at the ready, he quietly approached the walking corpse, and as it had its back turned to him, he slammed the blade of the axe into the back of its head. And just as he did that, one of the buildings to his left collapsed, sending dust and rubble everywhere.

“OH SHIT!” screamed out Lee, startled by the sudden noise.

Closing his eyes for a second, Lee’s sight was blocked by the dust as he quickly made his way out of the area. This place, which was once a beacon of hope, was now falling apart around him, and he wasn’t gonna let it kill him now. Walking through the courtyard, Lee saw a corpse impaled with a long piece of rebar; it was the man he shot off the building. Lee thought that he killed him, but clearly he must have survived for some time before getting stabbed through the gut. Walking out of the ruins of the compound, Lee walked onto the battlefield. There were many corpses all around the place, but he could clearly see more Hunter corpses than those of the people of Terminus. Lee really hoped that at least some of them had survived the fight, not that he would ever know since he doubted they would stick around.

Walking through the battlefield, he noticed that the leader of the Hunter had turned into a walker, but Lee was sure that he would die from his injuries. It looks like the walkers got to him first, which, in his opinion, was a much more fitting fate for the crazy man. The walker must have seen him or something, because the moment Lee stopped in his tracks, the undead fucker began walking towards him. As the mad man's corpse approached him, Lee didn’t see any bite marks, but walkers must have gotten to him; that was the only way one could turn. Shaking his head, he raised his axe and decapitated the walker, finally putting the mad man to rest. 

Or at least so he thought, because the second he turned to look at the severed head, it began moving.

“How the fuck?” said Lee in a whisper as he looked upon the moving, severed head. “This shit makes less sense every time.”

Shaking his head, Lee raised the axe one more time before splitting the head in two.

What will happen to the gruff man?

A) He will be questioned.

B) He will be let go.

C) He will be killed.

D) He will be kept as a prisoner.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

------------------------------------------

Inventory:

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

CIA files

------------------------------------------

Kills:

2 human

73 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Members:

8 Adults

1 Teen

2 Child

----------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[October 14th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Doug]

They all stood there in thought, waiting for someone to make a choice. Doug wasn’t sure what was right, and even though he proposed the interrogation, he wouldn’t have the stomach to do it. 

“We have to know.” said Larry with his arms crossed.

“Are you sure that's a good idea?” asked Carley, looking down at the gruff man.

"Of course." said Larry with a huff. “They’re a threat to this group. It’s as simple as that.”

“But who?” asked Doug, looking uncertain.

“I’ll do it if none of you have the balls.” said Larry, shaking his head.

“Okay, I’ll go back on watch then.” said Doug, giving the gruff man one final look before climbing onto the RV.

Looking around, Doug could see everyone disperse, with Larry dragging the gruff man towards one of the empty rooms, Carley going to her room hesitantly, and Lilly going back to her room, not even looking back once. Doug wasn’t sure if their decision was the right one, but they had to keep their group safe. He could only hope that it wouldn’t bite them in the ass when they least expected it.

[October 14th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Larry]

After dragging the bandits into an empty room, Larry tired his hand with some zip ties he found in the same room. That in itself was a surprise for Larry; he was ready to use the curtains and try to wing it. Shaking away the implications that the zip ties brought up, Larry tied the man’s hands behind his back and pushed him onto the armchair. Searching around for any blunt weapon he could use in the interrogation, Larry finds a wrench in the bathroom. As he got back, the bandit was sadly still out of it, so with a sigh, Larry sat down on the bed opposite the man and waited for him to wake up. It took only a couple minutes for the man to begin to wake up, which was good for him since Larry was getting ready to wake him up with his fists.

“Alright, you’re up.” said Larry with a huff. “That’s good.”

“Who the fuck-?” started the gruff man, but was cut off by Larry.

“Shut up, scum!” said Larry, poking him with the wrench. “You’ll be answering my questions if you want to live.”

“Who the fuck do you think you ar-” said the bandit, but was cut off by Larry slamming the wrench into his knee. “FUUUUUUUUUCK!”

“I said shut up.” said Larry with a frown. “So you better listen to me.”

“Fuck, fuck, I get it; please don’t do that again.” said the bandit in pain.

“You’re such a fucking wussy.” said Larry before raising his weapon. “So, will you be answering my question, or do you need more convincing?”

“Nah, nah, man, I get how this goes.” said the bandit, shaking his head in fear. “Shit, I’ve been on the other side a lot.”

“Will you just shut up.” said Larry, shaking his head. “First question: how many of you are there?”

“Well, there’s Eric; he’s a big motherfucker with tats. Then there’s Jackson; he has-!” the bandit started bumbling like a moron, which made Larry more than angry enough to hit him on the other knee. “AAAAAAAAAAAAA! Fuck! Why the fuck-”

“I asked how many of you are there, not for the names of all your buddies.” said Larry with anger in his voice. “So, give me a number, or I’ll bust your kneecaps off.”

“Yeah, sure, sure, just give me a minute!” said the bandit with tears in his eyes. “3… 7… 11… 15. Yes, there are 15 of us that fight!”

“And overall?” said Larry impatiently as he raised his weapon once more. “How many people are in your group?”

“A-at least 25, I-I think.” said the bandits quickly but unsure of himself.

“You think?!” asked Larry with a frown.

“L-look man I’m not sure; I-I’ve never checked before.” said the bandit, almost begging.

“Fine.” said Larry, lowering his weapon. “How well armed are your people?”

“Wha-” started the bandits, but was cut off once again.

“How many guns do you have?” asked Larry with a raised voice.

“G-guns?” said the bandits, looking down for a second. “I-I’m not sure, but maybe a dozen or so.”

“And the final question.” said Larry. “Where is your base of operations?”

“Look man, I can’t te-” started the bandit, but was cut off by the wrench striking him in the head. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

“Answer the goddamn question.” yelled Larry, angry at the bandit. “I can do much worse, so answer now!”

“Fine! Fine!” said the bandit weakly. “Just… Stop… It’s the local Save-Lots.”

“Good, good.” said Larry, putting the wrench down.

“So, you’ll let me go now?” said the bandit with some hope. “I’ve done everything that you’ve asked me.”

“About that…” said Larry, standing up with his weapon at the ready.

“Oh, OH, you motherfucker!” said the bandit before breaking out laughing. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH-!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” said Larry, striking him in the head. “You sick fucker!”

“I’m the sick fucker?!” said the gruff man with venom in his voice. “You’re no better!”

“I don’t need to be better.” said Larry with a huff. “All I need to do is keep my daughter safe.”

“Oh, my bleeding heart!” muttered the bandit to himself as he shook his head.

“And if that means killing you, then so be it.” said Larry, raising his weapon.

“A day will come, but you won’t live to regret it.” said the bandit, looking him in the eyes.

Before the bandit could say anything else, Larry hit him in the head with the wrench, using all the strength that he had. The blow caused the bandit’s skull to split open, and as Larry pulled the weapon back, he could see brain matter poking out.

“He will… kill you…” said the bandit, choking on his own blood. “And you won’t…”

The bandits slumped over, blood flowing out of his mouth, and his eyes slowly closed as Larry watched him breathe his final breath. He didn’t feel any sympathy for the fucker; truth be told, he was going to kill him either way. But he could always deny doing it on purpose if it meant keeping the group together. Walking out of the room, Larry looked at the corpses of the man for a good second before locking the door behind himself and making his way towards his room for a good night's rest.

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

As he walked along the railways, Lee could see the first sun rays peeking over the horizon, meaning it was the next day. It had to be at least an hour or so since he left the ruins of Terminus, and Lee was slowly making his way towards Macon. It wasn’t the best path he could have chosen, but he was too tired and beaten up to care. He didn’t fear running into a bunch of walkers, as he would be sticking to the less traveled roads and the rail tracks. On his way, he didn’t even see one walking corpse, which was a win in his books, but as he walked past a woodworking store, he heard people talking. Just as he was about to peek around a corner, Lee heard the sound of a branch snapping behind him. Quickly turning around, he was met with a fist to the face, sending him to the ground and his axe out of his hand. Looking up, he saw a man in his late 30s wearing a blue facemask and holding a crossbow pointed at him.

“Shit.” said Lee, holding his nose.

“What do we have here?” said the man holding the crossbow.

“Fresh meat.” said another man walking from where Lee heard the people talking.

As the second guy walked into Lee’s sight, he saw that he too was wearing a facemask, but he was much taller than the first guy and had a shotgun in his hands. Thankfully, the man wasn’t pointing the weapon at him, which gave him some relief. Looking around, Lee saw that his axe wasn’t that far from him, but he wasn’t sure if he could take both of them at the same time; he would have to wait for the right time.

“Dark meat from the looks of it.” said the first guy with a chuckle.

“Man, you really didn’t learn your lesson.” said the second guy in disbelief, shaking his head.

“Nope.” said the crossbow-wielding man.

“Even after what Jordan did to your face.” said the second guy, shaking his head.

“Takes more than an asswhooping to change a man.” said the first guy, lowering his weapon a little.

“What do you feel like today?” said the second man, pointing to Lee with his shotgun.

The first guy thinks for a bit before saying. “We should feed him to the walkers, man.”

“Really?” asked the second guy as he fully turned towards his friend.

Seeing them distracted, Lee slowly inched towards his axe, trying not to make any sudden movements.

“Yeah, I’m a little too tired today to do this myself.” said the first guy with a shrug.

“You’re one lazy motherfucker, Aaron.” said the second guy, shaking his head.

“You’re one to talk.” said Aaron, looking offended.

“Fine, you grab one leg, and I’ll grab the other.” said the second guy, backing off. “There should be some walkers around here.”

“Let’s get-” said Aaron, but he was cut off by the sound of glass breaking in the distance.

“What was that?” said the second guy as the two turned their backs to him.

“I don’t know.” said Aaron as Lee grabbed the handle of his axe.

“Think we should check it out?” said the second man, sounding worried as Lee slowly stood up with his weapon at the ready.

“Nah, it sounded far enough-” said Aaron, but he was cut off by Lee slamming the blade of the axe into the back of his head.

“Motherfuc-” said the second guy, and before the body of his friend even hit the ground, Lee tackled the man to the ground.

“You mo- fu- cer!” said the man as Lee ripped the shotgun out of his hand and threw it to the side before beating the shit out of him.

Lee didn’t stop smashing his firsts into the man’s skull until his knuckles were bloodied and the man stopped moving. After a couple minutes of this brutal assault, Lee finally stopped and, with heavy breaths, got off the corpse. Picking up the shotgun, Lee began looting the corpse and found only five shells in the man’s pockets. As he was about to make his way towards the other guy and loot his body, he heard the sound of footsteps, and upon looking up, he saw a man walking towards him. The man wasn’t wearing a facemask like the others, which already gave him some relief, but Lee saw him on guard immediately. He was like a tall black fella wearing a black hoodie with a blue skull in the middle. From what Lee could see, the guy was young, most likely in his early 20s or something like that; he wasn’t sure. But none of that mattered now, Lee was too paranoid from the events of today and yesterday to allow himself to be caught off guard. 

“Hey man. You need any help?” said the approaching man before Lee pointed the shotgun at him.

“Are you with them?!” asked Lee loudly as the man put his arms in the air.

"No, man.” said the man, shaking his head. “I’m friendly.”

“What the hell do you want?!” asked Lee, tired from all that had happened.

“I was gonna help you, but…” said the man as Lee lowered his weapon. “Looks like you’ve managed fine on your own.”

“Sorry about that, it’s just…” said Lee as he walked over to the other bandit and ripped his axe out of the man’s head.

"Nah, it’s fine, man.” said the man, finally getting close enough for them to speak normally. “Name’s Steven, by the way.”

“I’m Lee.” said Lee before a wave of pain hit him. “Shit.”

“Are you okay?” said Steven with a worried look on his face.

“I think they broke my nose.” said Lee, holding his nose.

“Ooh, it looks bad.” said Steven with a grimace. “I could take you back to my place; we got a medic.”

“Really?” asked Lee.

“Yeah, she’s a miracle, that girl.” said Steven with a fond smile.

“I should really get back to my people.” said Lee, shaking his head.

“Ah, come on.” said Steven before pointing to his right. “It’s not that far from here anyway.”

The man seemed like a nice fellow, but Lee’s been away from his group for a long time, and he was getting a little worried about them. He also couldn't just trust a stranger like that, not after getting attacked by two groups of people in such a short time. But on the other hand, his group could use some allies in this world, and it would make him feel better to know there were people out there who weren’t hostile to them.

Will Lee go with Steven?

A) Yes.

B) No.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Steven - 5

He's a little wary.

------------------------------------------

Inventory:

Revolver

Axe

Father's Cane

A Pair of Binoculars

A Pack of Smokes

A Walkie Talkie

CIA files

------------------------------------------

Kills:

2 human

73 walkers

0 animals

------------------------------------------

Members:

8 Adults

1 Teen

2 Child

----------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

Lee wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, but with those bandits around, maybe trying to make contact with some more friendly people would be good for his group. And even though he really wanted to check up on others at the motel, he doubted he would have another chance like this. Besides, he needed his nose looked at by a professional, and fast, it could be broken, and he really didn’t want it to get worse.

“How far?” Lee said, holding his nose.

“Not that far; only a couple minutes from here.” Steven said, pointing behind himself and towards the bridge in the distance.

“The other side of the river?” Lee asked with a raised eyebrow; the motel was also on the other side of the river.

“Yep, come on. I’ll lead the way.” Steven said with a smile before turning around and walking away.

“Let’s go then.” Lee said before getting a final look at the men he just killed.

Shotgun in hand, he followed the man along the edge of downtown Macon, and as they passed along the ruined buildings, he saw his family drugstore in the distance. It was wrecked beyond what he last saw of it; there was a helicopter crashed through the roof, a truck buried in the side of the building, which also blocked the whole road, and there were many military vehicles all around the street. Lee shook his head. Seeing the place his parents worked their entire lives to build reduced to rubble hurt a lot, but not as much as losing them. As they approached the bridge, Lee saw it was full of abandoned and crashed cars, one of them even dangling halfway off the bridge. Looking to the left and right, he saw that the other two bridges were destroyed; one had collapsed due to the many tanks that were left there and was now half sunken in the river. The other one, he couldn’t be sure what happened, but it too collapsed somehow, not that it mattered. But it did pose an issue for the group, because if this bridge were to be destroyed, there would be no easy way for them to scavenge supplies from Macon. After crossing the bridge, Steven turned left, and in no time they were walking on a dirt road through a thick forest. Lee has never in his life been this way, so he had no idea what to expect, but as they made it to a clearing, he saw a big building on a small hill with a couple small houses around it and stone tiles arranged in the symbol of the Freemasons.

“Freemasons?” Lee asked, looking at the logo.

“It was empty when we got here, man.” Steven said, raising his hand in defense for a second.

“Didn’t know they were even here.” Lee said, giving the logo one last look.

As they approached the building, Lee saw a man standing on the roof with a rifle. The man looked to be in his late 30s and wore a blue jacket.

“Who goes there?!” Someone from the roof yelled as he pointed a rifle at them.

“You sure it's your place.” Lee said with a frown, not liking having a gun pointed at him.

“Hey, Danny!” Steven said, waving his hand. “It’s me!”

“Steven! Come on in!” Danny said with a much friendlier tone.

Looking at the building, Lee saw that all the windows were boarded up from the inside, but there were no signs of life other than the man on the roof. Lee really hoped that he wasn't walking into a trap of some kind, but truth be told, he was too far in to back out now.

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Sandra]

Waking up the next day, Sandra wasn’t in a good mood; she was really disappointed with the group. The fact that they could so easily resort to killing an unarmed man worried her about what would become of them. She knew they couldn’t just let him go, but he was gonna die from blood loss anyway, so they could have spared themselves the need to cross that line. She hasn’t spoken to anyone since last night, so she hoped that they didn’t do that, but she also prepared herself for the worst. Walking down the stairs, she saw almost everyone gathered around the courtyard. She saw the bulk of the group near the RV, and Duck was sitting reading a comic next to one of the unclaimed rooms.

“Where is he?” Sandra asked, walking up to them.

“I locked him in that room over there.” Larry said, pointing to the unused room that Duck was sitting next to.

“So you didn’t kill him?” Sandra asked, crossing her arms.

“I didn’t.” Larry said with a frown. “But I did ask him some questions before he bled out.”

“What did he say?” Lilly asked.

“They’re staying at the Save-Lots in Macon.” Larry said.

“And how far is that exactly?” Kenny questioned.

“It’s on the other side of downtown Macon.” Doug explained.

“We ain’t all locals, so a little bit more than just that would be appreciated.” Kenny said with a frown.

“Macon’s not that big of a city.” Carley pointed out.

“I’d say around one or two hours of walking.” Doug added.

"So, not that far.” Sandra said, shaking her head.

“Still, there’s gotta be hundreds of walkers between us and them.” Carley added.

“And yet, they still found us somehow.” Kenny said, crossing his arms.

“They’re too close for my comfort.” Carley said.

“We can agree on that.” Kenny said with a nod.

“So, what do we do?” Carley asked.

“I think we should stay out of their way.” Lilly said.

“Like hell we are.” Kenny yelled, outraged.

“They're not our problem; we have much more important things to do than hunt bandits.” Lilly said.

“Fuck that.” Kenny muttered.

“Kenny!” Sandra said, looking disappointed.

“We got lucky this time, and no one got hurt, but what about next time?” Kenny asked.

“Maybe there won’t be a next time.” Doug said.

“That’s bullshit, and you know it!” Kenny said with a frown. “They found this place once; what’s gonna stop them from finding it a second time?”

“We could always set up traps.” Doug said.

“That’s stupid, Doug.” Larry snarled.

“Traps will only alarm them that we’re here.” Lilly said, shaking her head.

“Not if they're deadly enough, they won’t.” Kenny pointed out.

“What the hell are you even proposing?” Lilly said with a raised eyebrow. “That we go to war?!”

“Hell yeah, I am!” Kenny said.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Lilly said, throwing her hand in the air.

“I’ve seen people like them before; I’ve seen what they can do!” Kenny said. “I know their type; they won’t leave us alone until there’s nothing left of us.”

“That’s fucking stupid; we should just leave them alone.” Larry said, shaking his head.

“And what if they come back?” Kenny added.

“Then we take care of them.” Larry said. “Like we did yesterday.”

“And what if there’s more of them?” Kenny questioned. “What if they're armed and prepared next time?”

“I’m sure we can manage.” Lilly said with a scoff.

“That’s not good enough.” Kenny said. “I have my family here, and you’re gonna let them live in fear, just because you don’t have the balls to do what’s necessary.”

“Necessary?!” Lilly viciously shouted out. “You think killing people is necessary?”

“Stop twisting my words!” Kenny growled. “That’s not what I said!”

“It sure as hell sounded like that.” Lilly said. “We have to think about our group, about staying alive. We shouldn’t waste time and energy on some stupid crusade-”

Their discussion was cut off by the sound of someone slamming against the doors, and as everyone turned to look at the source, they saw it was the room where the bandit was locked in.

“What the-” Kenny said, spinning around to see what made that sound.

Cutting Kenny off, the bandit now turned into a walker, breaking down the door and running towards his closest target, which was Duck. Seeing this, Sandra grabbed the walker by the shoulder from behind before it could sink its teeth into the boy and kill him. But as she threw it to the side, it jumped at her and pinned her to the wall of the motel.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Lilly pull out her gun and shoot at the walker, but while all the bullets hit the undead, none of them hit him in the head. All that the bullets did was cover Duck with blood and gore, and the fear of being hit made it harder to keep the walker at bay.

“Lilly…” Sandra said as she pushed the walker off herself. “Stop!”

As the walker hit the ground, Sandra wasted no time and slammed the heel of her boots into its face. It only took six kicks to crack the fucker's skull, but finally the undead bastart was no longer moving. Looking down at the corpse, Sandra couldn’t see any bite marks on its body, and breathing heavily, she took a couple of steps back to investigate.

“He was bitten?!” Kenny asked in shock.

“He certainly didn’t act as if he was!” Sandra said, standing over the corpse and trying her best to search it for any sign of a bite.

“How the hell did he turn if he wasn’t bitten?!” Kenny asked, confused.

“He might have hidden it.” Lilly said, lowering her gun.

“I guess, but still-” Sandra groaned, holding her shoulder in pain, but whatever she was about to say was cut off by Larry.

“Holy shit! This again!” Larry said with a look of shock on his face.

“What are you talking about?” Kenny asked, confused.

“You’re boy, he's been bitten!” Larry said, pointing towards his son.

Lying on the ground and covered in blood and gore was Duck. The kid looked traumatized by the event, but most importantly, he was holding his arm in pain. Seeing this, Sandra immediately ran over to him and went to work, cleaning the gore off the boy.

“Shut up, he wasn't!” Kenny yelled, agitated.

“Whoa, cool it there.” Larry said, trying his best not to escalate the situation. “Sandra, how's it looking?”

“Clear for now.” Sandra said, checking Duck for any signs of a bite. “But there's a lot of gunk.”

“She won't find anything!” Kenny yelled with anger in his voice as he began walking towards Duck.

“I hope she won't!” Larry said, blocking Kenny off. “But if she does, we have to be ready to kill him or at least throw him out.”

“Like hell, I will allow you anywhere near my son!” Kenny said, getting more and more angry.

“I have a daughter here, and Sandra has Clem.” Larry said without mercy or care. “I won't allow you to risk their lives just because you can't accept the truth.”

“No bites.” Sandra said, cutting through the shouting.

“You sure?” Larry asked.

“I'm 100 percent.” Sandra added with a nod.

“See? I told ya so.” Kenny said.

“If you think you're getting an apology from me, you have another thing coming.” Larry said, not backing down as he jutted a finger out. “I stand by my words.”

Kenny turned towards Sandra, and just as he was about to say something, his expression turned to one of horror. “Amm… Sandra?”

“What?” Sandra asked, confused by his reaction.

“Your shoulder; it’s bleeding.” Kenny said, pointing toward her shoulder.

Sandra slowly turned to look at her shoulder before muttering. “Oh, fuck me.”

“GODDAMN IT!” Larry said, punching the air in frustration.

“Holy shit!” Lilly said with a gasp. “He bit you!”

“No shit! I can see that.” Sandra said as tears began pouring down her face. "Damn, I can feel that!”

“We have to-” Larry said, but Sandra really didn’t want to listen to the old man.

“SHUT IT, LARRY!” Sandra said, cutting him off as tears fell down her face. “I’m not dead yet!”

“Then what the hell do you want us to do?” Larry asked with a frown.

“We never had a bit in the group before.” Carley said.

“What should we do?” Doug asked.

“There’s only one thing we can do.” Larry said, crossing his arms.

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?” Kenny asked, daring the man to speak.

“We have to end this.” Larry said with the most serious tone they'd ever heard. “The longer you’re alive, the more of a threat you are to the group.”

“I’m not a walker yet, Larry.” Sandra said, whipping her tears away.

“Maybe there’s a way we can save her.” Doug said with false hope. “Like Lee cutting Carley's hand off.”

“Doug, there’s a difference between a hand and a shoulder.” Sandra said, shaking her head.

“Besides, Lee chopped that off immediately without wasting a second.” Carley explained.

“By now, it’s most likely already too late.” Sandra added.

“How long does it take for someone to turn anyway?” Lilly asked.

“Depends; some turn in minutes, some take more than a day.” Sandra explained.

“What do you want to do?” Carley asked with pity in her eyes.

“I’m gonna say my goodbyes and leave.” Sandra said, sounding defeated.

“Are you sure? Shouldn’t we… You know.” Kenny said, scratching the back of his neck.

“Nah, no point wasting a bullet on me.” Sandra said, looking at the gun in his hand.

“We could always-” Larry said, but got cut off by Lilly.

“Dad…” Lilly said, shaking her head.

“I’ll go tell Clem.” Sandra said, looking down.

“Sandra, I think I should go with you.” Carley said gently.

“I’m not gonna turn that quickly.” Sandra said, gritting her teeth.

“Do you really want to take that risk?” Carley asked.

“No, I don’t.” Sandra said, shaking her head before she began walking away.

Walking up the stairs, Sandra thought about how she was going to break the news to Clem about what happened. There was no easy way to do it, but it had to be done, and as he was about to open the doors to her room, Carley stopped her.

“If you’re going, someone will have to take care of Clem.” Carley said, stopping before the doors to the room. “I mean, we will all look out for her, but someone has to take care of her, like a parent, you know.”

“I know what you’re talking about.” Sandra said, turning around to look at the woman.

“So, you had someone in mind.” Carley said with a nod.

“Lee.” Sandra said, looking down for a second. “Tell him when he gets back to take care of Clementine for me.”

“And if he doesn’t come back?” Carley asked.

“He will.” Sandra said confidently before turning around and grabbing the knob.

“How can you be so sure?” Carley asked, stopping her once more.

“I just am.” Sandra said, looking down for a second before walking into her room.

Entering the room filled Sandra with dread and fear, but as she looked inside, she saw Clem sitting in bed, reading a children's educational book. Sandra told her this morning to stay in bed, it would take a couple of days before Clem could go out. Still, she looked to be doing better already, which gave Sandra some relief.

“Hey Clem.” Sandra said with a heavy heart. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better.” Clem said with a smile and a nod.

“That’s good to hear, Goofball.” Sandra said, sitting down next to her.

“Did something happen?” Clem asked with a worried look on her face. “I hear a lot of screaming.”

“A walker got in…” Sandra said, looking down.

“Oh no.” Clem said, looking more worried. “Is everyone okay?”

“Clem, sweetie, I got bit.” Sandra said, not looking her in the face.

“Oh no. Please, no no no. That can’t be true.” Clem said in panic as tears fell down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Clementine.” Sandra said, looking up as Clem tackled her in a hug. “I’m so sorry. I’m your babysitter; I'm supposed to take care of you. And now this happened…”

“Please, tell me it’s not true.” Clem said, sounding heartbroken.

“Clementine, I'm gonna go away.” Sandra said, hugging her back.

“Wha- Why?” Clem asked, breaking the hug. “You’re not a walker yet.”

“I know, but it's too much of a risk for the group.” Sandra explained. “You understand, right?”

“Yes.” Clem said, looking down in sadness, and hugged Sandra again.

“Lee will take care of you from now on, okay?” Sandra said, hugging her tightly. “He’ll take good care of you.”

“Okay.” Clem said with a nod.

“Do everything he says and keep out of trouble, Goofball.” Sandra said as she felt tears pour down her face.

“I will.” Clem said, getting tears in her shirt.

“Goodbye, Clementine.” Sandra said, letting her go. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Clem said, silently crying, as Sandra walked out of the room.

Sandra walked out of the room, leaving Carley to watch over her. The realization of being bitten finally began to sink in, and as she leaned over the balcony, Sandra began crying herself. She didn’t regret jumping in to save Duck, but she was too young to die herself. There were so many things she had yet to do, things that she would never experience. The only thing she could do was cry and remember the good times.

What will the group do?

A) Go scouting the bandits base.

B) Set up traps for the bandits.

------------------------------------------

Relationships: (Out of 20)

Steven - 6

He's warming up to Lee.

------------------------------------------

Chapter Text

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

Entering the building, Lee was met with a very decorated lobby with expensive-looking furniture and a giant symbol of the Freemasons carved out of marble in the middle of the room. Looking around, he could see that all the windows and doors were heavily barricaded with wooden planks and furniture, and where once most likely was a resting area, now it was lined with beds, a couch, and a couple of dressers. In the back of the lobby was a staircase leading to the second floor, and Lee could hear the sound of someone sawing from there. In front of him, he saw four people—three adults and one little girl. Right in front of him was a man in his early 30s; he had black hair and green eyes, and from the looks of it, he was the leader of this group. Laying on the couch was a police officer, who had his entire left arm covered in bandages. Near him was a young woman in her mid-20s, and sitting on one of the beds was a little girl around Clem's age coloring in a book.

“Hey guys, I’m back!” Steven said with a wave to the group. “And I brought a friend with me.”

“Great another one.” Someone from deeper in the building said with annoyance in his voice. Lee recognized the voice from somewhere, but he couldn’t quite remember where.

“I’m glad you made it back in one piece.” The man in his early 30s said as he approached them.

“I always do.” Steven said with a cocky smirk.

“Don’t get cocky, boy.” The familiar voice said, still as annoyed as before.

“What can I say? I’m just that good.” Steven said with a smile.

“Introductions are in order, I believe.” The man in his early 30s said before reaching a hand out to him. “My name is Logan Pierce.”

“Name’s Lee.” Lee said, shaking the man’s hand.

“You’ve already met Steven.” Logan said, pointing to the young woman. “That’s Beatrice, our medic. She’s the best at what she does; save my life more than once.”

“I’m really just a nurse.” Beatrice said, sounding embarrassed at the praise.

“But also the only one with any medical know-how.” Logan said before pointing towards the officer resting on the couch. “Over there we have Officer Andre Mitchell.”

“Howdy!” Officer Andre said, but he sounded like he was in pain.

“That ball of sunshine over there is Danielle, and keeping watch up on the roof is Danny.” Logan said, pointing to the little girl.

“What the hell is all this ruckus about?!” The familiar voice said with a huff.

“And that grumpy old guy is-” Logan tried to introduce the man but got cut off by Lee, who immediately recognized the man.

“Terry?!” Lee said in shock.

“Lee?!” Terry yelled, equally shocked.

“God damn, I thought you were dead.” Lee said with a smile on his face.

“Hell, I nearly was.” Terry said with a chuckle. “The dead had me by the balls.”

“It's good to see you again.” Lee said with a chuckle.

“You two know each other?” Logan said with a curious look on his face.

“We met in the first couple of days.” Terry said with a wide smile. “He and another guy saved my life.”

“It was mostly Mitch.” Lee commented.

“Where is the fella?” Terry asked with a smirk. “I remember him promising me a ride.”

“He’s long gone.” Lee said with a sad smile.

“Where to?” Terry asked.

“They were going towards Woodbury last I heard.” Lee said with a shrug.

“Shame.” Terry said, looking down for a second. “But I didn’t expect anything else.”

“I’m sorr-'' Lee said, but was cut off by a wave of pain. “Damn!”

“You good?” Terry asked with worry.

“I think they broke my nose.” Lee said, holding his nose. 

“Who?” Terry asked.

“A couple of bandits, not sure who they were.” Lee explained.

“They were the Save-Lots guys.” Steven added.

"Here, let me have a look.” Beatrice said, walking up to him. “Try not breathing through your nose, please.”

“Sure.” Lee nodded and did as he was told.

“Hmm.” Beatrice said, examining his nose.

“How is it?” Lee asked curious.

“You’re lucky.” Beatrice said, still looking over his nose. “It’s not broken, just bruised.”

“How long will it hurt like this?” Lee asked.

“A couple of days.” Beatrice said with a sigh. “An ice pack would help, but we don’t have that.”

“So, there’s nothing you can do?” Lee asked, a little disappointed.

“No, I’m sorry.” Beatrice said with a heavy sigh. “I’d give you some painkiller, but-”

“We can’t; I’m sorry.” Logan cut in. ”We’re not exactly swimming in supplies. I hope you understand.”

“Yeah, no worries.” Lee said.

“Come on, Lee.” Terry said, putting a hand on Lee’s shoulder. “Let’s catch up.”

And two of them walked to the side and began talking about what had happened since they last saw each other. Lee was happy to see the man again even though they only knew each other for a couple of days, and meeting a friendly group so close to the motel was a nice thing too. But the encounter with the Save-Lot bandits worried him a little bit; maybe he should talk with one of them about it.

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Lilly]

They all watched the teen go up the stairs and into the room; it was quite the shock to have a bite victim in the group. Not that Lilly knew Sandra all that well, but that was not a good way to go out. Looking over everyone else, she saw similar emotions on their faces, but mostly pity and sadness. As she scanned the area, she also saw Duck sitting on the ground, clothes covered in blood. He was hugging his legs, clearly traumatized by what happened.

“Duck, go check up on your mom for me, will ya?” Kenny said, breaking his son out of it.

“Sure thing.” Duck said, standing up and walking towards the family room.

“That was a shitshow.” Doug said after the boy entered the room, shaking his head.

“You said it, bud.” Kenny added with a nod.

“We still haven’t decided on what we’re gonna do.” Larry said getting them back on track.

“Did that guy say anything else?” Lilly asked.

“He said that there’s around 25 of them, but they’re not that well armed.” Larry said.

“25?!” Kenny exclaimed in shock and disbelief. “Holy shit! That’s a lot.”

“You still wanna go to war, Kenny?” Lilly asked with a smirk.

“Fuck No!” Kenny said, shaking his head. “That idea goes out the window.”

“Still, we can’t sit around doing nothing.” Doug said.

“I agree, but what can we do?” Lilly asked, looking around.

“Did he say anything else?” Kenny asked.

“No, nothing else.” Larry said, shaking his head.

“So that’s all we got to go off?” Kenny asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He wasn’t all that talkative on the count of bleeding to death.” Larry said, rolling his eyes.

“Would have been nice to know what we’ll be dealing with.” Doug said, looking down.

“Yeah, but we gotta work with what we got.” Lilly said firmly.

"Still, that ain’t much.” Kenny said, shaking his head.

“We have to do something.” Doug said, looking between Lilly and Kenny. “I can still set up some traps around if that helps.”

“No, Doug.” Lilly said, disagreeing. “A walker might get in, and then it would be just a waste of time.”

“I know you don’t agree with me, but we should at least check the place out.” Kenny said before turning toward Lilly. “We have to know more about those bandits.”

“So a… scouting party?” Doug asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, something like that.” Kenny said with a nod.

“That could work.” Doug said with a smile.

“We can’t all go, obviously.” Lilly said with a frown.

“Two people should be enough, I think.” Doug propoused.

“Agreed.” Kenny said.

“I’m fine with that, but who will go?” Lilly asked as she looked around.

“I’ll go.” Sandra said as she approached the group.

“Are ya sure about that?” Kenny asked, a little worried.

“I’m one leg in a grave as is.” Sandra sighed and briefly looked down before speaking. “Might as well help while I still can.”

“So that’s one person down.” Kenny said, then cast a glance about.  “Anyone else volunteering?”

“It was your idea, genius.” Larry rasped out with a smirk. “How about you?”

“I have a pregnant wife; I can’t leave her!” Kenny spat out.

“Haha, look who doesn't have the balls now.” Larry descended on Kenny.

As the two were bickering, Lilly saw out of the corner of her eye that Carley exited Sandra's room and was slowly making her towards them.

“Fine!” Kenny said curtly. "But if anything happened to my family, you’ll regret it.”

Larry shook his head before walking away, not even dignifying Kenny’s outburst with a response.

“Still, I think we should take a breather before you leave.” Doug said.

“Why the hell should we waste time like that?” Kenny asked, confused.

“We’re all too railed up. It’s been an eventful morning.” Doug said with a frown.

“Doug’s right, we should all use the time to calm down before making a stupid decision.” Carley said, joining the conversation.

“I agree.” Lilly said with a nod.

“Besides, I have to map out the shortest path for you on the map.” Doug said.

“Will that be really necessary?” Kenny grumbled at Doug with anoyence.

“You don’t wanna get lost, do you?” Doug asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Sure don’t.” Kenny replied before letting out a sigh. “How long do you think it will take you?”

“Give me 10 minutes.” Doug said before running into his motel room.

“I’ll check up on Kat…” Kenny muttered before walking away towards his room.

Lilly looked around; everyone was going their separate way, and so was she. Today she was on guard duty as she climbed up the RV. After around 10 minutes or so, Doug gave Kenny the map, and both he and Sandra left the motel. An hour or so later, she saw Doug walking towards his room with a toolbox in one hand and a bunch of scrap metal in the other. She had no idea what that was about, but she had more important things to worry about, like keeping the group alive with a bunch of bandits just around the corner. She knew Kenny was right; they had to find a way of getting rid of those fuckers, but if there are that many of them, the Motel group doesn’t stand a chance. They only had five people capable of fighting them: Lee was still gone, Mark is still out of it, Sandra’s bitten, and Katjaa is pregnant. And there is no way she would allow kids to carry, much less shoot, guns. These were one of the few times she wished they had more people in the group.

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Sandra]

It didn’t take Doug all that long to scribble down the path for them to take; it was pretty much straight forward. They were nearing a bridge when Kenny broke the uneasy silence.

“How did Clem take it?” Kenny asked awkwardly.

“Not well, but I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Sandra said with a forced smile before adding. “With time.”

“How can you be so sure?” Kenny asked, sending her an anxious glance.

“Clementine is a strong kid.” Sandra said, looking forward with full confidence. “She took all of this better than I did at the beginning.”

“Really?” Kenny questioned with doubt in his voice.

“Yeah.” Sandra answered with a large smile on her face. “This one time I went out to get some food and got stuck for two days in a store.”

“Damn, that's tough.” Kenny said with a grimace. "You were stuck for two days with those things all around you?"

“Yeah, I was fucking terrified.” Sandra laughed at the distant memory. “Walkers all around me, but I was more scared of losing Clem than my own life.”

“So, what you’re saying is she was all on her own for two days?” Kenny asked with a raised eyebrow.

“She hid in her tree house, and when I got back, it was like nothing had happened.” Sandra said, smiling fondly. “She took most of our food up there too.”

“That’s smart.” Kenny chuckled.

“Yeah, much better than any idea I’ve thought of.” Sandra said as they crossed the bridge, maneuvering around the many abandoned vehicles.

Things were going smoothly until they heard a gunshot ring out in the distance, and the source was sadly in front of them. Immediately they dropped to their knees and took cover behind the vehicles. Sandra got her gun ready, and Kenny loaded up a few shotgun shells into his weapon of choice. They stood still, trying to make as little noise as they could, when they heard people talking and approaching them. They couldn’t recognize the voices of those people, but it was pretty easy to guess from the context of the conversion that they were with the bandits at the very least.

Who will Lee talk about the Save-Lots bandits with?

A) Talk with Logan.

B) Talk with Terry.

C) Talk with Steven.

What will Kenny and Sandra do?

A) Let them pass.

B) Attack them.

Chapter Text

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

Lee and Terry talked about the things that happened since the last time they saw each other. Lee told him about the pharmacy, the death of his parents, Tess and Mitch leaving, the raid on the airbase, and the attack on Terminus. Terry too had a lot to say about the things he had done since the day they got separated. Apparently after the walkers got in between him and the group, Terry ran in the opposite direction, weaving and ducking through the many walking dead until he found a gun store. The store was locked down tight, with all the windows having their grates shut and only the front gate having a few inches of gap. That was enough for him to squeeze through, and once inside, he locked the store. The place was untouched, and he stayed there for a couple of days until his food ran out. Around a month in, he met Logan and joined up with him; they secured this place only a couple of days ago and were still clearing out walkers from the other buildings around the place. Having said all that, they were stacked; they had enough food to last them months, and having raided the hospital, they had a good stockpile of meds. Terry told him about the others too: Logan was their leader and the sole caretaker of Danielle; Danny was a convict but a good man at heart; and Steven was a fresh out of high school kid with ambitions of being an MMA fighter. They rescued Beatrice from the hospital; she was staying there with another doctor. She told them that they were waiting for some people to extract them from the hospital, but she lost hope in that plan and joined up with them. Officer Andre was a cop from Atlanta, but after the city fell, he left not looking back before stumbling on the group surrounded by walkers. He’s the only reason they are still alive and the only one of them with any weapon experience. 

They talked some more, but mostly about some smaller things, before Lee excused himself and said that he had to talk with Logan. As he approached the man, he discovered him engrossed in a book titled "A Good Man's Journey" as he was sitting on the counter top of the lobby.

“Hey, Logan.” Lee said, walking up to the man.

“Yeah, what can I do for ya, Lee?” Logan asked.

“I do have a couple of questions about the bandits, if you don’t mind.”

“You know nothing about them?” Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Nah, man.” Lee said, shaking his head. “Me and my people haven’t gone back into the city that much since this thing began.” 

“You’re people?” Logan asked, surprised that Lee wasn’t alone. “So you’re with a group?”

“Yeah.” Lee said with a smile. “We’ve been staying at the motel near the edge of the city.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be going around telling strangers where you live.” Logan said, shaking his head with disapproval.

“I know that, but I trust you enough not to stab me in the back.” Lee retorted.

“How come?” Logan asked, surprised at Lee’s words. “We’ve just met.”

“That may be so, but I know Terry enough to know he wouldn’t stick around if you were that kinda guy.” Lee explained himself. "Besides, you have a kid, so I doubt that you’re one to make more enemies for yourself.”

“Well, you’re right about that.” Logan said with a chuckle. “Ask away, man.”

“Hmmm.” Lee hummed in thought before asking his first question. “Who even are those guys?”

“Most of them are survivors from the local Save-Lots, but I’m pretty sure there are some gang members or criminals amongst them.” Logan said with a frown. “At least that's what I’ve gathered; I can’t be sure. They might just be all going crazy from the end of the world, though.”

“That’s quite the claim.” Lee said surprised.

“Yeah, well. After the fifth corpse full of suspicious tattoos, some ideas might pop into your head.” Logan said with a shrug. “Not that it matters much; those people are a danger to all of us.”

“How many of them are there?” Lee asked.

“A lot.” Logan said, looking down in thought. “Too many to count, but they ain’t armed that well. Mostly bows, crossbows, and hatches.”

“Any of them we should be worried about?” Lee asked crossing his arms.

“There are a couple, but they're mostly just thugs.” Logan said with a sneer. “Those that you should keep an eye out for are Sam, his right-hand man Jake, and his left-hand gal Linda.” 

Lee flinched a little at the mention of Sam’s name, and then he remembered seeing him in the woods when he was walking towards Terminus. Meaning the rest of those people must have been the Save-Lots bandits. Lee still could barely believe it—what were the chances that Sam would be here in Macon of all places? Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter now; he was a monster that needed to be stopped, and that was the end of that.

“Jake’s more tame and tactful of the two, but just as cruel as any one of them. Linda, on the other hand, she’s a monster among monsters, and that’s putting it lightly.” Logan said with a look of disgust as if remembering something before snapping back to reality. “I tell ya, the shit they get up to in there. Fucking diabolical, man.”

“What about this Sam guy you talked about?” Lee asked, trying not to sound too suspicious. “He’s the leader, right? What’s he like?”

“Sam… Sam’s not much of a fighter or much of a survivor. Really, the guy’s pathetic at the end of the day, but he’s a great actor, and he’s charismatic as hell. The guy used to be a senator, if you can believe it, so I guess he has some experience in bullshitting people into shooting their own foot.” Logan said, shaking his head. “He and his wife rule that bandit group with their cruelty, but they ain't shit. They wouldn’t survive a day out here on their own.”

The moment Logan said ‘his wife’, Lee felt like he was stabbed through the heart. It couldn’t be, could it? But who else would it be, and if his luck was anything to go by, it was mostly likely that he was talking about 'her'.

“Anything else that I should be aware of?” Lee asked.

“They never go out alone. There’s at least two of those bastards at one time, but that’s rare. Usually a group of five, but on raids there can be as many as ten of them.” Logan said, scratching the back of his head.

“I appreciate you telling me this.” Lee said with a smile.

“No reason not to.” Logan said with a shrug. “The fewer of those fucks out there, the better, and hopefully this will help you push them back if need be.”

Lee was about to excuse himself, but suddenly a thought came to his mind. How does Logan know so much about the bandits? Most of the information could be gathered easily, but some of it was personal, the kind that you'd need to know the person to know.

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Sandra]

Kenny and Sandra waited, holding their breath the entire time, as the bandits approached their position. The plan was quite simple: wait for them to pass and unload into them while they have their backs turned to them. She was confident that they could take on the bandits, but if anything were to go wrong, she had a backup plan hidden in her back pocket.

As the bandits walked by, she saw that there were five of them, but only one of them had a gun, a hunting rifle from the looks of it. The rest were equipped with crossbows and hatchets, so while they were outnumbered, they were not outgunned.

Without waiting for her, Kenny jumped up and immediately shot off the heads of two bandits, making a gory mess of their corpses. Seeing this, she followed his lead and unloaded a couple of bullets into the bandits holding the rifle before he could react. The armed bandit died immediately, and his gun fell to the ground right in front of a bandit her age. Seeing this, she tried to shoot him, but her gun let out a clicking noise, meaning she was out of ammo. Panicking a little, Sandra dove for the rifle as the teen bandit did the same.

Sandra wrestled with the teenage bandit, trying to rip the rifle out of his hands. Their fighting brought them to the edge of the bridge, and as the other teen's back hit the stone wall, she got an idea. Pulling the weapon with all her strength, she managed to pull the teen towards her before slamming the weapon into his face. That caused the teen to let go of the weapon as he cupped his face in pain. Seeing the opening, Sandra ran at him and slammed her shoulder into him, the force causing him to fall off the bridge and into the river.

Walking up to the edge of the bridge, she saw the teen trying his hardest not to drown as the current swept him away, but after a couple of seconds he disappeared below the water. Looking down, she suddenly felt incredibly weak and thought she was about to fall over, but it was over before that could happen. The bite was catching up to her; who knows how much more time she has. She was afraid of dying more than ever, but she had to put up a strong face.

Looking around, she saw Kenny finishing off the last of the bandits with an arrow in his left leg just below the knee. She was about to go and patch him up, but as he turned towards her, she saw a panicked look on his face.

“Shit, Sandra, look out.” Kenny yelled out, making her turn around and see a walker just inches away from her face.

Without much choice, she tried to shoot at it with the rifle, but the monster lunged at her before she could react. The force of which caused her to drop her rifle before tripping and falling off the bridge, but thankfully on her way down she managed to grab a pipe running on the side of the bridge. As she grabbed the pipe, she saw that walker fall next to her, thankfully not close enough to grab her. Looking down, she saw the walker hit the water and then a growing red dot in the river.

“Shit, shit.” She heard Kenny say as the man got closer. “Hold on tight; I'll find something to pull you up.”

“Don't take your time.” Sandra said as she felt herself growing weaker and her grip slipping. “I ain't feeling all that hot right now.”

“Damn it, give me some time.” Kenny yelled in a panic. 

Hanging several feet above a river was a terrifying experience, and here she thought nothing would scare her after getting bitten. She was already marked for death, but here she was afraid of falling into the cold water below. She was certain that falling into the river wouldn’t kill her, but the fact that she didn’t know how to swim would do her in a lot faster than the bite.

“This is so convenient.” Kenny said quietly to himself.

Before she had time to ask what he was talking about, rope hit her in the face. Startled by this, she nearly let go of the pipe, but thankfully she was aware enough not to let that happen.

“Come on, grab it. I'll pull you up.” Kenny said as Sandra grabbed the rope and, with his help, got back on the bridge.

“You were not wrong; that was con-convenient.” Sandra said, stumbling a little as a wave of pain hit her, nearly falling to the ground.

“Sandra, are you okay?” Kenny asked concerned, but it only made her frustrated.

“No, Kenny. I'm bit.” Sandra said with some venom in her voice before letting out a sigh. “Look Kenny I'm sorry, but please don't ask me that again.”

“Sandra… I'm just concerned; if you're gonna turn, I'd like a warning.” Kenny said, scratching the back of his head.

Sandra sighed before saying. “I'll let you know when I'm getting weaker.”

Kenny nodded before taking out the map before saying. "Alright, let's get a move on. We still got some distance to cover.”

“We better keep a lookout.” Sandra said with a grimace as her head began pounding. 

“We did make quite the ruckus.” Kenny said with a nod, looking back to the dead bodies of the bandits.

“Yeah, and if there’s more of them, they’re bound to investigate.” Sandra said, massaging her temples.

“How are you feeling?” Kenny asked, his voice filled with concern.

“My head’s pounding, the bite is throbbing, and I can hear my heart beating louder than ever.” Sandra said with a frown. “Let’s just go.”

“Right.” Kenny said, looking back at the map as they began walking towards the Save-Lots store.

"How's your leg, Kenny?" Sandra asked, looking back at him and seeing that he pulled out the arrow.

"Hurt like hell." Kenny said through his teeth as he limped along.

"Let's get to a better spot, and I'll patch it up." Sandra said, holding her head.

[Half an hour later…]

They found an empty liquor store where Sandra patched Kenny's leg while he grumbled about the lack of booze in the place. After that they walked through the empty streets of Macon, maneuvering through a sea of abandoned cars and killing the occasional walker. It seems that the majority of the undead bastards were somewhere else in the town, which she was grateful for. They had to hide in one of the buildings as five heavily armed bandits ran past them. They were most likely sent out to check up on the guy she and Kenny killed on the bridge. Looking at them, she was dreading the idea that they could attack the motel. If they did, Lilly and the others stood no chance; even if they somehow won, the noise of the battle would most likely bring a horde of walkers to the motel. They could only hope that what they did at the bridge wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass.

Walking behind and through buildings, they tried their best to stay hidden in case there were more of them out and about. As they got closer to their destination, they could hear people talking, and after walking into a long abandoned diner, they saw walls made out of vehicles, sheet metal, and big garbage bins. There were some people walking on scaffolding behind the wall and on top of the Save-Lots, but it wasn't a lot. There was one main gate with much more defense than the rest of the place and a couple of vehicles parked next to it.

Not being able to see much, they decided to climb to the roof of the building to see what was going on inside the place. As they got onto the roof, they hid behind a billboard mounted on the building and peeked to the bandits base. Inside they saw much more than the 25 people that one bandit told them about; behind the wall there were countless tents with what looked like hundreds of people walking about, talking to one another, and working on stuff. 

“Fuck…” Kenny said with dread in his voice. “Look how many people there are. Who in the hell…”

She saw a group of people unpacking a semi-truck full of food, other people working on reinforcing a part of the wall, and others cooking food in a food court-type area. For a moment she wondered if the people there knew what the bandits were doing, but suddenly the sound of a crying broke her trail of thought. Looking towards the source of the crying, she saw four people, tied and walking in a line towards the Save-Lots building. The person crying was a young 14 or 15 boy before he got shoved to the ground by one of the bandits escorting them to the building. Looking around, she saw that the people were not reacting to this brutality and made up her mind.

“Kenny, I have an idea.” Sandra said, turning towards the older man.

“What do you got?” Kenny asked with a raised eyebrow.

“This.” Sandra said as she took out a a brick of C-4 from the inside of her dark green leather jacket.

"Emm, what's that?" Kenny asked, confused about what he was looking at.

"C-4." Sandra said with a shrug before taking out a small box with an antenna on it. "And here's the detonator for it."

“What the hell-” Kenny exclaimed in shock. “You’ve been carrying that with you all this time.”

“Yeah.” Sandra said with a shrug.

“Why?” Kennt asked, sounding almost defeated.

“As a last resort.” Sandra said before pointing towards the bandits. “You know, in case people like that got me.”

“Yeah, sure. I got that.” Kenny said with a sigh as he rubbed his temples. “But what in God’s name does it have to do with your idea?”

“I’m gonna walk up to that gate, ask them for help, and when they try to take me in, I blow them up.” Sandra explained ending it with an explosion sound and an appropriate gesture with her hand.

“Wha… What the hell are you talking about?” Kenny asked seemingly lost for words. “You want to get yourself killed just to take a few of those bastards with you. That’s insane.”

“Kenny, I'm still bitten. Remember.” Sandra said with a sigh.

“Yeah, I know.” Kenny said through his teeth. “But there are better ways to go... Less painful ways to go.”

“I know, but this way my death won’t be for nothing.” Sandra said with a sad smile.

“You’re death ain’t for nothing; you saved my boy.” Kenny said it almost desperately.

Will Lee ask him how he knows so much about the Save-Lots bandits?

A) Yes

B) No

What will Kenny do?

A) Let her do it.

B) Talk her out of it.

Chapter Text

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Sandra]

Kenny looked at her in deep thought, thinking about what to do before letting out a deep sigh as his shoulder slumped in defeat.

“If this is really what you want…” Kenny said, looking down in shame. 

“It is Kenny.” Sandra said with a nod as she pocketed the C4.

Kenny looked her in the eyes before shaking his head and saying. “Fine, but I ain't gotta watch.”

“I'm not going to ask you to, but here take this.” Sandra said as she took off her green leather jacket and gave it to Kenny.

“What for?” Kenny asked as he took the jacket.

“Give this to Clem for me.” Sandra said, looking down as new tears fell down her cheeks. “She'll wear it when she grows up.”

“I… I’ll make sure she gets it.” Kenny said with a heavy heart as Sandra began walking past him and towards the ladder leading down.

After making sure no walkers were shambling about, they got down from the roof of the diner and their bearings. There was a heavy tension in the air before it was broken by Kenny, who turned towards Sandra with an outstretched hand.

“It was nice knowing you, kid.” Kenny said, shaking her hand.

“Likewise Kenny.” Sandra said with a smile as they shook hands.

“Give ‘em hell.” Kenny said, turning around as he began walking away.

“They’ll never see it coming.” Sandra said as she too turned around and began walking towards the edge of the building.

“That’s the spirit.” Kenny said, but she could barely hear him.

As she got to the edge of the diner, she took one last look behind and didn’t see Kenny anymore. Peeking from behind the building, she saw a couple of bandits on top of the gate with their weapons at the ready. She couldn’t run up from this close to a building; it would be too suspicious, so she decided to move up the road. Once far enough, she took a couple of steps back before running as fast as she could towards the main gate of the Save-Lots bandits. Running down the street, she saw a couple of walkers follow her, two of them being runners.

“HELP! PLEASE, HELP ME!” Sandra yelled out at the top of her lungs as she got close to the gate.

She saw the people at the top of the gate point their weapon in her direction and got worried that they would shoot her before she got a chance to enact her plan. Thankful they began opening fire at the walkers and not her.

“OPEN THE GATE!” Someone from the inside yelled out as the gate began opening.

As the gate opened, she saw the many tents and the Save-Lots in the background, along with two guys without masks; one was holding an AK and the other a hunting rifle.

“Get inside!” The man holding the AK yelled out, gesturing to her to get inside.

“Thank you!” Sandra said as she stopped in the middle of the gate and, with a smirk, took out the C4 and the detonator.

“SHIT!” The man yelled out in shock as he saw what she was doing. “DON’T-”

Before he could say anything else, she flipped the switch and engulfed the gate area in flame. The last thing she could see before passing on was a bright orange light, a high-pitched ringing, and a warm feeling on her skin. After that, nothing but white light in a dark corridor. Seeing this, she began walking towards the light as she heard the voices of her parents in the distance.

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

Lee thought about asking him and came to the conclusion that it couldn’t hurt to at least try. “If you don’t mind me asking, how do you know so much about them?”

Lee could see Logan stiffen a little at the question before letting out a deep sigh and saying. “I used to be a part of their group before they became scum.”

“What happened?” Lee asked with a surprised look on his face.

“Sam and his thugs killed the previous leader and put the blame on Terry.” Logan said with a frown as he crossed his arms.

“Terry didn’t say anything about that.” Lee said with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, he doesn’t like to talk about that.” Logan said putting his book down with a sigh. “I saved his life; they wanted to execute him.”

“Well, you have my gratitude.” Lee said with a smile. “Terry’s a good friend.”

“I know.” Logan said with a sad smile. "Sadly, Danielle's mother died when we were getting out of that place.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Lee said, looking down. “I know what it’s like to lose a loved one.”

“She was a good friend, and I miss her sometimes.” Logan said, looking down for a second before seeing Lee’s expression. “W-wait… Did you think that we were…”

“I thought she saw your daughter.” Lee said, looking embarrassed.

“Hahahaha, no no no.” Logan said with a chuckle as he shook his head. “I take care of her as if she were my own, but we’re not related by blood. Besides, I’m not really into women.”

“I see…” Lee said awkwardly. “Well, it was nice talking to you, but I think I should go now.”

“You’re leaving?” Terry asked, walking up to the two.

“I’ve already been gone for over a day.” Lee explained as he checked his bag to make sure he didn’t leave something. “Don’t want to worry my people too much.”

“Haha, we know what that’s like; Mr. Officer likes to take day-long supply runs.” Steven said, walking up to them.

"Well, someone has to get food for ya all.” Officer Mitchell said from the couch, earning a chuckle from Steven.

“How about I escort you out of the woods?” Terry proposed.

“Are you sure?” Lee asked as he began walking towards the front doors.

“Yeah, some fresh air would do me some good.” Terry said as the two walked towards the exit.

“Stay safe, guys.” Logan said as the two walked out of the building.

[A couple of minutes later…]

Lee and Terry walked down the dirt path towards the road, talking about some things. Terry even told him about a stash of scrap metal they would have in the area and planned to use for fortifications. It was overall a good and calm walk; he deserved that much after what happened yesterday. The death of Officer Allen was still fresh in his mind; he dreaded having to tell the others about it. Larry would most likely say that it was his fault as always.

As they got to the edge of the forest, Terry stopped, and Lee turned to face him.

“Well, that’s as far as I’m going.” Terry said.

“Those woods are thick; I doubt many walkers can get through them.” Lee said, looking back at the woods.

“You’re right about-” Terry was going to say something but got cut off by the sound of an explosion coming from Macon.

“What was that?!” Lee exclaimed in shock as he turned towards the sound.

As the two gazed at the skyline of the town, they saw a pillar of smoke coming from the left side of the horizon.

“No fucking idea, but... I think it's coming from where the Save-Lots is located.” Terry said with a smirk. “I think someone might have just taken care of them for us.”

“Maybe…” Lee said, a little unsure if it was a good thing. “But those people might be just as bad, if not worse.”

“Hmmm, good point.” Terry said before letting out a sigh. “Be careful out there, Lee. You’re a good man.”

“You too, Terry.” Lee said with a smile. “And if you ever need it, that’s a place for you at the motel.”

“Ha, I might just take you up on that, if only to get away from those jokesters.” Terry said with a chuckle before turning around and walking away. “See ya around, Lee.”

With that, Lee turned around and began his journey back to the motel. This was one hell of a day, and he really missed his bed. He only hoped that nothing bad had happened back at the motel.

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Kenny]

Having said his final words to Sandra, Kenny began making his way back to the motel with the green leather jacket in hand. A reminder of a person who did so much for his family and whose death would be forever on his conscience. It was him provoking Lilly and starting a shouting match that lurked the walker; it was him that was too slow to save his own kid that got her bit, and now he allowed her to blow herself up like some kinda terrorist. He slowly made his way through the town, dodging walkers on the way; he really needed time to think about things.

As he was getting far enough from the Save-Lots, he heard a massive explosion in the distance. He immediately turned around and saw a big cloud of dark smoke coming from where the Save-Lots were. 

“She did it." Kenny said with a sad voice. "It was her choice.”

“I just hope it was worth it.” Kenny said before letting out a sigh before turning back and walking away.

As he walked onto a crossroads, he turned towards his left and saw a massive horde of walkers stumbling about in his direction. Even with a wounded leg, Kenny wasted no time in running the fuck away from the sea of monsters. He was running for a good couple of minutes, but the walkers still followed him; there were even a few runners in their midst. He didn’t even bother trying to shoot at them, too many targets and too little ammo. He did take a couple of pot shots at the runners though, taking them out of commission. That allowed him to take a breather until he got to the bridge.

As he got onto the bridge, he saw a group of people making their way towards him, but they were too far for him to see if they were friendly or not. Looking around for any place to hide or run to, Kenny saw a car with tinted windows to his left and to his right a car with an opened trunk. Looking back, he saw that the horde of walkers following him was far enough that he could run back and into the woods left of the bridge.

What will Kenny do?

A) Hide in the trunk.

B) Hide in the car.

C) Run into the woods.

Chapter Text

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Kenny]

Kenny was unsure of what to do; he had no backup, no one to rely on for support. No way could he take them on, so there was one thing that he could do: hide. There weren’t places that would work, so after noticing an open car door, he leaped at the opportunity. Getting into the vehicle quickly and quietly, he closed the door and made himself as small as possible. Sadly, after taking the first breath inside of the vehicle, he had to keep himself from vomiting; the air was thick with the smell of rotting meat, and after taking a look, he saw a corpse sitting in the front seat. No matter how much time passed or how many walkers he killed, the smell still got to him; he would never get used to it. Regrettably, it was too late for him to change hiding spots as he heard the voices of those bastards approaching. He held his breath, hoping they would quickly make their way past the car he was using as a hiding spot, but as luck would have it, they just had to make a pit stop here.

“Jesus! Did you hear that explosion?” Asked one of the people, a young-sounding guy. “You don’t think it-”

“I hope not, but the smoke is coming from where Save-Lots is.” Said an older-sounding man.

“What are we gonna do?” Asked a young woman; she sounded scared.

“Sam’s most likely gonna send out more people to look for whoever did that.” Said a different, older-sounding woman; she sounded like the one in charge.

“You don’t think it’s those guys at the Masons Complex, do you?” Asked the young guy.

“I don’t, but still it’s high time we take care of them.” Said the woman in charge.

“Heard that they’ll be sending a lot of people across the bridge. Looting and raiding.” Said the older guy; he sounded happy with himself, like killing people was just a pastime activity.

“Hell yeah, think you can get me in on that?” Asked the young guy, sounding a little too excited for Kenny’s liking.

“That’s not up to me, Dave.” Said the woman in charge. “But I doubt Jake will let you go after last time.”

“Oh, come on.” Dave said, sounding more like a whining child. “It ain’t my fault-”

“Can it, Dave.” Said the woman in charge; she sounded really sick of Dave. “I don’t wanna hear any more of your bitching.”

“Guys, let’s go.” Said the old man with frustration. “We don’t wanna let the others wait.”

Finally they were leaving; Kenny let out a small sigh of relief before the sickly smell of rot made him gag with disgust. Peeking from the back seat of the car, Kenny made sure they were gone before finally he could relax a bit. Sadly that didn’t last all that long, because before he could even grab the door handle and leave, a moaning sound stopped him in his tracks. Turning towards the source of the sound, he saw a walker with its face full of thick and long glass shards. As fate would have it, the monster threw itself at him. Thinking fast, Kenny managed to hold it back before he could be impaled by the spikes by grabbing the corpse by its shoulder. With his gun holstered and no blunt weapon in sight, Kenny was struggling to find a way out. Thankfully, an idea came to his head as he threw the walker into the seat to his left. The monster was stunned for a second, which gave him enough time to grab it by its hair and slam the head into the door. After the third slam, the glass shards pierced through the walker's head and into its brain, killing it in the process. Dropping the corpse, Kenny was winded, and the air inside the vehicle wasn’t helping, so finally he left the car before vomiting on the asphalt road.

“Fucking hell!” Kenny said after wiping the vomit off his lips.

Looking around, the road was empty of any living or nonliving things, so after taking a deep breath, he could finally make his way back to the damned motel. Hopefully the place would still be standing with him gone for such a long time.

[October 15th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

Lee was getting close to the motel, finally home after all that happened. It was supposed to be a simple mission: check out the Terminus place, make sure it's safe, and get back. But it all went to hell, and now he was gonna have to explain to the others about what happened to Allen. Larry’s gonna be an ass about it, but it’s not like he can hate Lee’s guts even more. The only good thing that happened to him was reuniting with Terry; he was a good man.

Walking through the forest, Lee was happy to see that there were no walkers in sight; he really didn’t want another obstacle today. He saw the silhouette of the building in the distance, and after a good minute, he was at the gate of the motel. Making his way to it, he saw that Doug was on guard duty, but the man was busy working on something; he had an assortment of metal and some tools. He wasn’t sure what it was, but knowing Lilly would have a fit if she saw that he was distracted, Lee decided to give him a scare.

“Hi-” Lee started but was surprised how fast Doug grabbed the gun and aimed at him. “Whoa, don’t shoot, it’s me.”

“Aw, shit.” Doug said before lowering the weapon. “Lee, you almost gave me a heart attack. I’m way too young for those.”

“Me too, you know.” Lee said as he entered the motel parking lot before noticing something about the other man. “What’s got you all tense like that?”

“It’s a long story.” Doug said with a sigh. “A lot has happened since you two went out.”

“I could say the same thing.” Lee said with a nod.

“By the way, where's Allen?” Doug asked, looking around.

“He didn’t make it.” Lee said, looking down in guilt.

“Damn, that sucks.” Doug said, shaking his head. “He was a good guy.”

“Yeah.” Lee said with a nod before looking up at Doug. “Listen, Doug, I’ll catch up later. Have to speak to Lilly about what happened.”

“Sure thing, man.” Doug said with a nod before going back to working on the metal thing.

Shaking his head, Lee decided to let the man do his thing; he clearly had sharp enough reflexes to keep himself safe. Looking at the doors in front of him, Lee hoped with all his heart that he wouldn't have to deal with both Lilly and Larry. The old man still had it out for him; no matter how much Lee proved himself, no matter what he did, he couldn’t change the man’s mind.

“Hey, Lilly, we need to talk.” Lee said as he knocked on the doors.

“Lee? Is that you?” Lilly asked, sounding a little surprised.

“Yeah.” Lee said, sounding relieved to not hear the old man. “You got a minute?”

“Come in.” Lilly said, at which Lee entered the room. “So, you’re back.”

“Yeah, it didn’t go well.” Lee said before sitting down.

“What happened?” Lilly asked, looking worried. “Where’s Officer Allen?”

“He didn’t make it.” Lee said, still feeling guilty about it.

“Bandits?” Lilly asked.

“You know about them?” Lee asked, looking surprised.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Lilly said with a frown. “We got attacked last night.”

“Shit.” Lee said, shocked, before adding. “But no, it wasn't bandits that got him.”

“Who then?” Lilly asked. “Don’t tell me it was that Gareth guy and his goons.”

“Nah, they were alright people.” Lee said, shaking his head.

“Damn, so another group of people to worry about.” Lilly said as she started packing around the room. “Who are they?”

“Cannibals, if you can believe it.” Lee said, knowing it would sound far-fetched.

“You're joking, right?” Lilly asked, looking both in disbelief and horror.

“Nope.” Lee said, popping ‘p’ extra loudly.

“Damn it. So, what about this Terminus? Is it safe?” Lilly asked with a smile full of hope, at least for a woman like her. “You think we can move there?”

“It was safe; hell, it looked great.” Lee said, already missing the few moments he could enjoy at Terminus.

“Why do I hear a ‘but’ coming?” Lilly said as her arms dropped to her sides.

“Yeah, the cannibals that got Allen.” Lee explained. “They reduced Terminus to rubble; I’m not sure if anyone survived.”

“Damn it.” Lilly swore before finally sitting down. “As if we didn’t have enough to worry about.”

“Well, I have some good news as well.” Lee said, wanting to lighten things up.

“Good news, huh?” Lilly said with a sigh. “I could use some right about now.”

“Think I killed the leader of that cannibal group.” Lee said.

“You think?” Lilly asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He stood on top of a train wagon and screamed orders at his people.” Lee said with a smirk. “So yeah, I think he was the leader.”

“That puts one issue off the board.” Lilly said with a nod. “Now to deal with a hundred more.”

“I also met a friendly group of people.” Lee said with a smile.

“How can you be so sure that they’re… ‘friendly’?” Lilly asked.

“Knew one of them before meeting you and the others at the pharmacy.” Lee said. “I can vouch for him.”

They spoke a little longer about what happened between when Lee and Officer Allen left and now. They went into greater detail, talking about all the things that happened, and so they went on; it took them at least an hour or two before they were finished. He was saddened to learn about what happened to Sandra; the young and independent girl was like sunshine in this bleak new world. God knows how Clementine was gonna take it if the others didn’t already tell her. Sadly, he didn’t have the time to think about it, as the next piece of information was going to take priority. Lee was a little more scared and more than shocked because of the information that he learned about the bandits. If there were so many of them, they wouldn’t stand a chance, not in a straight-on fight.

“I don’t know what to do, Lee.” Lilly said, shaking her head, feeling helpless about the situation. “Kenny wants to fight them, but how can we do that without risking the lives of our people.”

Lee thought for a bit before remembering something. “About that, I think I might have a plan.”

“Hmm, really?” Lilly asked, a little surprised.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed something while crossing the bridge that connects us to downtown Macon.” Lee said.

“And what’s that?” Lilly asked, not seeing where he was going with it.

“It’s the only bridge still standing.” Lee said.

Lilly contemplated the information for a second before she understood what he was saying. “You’re not seriously proposing that we…” 

“Hell yeah, I am.” Lee said with a smile.

“How would we even do that?” Lilly asked, looking unsure about the whole idea.

“The explosives from the police station.” Lee reminded her.

“That’s crazy, Lee.” Lilly said, shaking her head in disbelief. “We would be cutting off our access to the city.”

“And from the bandits.” Lee added. “Sure it’s risky, but tell me, do you have a better idea?”

“I’ll think about it.” Lilly said with a sigh. “But we have to review our options before doing anything so dramatic.”

“Well, don’t think too long.” Lee said, standing up, ready to leave. “We might not have that much time.”

“I know…” Lilly said, looking down. “We’ll talk about it again tomorrow.”

“Sure.” Lee said, walking towards the door. “Stay safe, Lilly.”

“You too…” Lilly said quietly.

Walking out of the room, Lee looked around the place, taking in the cool autumn wind. He noticed that even though so much has happened, the motel hasn’t changed all too much. The only thing of note was some new bloodstains here and there, but overall this wasn't too bad. It would be better if two of their people didn’t die one after the other; they would mourn them later for now there were things to be done. It was getting pretty late; Lee looked at the sky and saw that the sun would be setting soon. 

Walking up the stairs, Lee was about to go and check up on Clem, but he saw Carley standing in front of the room, leaning against the railing.

“Hi, Carley.” Lee said with a smile.

“Hey, Lee.” Carley said, returning a smile at him. “Everything okay?”

“Yea- no. It’s not.” Lee said, too tired to keep up pretenses.

“Ha, same.” Carley said with a dry laugh.

“Allen’s dead.” Lee said as he leaned against the railing next to her.

“I know.” Carley said with a nod.

“How?” Lee asked; he was surprised that she already knew.

“Heard you talking to Doug.” Carley said with a smirk. “The motel is not that big.”

“I guess so.” Lee said with a nod.

“But I think there’s more you want to say.” Carley said, getting serious.

“I’m worried.” Lee said, letting out a sigh.

“About?” Carley asked.

“Everything.” Lee said, looking at the motel they had made their home at, it wasn’t much, but at least it was still holding up. “The bandits, Clementine, the group, about someone just walking into the motel and killing us all. It’s- This new world, it’s getting to me.”

“You’re not alone, Lee.” Carley said with a smile. “Everyone has your back.”

“I wouldn’t say everyone…” Lee said, shaking his head. “But thanks. I just don’t want to become paranoid.”

“Being a little paranoid isn’t a bad thing these days.” Carley commented. “We’ll just have to make sure to keep you grounded if anything happens.”

“Thanks.” Lee said with a nod. “I’ll go check up on Clem.”

“Oh, before you go.” Carley said, stopping him in his tracks. “There’s something Sandra wanted you to know.”

“What is it?” Lee asked, giving her his full attention.

“Her last wish was for you to take care of Clem.” Carley said.

“Really?” Lee asked; he was surprised that Sandra would trust him so much.

“Yeah.” Carley said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll help, of course, but… Please keep an eye out for her.”

“Of course.” Lee said as she let him go.

Walking into the room, Lee made sure not to make a sound, and after searching around the place, he found Clementine sleeping in the bed. She looked peaceful, but from the looks of it, she was crying for quite a while. Walking towards the armchair, Lee placed his things on the floor next to it before sitting down and closing his eyes.

Will Lilly follow through with Lee's plan?

A) Yes.

B) No.

Chapter Text

[October 16th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Kenny]

The next days came too fast in Kenny's opinion, but as he woke up next to his beautiful pregnant wife, he let out a content sigh before remembering what happened yesterday. After returning to the motel, he immediately went to Lilly and told her everything they saw and about what Sandra did. Lilly got on his ass about letting her do this, and while she had some good points, Kenny told her that Sandra did what she thought was right. The two of them didn’t agree about many things, but after he told her it was the teen’s decision, Lilly let it go. Still, Kenny had to agree with the woman; this kinda act of aggression will cause those bandits to seek out whoever was responsible. It was now just a matter of time before they would have to defend the motel. 

Slowly, getting out of the bed, Kenny made sure not to wake Katjaa. She had a lot on her shoulders these days, so he wanted her to be well rested. Looking around, he saw that Duck was missing; the little rascal was most likely up and was fooling around outside. They would have to talk about this later; it wasn’t safe anymore for the kid to leave on his own. It wouldn’t be easy, but it had to be done. Quickly and quietly, Kenny got ready for the day, making sure to wear his least dirty clothes. You never know what you will miss until it’s gone, and he sure missed fresh clothes.

After getting ready, Kenny walked out of his room and saw that he was one of the few people up. Lilly and a Black guy he had never met in his life. Looking around, he saw Duck playing around near the RV, but before he could go and talk to his son, Lilly stopped him.

“Oh, good, you’re up.” Lilly said, walking up to him. “I was just about to go and get you.”

“What's going on?” Kenny asked, a little annoyed at her getting in his way.

“I need you and Lee to do something for me.” Lilly said, crossing her arms.

“Hi there.” Lee said, shaking his hand. “I don’t think we’ve met; the name’s Lee.”

“Kenny.” He said with a nod. “Nice to meet ya.”

“Good, you know each other.” Lilly said, cutting the introduction short. “Now I need the two of you to get the explosives from the police station.” 

“Explosives?” Kenny asked, surprised. “What for?”

“We’re gonna set up traps around the place.” Lilly explained.

"Why?" Kenny asked, confused.

"We have to get ready for when the bandits retaliate." Lee explained.

“And ya wanna blow them up?” Kenny asked in disbelief.

“Simple and straight to the point.” Lee said with a smile.

“The plan’s simple, I'll give you that.” Kenny said, shaking his head.

“There’s more, if you wanna listen.” Lilly said.

“Oh, I’m listening.” Kenny said with a smirk.

“We’re gonna bulk up our defenses.” Lilly continued.

“And how exactly are you planning to do that?” Kenny asked, cutting in.

“If you’ll let me speak, I’ll tell ya.” Lilly said, growing frustrated. “Tomorrow we’re gonna extend the courtyard using cars and trucks.”

“What if we have to get out of here fast?” Kenny asked; he wasn’t all that on board with the idea. “Being locked in like that won’t help much.”

“That’s why we’ll only block the road to downtown Macon.” Lilly added. “The road leading out of Macon will be our way out. Same way as it is now, using the garbage containers as gates.”

“I don’t know.” Kenny said, looking unsure. “A lot could go wrong.”

“It’s the best idea I’ve got.” Lilly said, shaking her head at his indecision. “Things will be a lot worse if we simply ignore the issue.”

“I think it’s a good plan.” Lee added. “Lilly’s military; she knows what she’s doing.”

“You’re right.” Kenny said, finally giving in to the insanity of the plan. “Fine, I’ll go; just let me grab my stuff.”

Kenny wasn’t sure about this whole plan, but as he entered his room, he saw his wife still sleeping peacefully. Keeping his family safe was worth the risk, even if he wasn’t all for setting up explosives around the city. Picking up his shotgun, Kenny reminisced about his life, thinking about all the times he spent with his family. It was that that was keeping him going; without anyone to fight for, he would have given up a long time ago.

He wouldn’t kill himself, no. Kenny was above doing that, but he most likely wouldn’t take care of himself nearly as much. 

Just thinking about that was giving him shivers, so he packed his backpack and joined up with Lee. Thinking about the plan, Kenny hoped to sneak a grenade for himself; god knows it would come in handy if they got overrun by walkers. They both began walking towards the police station. He hoped that it wasn’t that far; he had his fill of walking yesterday.

[October 16th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Lilly]

Lilly watched both Kenny and Lee leave for the police station; they would get her the explosive that they needed. The plan she came up with wasn’t much of a plan, to be honest, but it was much better, in her opinion, than cutting off their access to downtown Macon. The basic idea was to booby-trap the area between the motel and the bridge with explosives, boost their defenses, and wait for the bandits to come. It wasn’t much, but they didn’t have much to begin with, the home turf advantage and the pile of guns n’ ammo they had looted before. But there was nothing they could do that would make her confident enough in the plan surviving contact with the enemy. So just in case, she asked Doug to triple-check that the RV was ready to run, something he would work on today.

On that note, she really appreciated that he kept his mouth shut about the RV working; he managed to get it up and running a couple of days before. Lilly convinced him to keep it a secret from the others in case they needed to make a run for it.

Making her way towards the back of the RV, she walked past Doug, who gave her a nod, which she returned before climbing on top of the vehicle. Once up there, she spent the next couple of hours making sure no one snuck up on them again. She saw Clementine finally leave her room; it was good to see the kid getting better. After a few hours, at approximately nine in the morning, as everyone was out and about, she saw both Katjaa and Carley walking towards the gates with massive baskets full of clothes.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Lilly asked, stopping them in their tracks.

“I saw the shape your clothes were in, sweetheart.” Katjaa said softly, offering a small smile. “There’s a river nearby, so I thought Carley and I could go ahead and wash them.”

“I don't think that’s necessary.” Lilly said, shaking her head, she really didn’t like the idea of the two going out on their own. “We can just scavenge for fresh clothes, Miss.”

“It’s just Katjaa, okay? No ‘Miss’, I’m not that old yet.” Katjaa added with a light chuckle, though her eyes stayed serious. “But I do think it matters. What’ll you do when there’s nothing left to pick off the shelves?”

“Then we’ll wash them.” Lilly said, in her opinion, now was the worst time to do this; she could explain to them why, but sowing panic into the group would be worse. “But there’s no need to do that now.”

“By then, these’ll be falling apart—torn, stained, stiff as bark.” Katjaa explained. “We don’t have soap or hot water. Might as well do this while we still can.”

“I agree with her.” Carley added with a smile. “It’s better now than later, Lilly.”

“Well, at least take someone with you.” Lilly said with a sigh, finally giving up. “For protection.”

“Hey!” Carley said, sounding offended. “I’m here.”

“Don’t take it personally, Carley.” Lilly said, hoping that the woman wouldn't hold it against her. “But I don’t think you’re still up to the task.”

“Lilly, I’ll go with them.” Larry said, walking up to them.

“Dad, I don’t think-” Lilly said anxiety about her father's health struck her like a hammer.

“There’s nothing to think about, Lilly.” Larry said, waving off her worry, as if he didn’t have a heart condition. “The lady’s right; ‘sides, I ain’t gonna take any more of this sitting around and doing nothing.”

“Dad-” Lilly started, but after seeing the look in his eyes, she just gave up. “Just keep an eye out, please.”

“Ha, don’t have to tell me.” Larry said with a small laugh.

Watching the trio leave, Lilly was worried about her father; his heart problems aside, he was the type of person to die saving others. He always was her hero; after her mother died, he took care of her, learning and doing unmanly things just to keep her safe. She sometimes heard his army buddies laugh at him for it, but he didn’t take it lying down; it got him into heaps of trouble, but they managed.

She wasn’t sure what would happen if he died; she dreaded that thought more than she let on; she loved him. She knew that statistically he didn’t have a lot of time left, but that didn’t matter; she would spend the rest of his life making him proud.

He was her only family, the only thing keeping her alive. 

[October 16th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

He and Lilly decided that walking towards the police station would be better than taking the truck; it would make too much noise, and it would be an eyesore. The bandits would see it from a mile away, and those fuckers clearly didn’t care who they killed or robbed; they just did it for the loot. It was Lee’s opinion that these people were changed the most by the coming of the walkers; they took the easy way out and hurt others for survival. But now, who knows why they still do it? It might be just for fun.

As they walked through the outskirts of East Macon, Lee saw that not much had changed; the buildings were still demolished and burned, and there were no walkers, thankfully. Still, they made sure to keep their eyes peeled in case any showed up or in case those bandits showed up.

“So you’re Lee, huh?” Kenny asked, breaking the silence.

“Yup.” Lee said with a nod.

“Heard a bit about ya from the other, but…” Kenny said, looking him over. “Can’t say I expected this.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lee asked, turning to look at the other man with a frown.

“That Larry fella painted you as if you were the devil himself.” Kenny explained.

“He had it out for me since the beginning.” Lee said with a sigh. 

“Any idea why?” Kenny asked.

“No clue.” Lee said, shaking his head. “What about the others?”

“Ah, the others said you were a good guy, so I think I’ll take their word for it.” Kenny said with a smile. “‘Sides, I don’t like Larry that much, to be honest.”

“Tell me about it.” Lee said with a smirk.

“Damn, how far is that place?” Kenny asked after a second of silence.

“We’re close.” Lee said.

“How did you get all those guns back to the motel last time?” Kenny asked; he really wasn’t ready for this much exercise after yesterday.

“We used the truck.” Lee said.

“That thing works?” Kenny asked, surprised. “Why the hell didn’t we take it?!”

“We’re keeping a low profile.” Lee explained. “A couple tons of steel wouldn't help.”

“I guess.” Kenny said with a tired sigh. “Still, we won’t be able to get nearly as much.”

“We don’t need a lot.” Lee said. “Just enough for the traps.”

“What, we're just gonna leave the rest?” Kenny asked.

“We’ll think of something.” Lee said with a shrug.

It took them a good couple of minutes before they saw the police station, and Lee saw that nothing had changed since they were last here. The place still looked like it was haunted by ghosts, the same crazy signs were on the walls, and the FEMA vehicles still surrounded the place.

“Look, there we are.” Lee said, pointing towards the building, but for a second he thought he saw something moving in the distance.

“Finally.” Kenny said with a smile. “I thought-”

“Down!” Lee whispered, dragging the Florida man behind a van.

“That is it?” Kenny asked in a whisper.

“I think I saw someone.” Lee said before peeking from behind the van, out there on the other side of the perimeter, he saw a group of people wearing the same clothes as the bandits. 

“Shit.” Lee said, cursing his luck.

“What did you see?” Kenny asked, worried about Lee’s reaction.

“The bandits are here.” Lee explained as he took out his revolver.

“Shit!” Kenny said, reading his shotgun. “That’s bad.”

“You said it.” Lee said with a nod, thinking about what to do.

“What do we do?” Kenny asked, hoping that Lee’s got a good plan.

“Give me a second.” Lee said before peeking at the bandits once again.

Peeking from behind the van, Lee saw that most of the bandits were too busy searching the various FEMA vehicles, most likely looking for guns and the like. They didn’t seem to be on guard, as if they don’t expect to be attacked by walkers or anyone else. He had a bad feeling about it.

What will Lee do?

A) Fight them.

B) Sneak by them.

C) Distract them.*

*(Pick who will be the distraction.)

Chapter Text

[October 16th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

Lee didn’t like the situation at all; even if they managed to sneak into the building, those bastards could unknowingly follow them. A shootout in a building full of explosives was the dumbest idea ever, so they had to take care of them now. He didn’t like the fact that he would have to kill more people, but if they left them alive, even more people could get hurt. Peeking once again from behind the van, Lee saw them moving on to loot another vehicle. Lee saw that there were five of them. They all wore the same thing: baggy clothes with face masks and guns in their hands, though two of them had crossbows, which was weird.

“Lee?” Kenny asked as Lee turned to him. “What’s the plan, man?”

“We have to take them out.” Lee said, regret already prevalent in his voice.

“Ya sure about that?” Kenny asked; he looked unsure, not scared, but as if he’d rather not take the risk. “Couldn’t we just sneak past them or something?”

“And risk a shootout in the building with explosives?” Lee asked, knowing his point was sound. “I don’t think so.”

“Come on, man.” Kenny said, looking skeptical. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Floor to ceiling full of that stuff, Kenny.” Lee explained, hoping the southerner would understand the gravity of the situation. “One stray bullet and we’re done for.”

“Damn, really?” Kenny asked, surprised.

“Yeah, it’s why we left it here.” Lee said, with a grim look on his face, remembering his encounter in the building. “At the time it just wasn’t worth the risk to even touch the stuff.”

“Well, shit.” Kenny said with a hesitant nod. “Guess we’re doing this your way, partner.”

“Stay close, Kenny.” Lee said before turning around. “We take them on together.”

“Couldn't agree more.” Kenny said. “Lead the way, Lee.”

Peeking once again, he saw they once again were all looting together; they left no one on guard. Lee couldn’t fathom why they would do something like that; it was dumb beyond comprehension, but he would exploit their overconfidence. Signaling Kenny to follow, the two of them began crouch-walking from cover to cover, getting closer to their targets. They got pretty close, just one vehicle away, when they heard footsteps approaching them. Peeking from behind cover, Lee saw two bandits walking towards them. In a bizarre turn of events, Lee saw the two bandits walk right past them, towards a vehicle behind them, before leaning their guns against the car. After getting a better look at the two, he knew why they did not notice them: one of them was wearing a hoodie, and the other had sunglasses on a cloudy day. The two bandits now had their backs to Kenny and Lee; it was so bizarre that it took the sound of water hitting the ground to break them out of shock.

They were quite literally taking a piss.

Kenny and Lee exchanged looks before lifting their weapons and executing the two bandits without hesitation. Two down, only three more to go. It wouldn't be nearly as easy with the others without the element of surprise, but from what he saw, they weren't all that competent. As the two bandits died and their bodies fell, Lee quickly peered to see what the other three would do and saw they were already aiming their weapons at him. Jumping back into cover, Lee swore as he nearly didn’t dodge a bullet.

“Damn it, they got… Em…” One of them said, he sounded like the leader of the group, but not a good one from the looks of it. “Who were those two?”

“Pat and Dave, man.” Another bandit said, this one sounded outraged. “What the hell, man?!”

“Yeah, how would you forget?” The last bandit said, equally as angry at his leader.

“Well, it doesn’t matter now; just kill them.” The leader said, clearly not giving a shit.

The three were bickering, which gave the two of them time to reload and get ready for a fight. Peeking from behind the car, Lee decided to take some initiative and shot one of them; the bullet hit the bandit in the chest. This sadly didn’t kill them but caused them to drop behind cover, which he also had to do as they began shooting at him. Looking to his left, he saw Kenny shoot and heard a body drop to the ground before the leader of the group swore. Seeing this as his opportunity, Lee jumped out of cover and aimed his gun at the leader. Sadly, just before he pulled the trigger, the man pulled his friend in front of himself, using the other bandit as a human shield.

“Fuck this!” The leader screamed out before running away. “I’m out, shitheads.” 

“Get him.” Kenny said as he began shooting towards the bandit, sadly the man was already too far for them to hit.

“Stop it.” Lee said, grabbing Kenny’s arm. “You won’t hit him; the only thing you’ll do is draw in walkers.”

“Shit, you’re right.” Kenny said, snapping out of it before turning to Lee. “Should we loot them?”

“We need all the space we can spare for the explosive, so no.” Lee explained.

“Shame to leave those guns behind.” Kenny said with a sigh.

“Sure is.” Lee said with a nod. “Come on, we have a job to do.”

“Right.” Kenny said with a sour look on his face. “Lead the way, Lee.”

With the fight over, the two of them made their way towards the police station. Lee hoped that the bandits hadn't looted the place yet; god knows what they would do with the stuff.

[October 16th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Larry]

Following the two women, Larry’s mind was wandering on the threat that the bandits posed. He spent his fair share of time in the army, and from just about everything he heard, their group was vastly outnumbered. They might not be outgunned, but that didn’t mean much when there’s nobody to shoot the guns. Oh, Lilly, his sweet Lilly, he had faith and pride in her, but the plan she was cooking up wasn’t gonna work, no matter how many explosives they planted on the roads. He would support her, of course, but they had to have an emergency plan in case anything went wrong. That’s why he was secretly taking off the top small amounts of their food reserve and hiding it in the RV. Lilly told him that Doug got the thing working. He wasn’t so sure about keeping it a secret from everyone, but he would follow along for now.

He would do anything in his power to keep the group safe; those were just civilians, after all. It was his duty to protect them; that’s why he’s here after all, walking through the dense forest, where walkers could ambush them at any time. And why? Because Katjaa decided that they needed to have clean clothes, he wouldn't say no to that normally, but he simply didn’t see the point in taking the risk. The only reason he did it was because he saw that the woman wouldn’t take no for an answer and because it could give the others quite the moral boost.

They needed all the good things they could get.

After getting to the riverbank, Larry stood at attention, walking from spot to spot and making sure nothing sneaks up on them. Looking over the place, he could see the only one of the bridges still standing, and it was full of walkers, from one end to the other; it had to be a horde of those things. He let out a sigh, but even he couldn’t be sure if it was relief or frustration. On one hand, the bandits couldn’t send anyone to their side of the river for a while; on the other, they no longer had access to downtown Macon. His eyesight wasn’t what it used to be, but from the looks of it, the walkers were gonna stay there for quite some time since they were all standing around and doing nothing.

“Hey, Larry?” Carley said, nearly making him jump, but he managed to keep up appearances. He wasn’t sure how, but he didn’t hear the woman approaching him; he would have to be more careful in the future.

“What?” Larry asked; he wasn’t expecting her to talk with him. The only time they talked was in group meetings, so it was a surprise. “You need something?”

“No, I just wanted to ask you something if that’s okay.” Carley asked; she was unsure of herself, unusual for the woman.

“Why?” Larry asked; he really didn’t want to speak to anyone in general.

“Cause we don’t talk a lot.” Carley said with more confidence. “Figured now was as good of a time as ever.”

“It ain’t a good time, actually.” Larry said with a deadpan look.

“Right.” Carley said, looking ready to leave.

“Just ask your question already, Carley.” Larry said with a sigh.

“Why are you giving Lee such a hard time?” Carley asked, causing Larry to groan internally.

“I don’t like the guy.” Larry said, he really didn’t want to think about the guy. “It ain’t that deep.”

“Heard what you did back at the pharmacy.” Carley said.

“And what about it?” Larry asked, giving her a look, challenging her to continue.

”Takes more than just ‘not liking someone’ to leave them to die.” Carley said, standing her ground, he could see that she left more confident already.

“He had it coming.” Larry said without hesitation or elaboration.

“Had he?” Carley asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That man isn’t trustworthy; it’s only a matter of time before he turns on the group.” Larry added, hoping this would be the end of it.

“What the hell’s your problem, man?” Carley said, outraged at him and his words. “I think he proved himself enough; he saved my life, didn’t he?”

“You don’t know the man; I do.” Larry said, looking her stringent in the eyes. “He ain’t above turning on his own friends.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Larry?” Carley asked, now her outrage was mixed with slight confusion.

Larry was about to spill the truth about Lee, but something in the back of his mind stopped him. He could say what was on his mind, and it would most likely feel good, but he wasn’t sure if it would go his way. Carley liked Lee, obviously; that could cloud her judgment and turn her and others against him and Lilly. That’s the last thing they needed right now; with the bandits out there, it would spell disaster for them if they had to deal with infighting now.

[October 16th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

Walking into the building, Lee made sure they went straight towards the room filled with explosives; no need to see the carnage or the wall of rotting flesh. He still had nightmares about this place from time to time; he really regretted ever going into that room. Walking past it, he felt a sudden urge to go there but stopped himself after seeing Kenny looking at him weirdly. Entering the room with explosives, it seemed to be untouched; there were still crates upon crates of the stuff.

“My god, look at this stuff.” Kenny said as they entered the room.

“Yeah, it’s a lot.” Lee said with a nod.

“You could say that again.” Kenny said, shaking his head in awe.

“Be careful packing the grenades.” Lee said, shaking his head half-heartedly at the other man. “We don’t want to accidentally pull out a pin on our way back.”

“No shit.” Kenny said, walking up to one of the opened crates.

Lee, seeing that the other man was starting to loot, decided to do the same and walked up to another open crate. Looking inside, he found a lot of grenades neatly packed in a grid, their pins all in place and looking in fine condition. Setting down his backpack on the ground, Lee began carefully removing the explosives from the wooden box and into the backpack. He was working slowly, making sure nothing could go wrong; after all, one bad move and they would both be history. He was so concentrated that when Kenny spoke up, Lee nearly jumped from his spot.

“There’s some C4 in here.” Kenny said, nearly making him drop one of the grenades. “I’m gonna take some.” 

“Sure thing.” Lee said, his voice was shaky as he felt his heart in his throat.

Putting in the last grenade that could fit in his backpack, Lee decided to see what the place had to offer. Looking around, he noticed another opened crate filled with C4; this one had a time detonator attached to it. Picking one up, an idea came to his head, a risky one, but not nearly as risky if they left this place for the bandits to loot.

What will Lee do?

A) Blow the Police Station Up.

B) Destroy the Entrance to the Police Station.

C) Nothing.

Will Kenny take a grenade for himself?

A) Yes

B) No

Will Larry spill the truth about Lee to Carley?

A) Yes

B) No

Chapter Text

[October 16th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

Lee knew that if he blew this place up, it wouldn't help them in the long run, and with the number of walkers it would draw, Lee couldn’t even imagine how hard it would be to move around the place. But he also knew that they couldn’t just leave it lying around; if the bandits were to get their hands on this stuff, it would be bad.

Lee didn’t even want to think about that scenario.

Closing his backpack, he took the box top off the floor and was about to close it, but before that noticed instructions on C4 attached to it. Reading them carefully, Lee made sure to memorize them before closing the box; there was no need for the explosive to be on display. Walking away from it, Lee looked around but didn’t see Kenny anywhere.

“I’m finished.” Lee said he expected some answer, but nothing came. “What about you, Kenny?”

He waited a second for a response, but still nothing, and Lee was beginning to become worried. He doubted something wrong happened; he would hear any ruckus; the room was silent enough. Lee decided to search the area for Kenny, since he wasn’t sure where the man went, and there was no need to get separated now. Walking through the storage room, he was astonished by the sheer amount of boxes that were here; that crazy guy must have gotten it from a military base. Looking at some of the boxes, his hunch was correct, as some of them had the words ‘Property of Robins Air Force Base’ written on the side. There were others too: FEMA, the National Guard, and other military bases he knew nothing about, but it was weird why the guy had it all here. Lee just couldn’t place his finger on it, not until he saw one small box in the corner of the room with a seal that he didn’t recognize. It looked similar to the seals of the various agencies of the White House offices. It had the words ‘The Foundation of the United States’ written around an image of a skeletal eagle holding an eye in a small pyramid. For Lee it looked like the myriad of images you would find on blog posts created by crazy people and the many conspiracy theories that he, as a historian, had to fight. But this was real; it was the same name as in the document he found last time he was here. Slowly opening the box, he saw that inside were ten syringes, eight of them empty and two holding some sort of black liquid. After what he read, Lee was sure as hell not going to use either one of them, but who knows they, might come in handy one day. Lee took both of them and wrapped them in a cloth before hiding them in the inside pocket of his jacket.

Backtracking, Lee saw Kenny standing near the exit, the man looked to be deep in thought, not wanting to scare him too much, Lee spoke up.

“Kenny?” Lee said, Kenny’s head snapped towards him, the look on his face uncertain. “Everything alright?”

“Wha-” Kenny said, he must still be thinking about whatever he was thinking about. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Lee asked, no harm in making sure, besides the look on Kenny’s face wasn’t one of an innocent man; something was weighing on the man’s conscience.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Kenny said with a nod, trying his hardest to look unsuspicious. “Now, let’s get out of here.”

“Sure…” Lee said, he wasn’t buying it, but he wasn’t about to make an issue of it here and now.

Walking out of the room, Lee could still feel the weird atmosphere around the place, even if it had a lesser hold on him. But as he felt the weight of those syringes hidden in his pocket, he really hoped that he didn’t fuck up by taking them.

As they exited the building, Lee stopped for a second, the timed C4 still in his hand; he almost forgot he was still carrying the thing. Turning towards the entrance door, he looked at the building; it still had those crazy words scribbled on it. As he scanned the front, he was glad to see that there weren’t any big glass windows; there was only one entrance, no windows or anything that could be used to get in. Looking at the C4, he attached it to the frame of the front door before he set the timer, but before he could finish what he was doing, Kenny stopped him.

“What ya stopping for?” Kenny asked, causing Lee to stop, it would be better if the man knew what he was doing.

“Just making sure those fucks can’t get their hands on the stuff.” Lee said.

“How?” Kenny asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Gonna blow up the entrance.” Lee said, pointing the brick to C4.

“Not a bad idea, Lee.” Kenny said with a smirk.

“Thanks.” Lee said before finishing the final step. “Here’s praying nothing goes wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Kenny asked, sounding concerned.

“I’m not exactly an expert, you know.” Lee admitted, even after reading the instructions, he wasn’t sure if everything would go as planned.

“Shit.” Kenny said before an idea came to his mind, one that made him fear for their lives. “You don’t think it’s all gonna-”

“We just have to watch and see.” Lee said before activating the explosive. “There.”

“What now?” Kenny asked as the two of them moved away from the entrance.

“Now?” Lee said, waiting to see the clock counting down, and once it was confirmed working, he added. “We run.”

“Fuck!” Kenny swore as the two of them ran away. “What’d ya set it for?”

“Three minutes.” Lee said, the two of them were making good progress in getting the fuck out of there.

Once they were far enough, two of them took a breather, Kenny looked like he had something to say, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by the explosion. It wasn’t nearly as dangerous as they expected, so Lee took out a pair of binoculars from one of the many pockets in his backpack to check the damages. Looking over the entrance, Lee was satisfied to see that the front wall had caved in, blocking any attempts to get inside. On second thought, Lee could see someone dedicated clearing the way, but the bandits were vultures; they wouldn’t waste time doing actual work.

“That went well.” Lee said, a smile across his face.

“Wouldn’t say so.” Kenny said, out of breath.

“Why?” Lee asked, turning to the man as he pocketed the binoculars.

“Lee, I ain't as young as I used to be.” Kenny said, still trying to get his breath back. “Next time, give me a heads-up, alright?”

“Next time, I’ll try.” Lee said, a small chuckle in his voice.

“There was plenty of time for me to walk away.” Kenny said, sounding serious as he checked his pockets for some reason before letting out a sigh of relief.

“You know how things are nowadays.” Lee said, his smile replaced with a small frown. “Can’t promise anything.”

“Ah, whatever.” Kenny said, shaking his head. “Let’s just get back to the motel.”

“Yeah, it’s been a long day.” Lee said with a nod as they began walking away.

“That it has, buddy.” Kenny said, looking back last time.

As they left for the motel, Lee had this nagging feeling that someone was watching them, even when they were walking through the wrecked suburbs; it didn’t stop. No matter how many times he looked around, he didn’t find anything, so he decided to simply chalk it up to his growing paranoia and let it go. Once they arrived back at the motel, Kenny and Lee gave over all the explosives to Lilly before going their separate ways to rest. Still, as he walked to his room, Lee was certain that he saw something moving in the tree lines, but it was gone before he could make it out.

[October 16th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Larry]

Larry felt his anger rise; he really didn’t like the tone Carley was using with him, but he had to bite his tongue. Any threat to the group would be a threat to him and his daughter, and he couldn’t allow that or be the cause of it. So as much as he hated Lee Everett, Larry couldn’t spread the truth, not until he was certain that the group would be on his side.

“What the hell are you talking about, Larry?” Carley asked, now her outrage was mixed with slight confusion.

“Nothing, you wouldn’t understand.” Larry said, shaking his head, it was hard for him to keep calm. “Just trust me on this one.”

“I was a reporter, Larry.” Carley said, crossing her arms. “I don’t take much on trust.”

“Let’s just say that the guy’s not trustworthy and leave it at that.” Larry said, knowing that the woman wouldn’t change her mind, he mostly wanted for her to leave him alone.

Turning around, Larry was about to get back to patrolling the area when she suddenly said something that nearly made him snap.

“Is it because he’s Black, Larry?” Carley asked, sounding herself a little unsure, as if this just came to her mind.

“WHAT?!” Larry said, now he was outraged at the nonsense she was spouting. “No, I ain’t no racist! How the fuck did you come to that conclusion?!”

“How else am I supposed to take it when you hate the one Black person in the group?” Carley asked; he could see she was getting more confident in her conclusion.

“You gotta have a screw loose if that’s what you think.” Larry said, he really wasn’t having it; these kinds of accusations were a step too far for his liking.

He was about to give her a piece of his mind when suddenly they both heard a twig snapping and a deep groaning noise. Turning towards the source of the noise, they saw a lot of walkers approaching them, Larry was surprised, to say the least. How this many of those walking, shambling corpses managed to sneak up on them was astonishing; they made no noise before the twig snapped. 

“Go and get Katjaa out of here.” Larry said as he and Carley backed away from the monsters.

“I can hel-” Carley said, but Larry wasn’t having any of it; she pissed him off enough for one day.

“GO. NOW.” Larry said it with the kind of finality you don’t argue against. “I’ll take care of them.”

Carley looked like she wanted to say something but stopped herself before running towards the older woman. Looking back, Larry saw the two were already making a run for it. Good, at least now they wouldn’t be in his way. Turning towards the walker, he saw there were two to his left and eight to his right, but he had been in tougher spots than this before. Larry immediately pointed his gun at the walker to his left and fired, killing two of them. Turning his attention back to the rest of the walkers, he managed to kill six others before the last one standing managed to knock the gun out of his hands. This one walker was the only noteworthy one of the bunch, as it had a whole pickaxe piercing through its chest. Seeing this, Larry grabbed the handle of the tool before ripping it out of the shambler and piercing it through the head with his new weapon. As the walker died, it fell to the ground and almost pulled Larry with it, but he managed to dislodge the weapon. Looking around, he saw that the last walker was crawling towards him, and it was fast. Larry decided to kick it in the head, once and then a second time, and after the fifth, he crushed its skull with his shoe.

With the final walker dead, Larry took a look around the area, making sure no more sneaked up on him before taking a breather. After a minute or two, he finally regained composure and began making his way back to the motel. He just hoped that Carley and Katjaa made their way back safely. As he got out of the forest and onto the asphalt road, he could see the motel in the distance, but before he could make his way there, something caught his eye. Something was hiding in the bushes; as he saw them move unnaturally, they weren’t very good at it. It might be one of those bandits; if so, he wouldn’t allow them to compromise their base of operations, but it could just be a rabbit or something.

What will Larry do?

A) Investigate

B) Leave

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.

Chapter Text

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

He made a promise to keep Clem safe, and while it was a hard decision choosing between one child and another, he had to make it with no time to think. The only thing he could hope for was catching the kidnapper and getting the information from them, most importantly where they were taking the kids. Running after the kidnapper, he could see him basically jumping around trees, most likely trying to make Lee crash into one of them.

“GET BACK HERE!” Lee shouted at the man, but the only response he got was laughter, which caused him to get angrier. The grip on his axe grew tighter, and he was already looking forward to getting his hand on the man.

Sprinting after the kidnapper, Lee had to zigzag between trees, leaving him not a lot of time to actually observe his surroundings. This caused him to trip on a rope, which immediately sprung a trap, a net that enveloped him and pulled him off the ground and up. He cursed as he dangled in the air; the rope was digging into his skin, and his head was spinning from the sudden movement. He tried to maneuver his weapon around and cut through the rope, but it was warped so tightly around him that he could barely move at all. Looking around, he could see that the kidnapper had stopped running and was now looking at him; what he thought was a man turned out to be just a boy, maybe around eighteen or nineteen. He had Clem over his shoulder, hands and legs tied with zip ties, mouth gagged with cloth, but he could see her trying to break free. He was about to say something, but before he could do that, something hard slammed into the back of his head, knocking him out. His vision was blurry, but he could remember getting carried through the woods, through a gate, and into some sort of building, but it all was fuzzy as he lost consciousness.

[A couple of hours later…]

Waking up, Lee wasn’t sure how much time had passed or where he was, but one thing could be certain: it was dark outside, meaning it was already night. He knew that mostly because he nearly couldn’t see anything; he could see that he was in a cell of some kind. His hands and legs were tied up with zip ties, his axe was missing, and he was pretty certain all of his other belongings were stolen. Standing up wasn’t an option, not with his legs bound, but he first would have to free his hands to do anything. With his arms tied behind his back, Lee tried every method that came to mind to try to break them; zip ties weren’t all that durable. For the next few minutes all that his efforts gave him was pain from the zip ties digging into his skin. But finally they gave way, but just as he was about to take care of freeing his legs, the sound of footsteps stopped him. Lee had no other choice than to pretend to still be knocked out; otherwise, things might turn bloody, and he wasn’t so certain he would survive. Putting his arms behind his back, he tried his hardest to play an unconscious person, not an easy task as he was shit at acting. Thankfully, once he was relaxed and in position, the two people walked into view with flashlights pointed at him, which almost made him open his eyes.

“What do you think?” Said an older-sounding man, his voice was like a monkey scratching a chalkboard; it almost hurt his ears.

“Not sure, he doesn’t look like much.” Said a much younger-sounding man, who could not even be a man but a boy, which was concerning.

“Looks can be deceiving.” Lee would agree with the old man; the only reason they got him was because they caught him off guard; he wasn’t expecting traps like that.

“Maybe, but he didn’t put up much of a fight.” The boy said, it made Lee worried if he was gonna have to fight kids.

“Let’s just hope we can get a good price for him.” The awful-sounding man said, the guy must have been a chain smoker or something.

“What about the two others?” The boy asked, which immediately caught Lee's attention.

“Louis said that we’ll be keeping the boy.” The smoker said, almost causing Lee to react, but he held it in. “The girl is being sold to those guys at the Save-Lots.”

“Do I wanna know?” The boy asked, which was following the same line of thought that Lee was going down.

“Believe me, son.” The chain smoker said before coughing, Lee was already beginning to not like these people. “You don’t.”

“The shit we do for survival, eh?” The boy said, that made Lee certain he wouldn’t lose sleep if he had to kill a bunch of human traffickers.

“Yeah.” The old man said, and Lee was begging for them to leave, as he was getting impatient just waiting for them to go away. “Let’s go, we don’t wanna make Joe wait.”

Listening to the whole conversation made Lee angry, but he pushed it to the side and focused on getting free as soon as he couldn’t hear the footsteps anymore. Getting the zip ties off his legs took less time and effort, which he was grateful for, and as soon as he was free, he bolted towards the wall next to the cell doors. It wasn’t exactly a blind spot, but with the room being shrouded in darkness, he won’t be seen by anyone. Now the only thing he had to do was wait for someone stupid enough to approach the cell doors. It didn’t take long until he heard footsteps again; this time it was only one person, thankfully. He basically hugged the wall with his entire body, trying to make himself as small as he could before whoever was coming towards him got here. Thankfully he didn’t have to wait, as someone walked up to the bars of the cell; he couldn’t see much of them, but they were smaller than him for sure.

“Where the hell is he?” Said the person standing in front of the cell, their voice sounding young and androgynous, to say the least. “Shit!”

The sound of the keys rattling was a good sign for him; he could see the person trying multiple keys before finally opening the doors to his cell. Once they entered the cell, Lee didn’t hesitate before slamming his fist in the back of their head. The impact caused the person to drop like a sack of potatoes and fall to the ground, but Lee had to be sure, so he quickly checked if they were unconscious or not. Confirming that they were out of it, Lee began looting their body, taking the keys, a flashlight, and a handgun before walking out of the cell and closing it behind himself. Crouching down, Lee began making his way through the place; it wasn’t a place he’d even been to, although the corridors almost reminded him of a school if it weren’t for the bars in the windows. Walking through the corridors, Lee made sure to check every room on his way, but most of them were empty, and others only had simple furniture. Searching the corridor for some clue of where the kids were, he saw a door labeled ‘Armory,’ and he almost wanted to go inside but didn’t want to tempt fate. Sadly, fate had other plans for him, as just around the corner, he could see lights from flashlights suddenly appear. Frantically looking around, Lee couldn’t see anywhere he could hide, so without any other options, he quietly and quickly got into the armory, and once inside, he was met with total darkness. Turning on the flashlight he stole, Lee looked around; the armory, as it turned out, was a repurposed locker room with most of the lockers missing their doors. Looking over them, he found a lot of melee weapons stashed, things like machetes, knives, hammers, and even a couple of antique swords. A little further down the line were lockers containing guns and ammo, but at the far side of the room was a box with the label saying ‘Uncatalogued Loot’. Looking inside the box, he saw his fire axe along with a couple of other weapons, and without much hesitation, he grabbed his weapon. Making his way back to the entrance doors, he could still hear people making their way towards him, so he got into position in case they wanted to enter the armory. It was good that he did, because no sooner than he got there, the doors opened and two guys entered the room. Immediately as the opportunity presented itself, Lee slammed the blade of the axe into the top of the nearest man’s skull, killing him instantly. Sadly that swing was the final nail in the coffin for his fire axe, as not only did the blade snap in half, but also the handle broke in the middle. As for the other man, he was too shocked at what was happening to react in time.

“What the-” The other guy said, being caught off guard.

Lee didn’t allow him to finish that sentence; using the remains of the axe handle, he pushed the man into the wall and began choking the life out of him. It took a couple of minutes to kill the guy, but with him gone, Lee closed the door behind them and began dragging the bodies deeper into the room. Putting the piece of wood down, Lee lamented the loss of his axe for a second but didn’t waste that much time sitting around.

After resting for a bit, Lee gathered his bearings and resumed his search, but not before noticing that one of the guys was wearing a shirt with a tag on it. It said ‘Staff’ with the words ‘Macon Youth Detention Center’ below it, which made some sense to Lee. It would explain the high security and the school vibe of the place, but not the cells or the human trafficking, though. Searching the bodies, he found a couple of useful things, like another set of keys and a couple of flashlight batteries. He also took the ammo out of their handguns. Making his way out of the armory, Lee began wandering the facility until he finally found a room with a holding cell, the kind you’d find in old westerns that was used by small-town sheriffs to hold outlaws. Inside the cage, sitting on the floor next to each other, were Duck and Clementine, and as he entered the room, the two of them jumped to their feet. 

“Lee!” They both said, causing Lee to shush them.

“Be quiet.” Lee said as gently as he could in the moment. “They don’t know I’m here; let’s keep it that way.”

Duck and Clem both nodded, with Duck zipping his mouth shut as Lee began trying key after key, but none of them worked. Feeling someone tugging on his shirt, he saw Clem was trying to get his attention, and as he looked at her, he saw her pointing towards a desk with junk on it. Walking up to the desk, Lee saw a lot of stuff on there, but two things stuck out: one was a new set of keys, and the other was a map of the facility. Taking both of them, he made his way back to the cage and opened the cage, getting hugged by both kids in the process.

“Are you alright?” Lee said, kneeling to their levels and giving them a once-over. “Did they do something to you?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Duck said, feeling a little uncertain about what Lee was talking about.

“We’re fine.” Clem said with a nod.

“That’s… good.” Lee said with relief, happy that nothing bad happened to the kids.

“Thank you, Lee.” Clem said with a small smile. “For saving us.”

“It’s my job, Clem.” Lee said, but deep down he was happy to hear her say that.

“Yeah, thanks, Lee.” Duck said after getting nudged by Clem.

“Alright, we’re still not safe.” Lee said, he felt it was important that they know the severity of their situation. “From now on I need you both to stay close to me and stay as quiet as you can. Understood?”

“Yes.” Clem said with a confident nod.

“Sure thing.” Duck said with a wide grin.

“Unless I say otherwise, never ever leave my side.” Lee repeated, wanting them to understand how serious he was.

Getting one final nod from the two of them, Lee was satisfied and began leading them out of the facility. Looking at the map, he saw that there were a couple of exits to this place, but he would take the one furthest from the main gate. Leading them through the maze that was this place, Lee was lucky enough not to get them caught by guards. In a matter of minutes they were finally outside; looking around, he couldn’t see any guards in the area, so they made their way for the hole in the fence. From the writing on the map, it was made when a group of people broke in, but there wasn’t much else to go by. As they got close to their destination, Lee saw a lone guard standing near the hole. The three of them hid behind a couple of boxes, and Lee waited for a minute, seeing if anyone else would show up, but after seeing that nobody was coming, he turned towards the kids.

“When I shoot, I want you two to grab my hands and run as fast as you can.” Lee said, hoping his plan wouldn’t get them killed. “You think you can manage that?”

A nod was all he needed as he stood up from cover with the kids hidden behind his back as they approached the guard slowly. They got pretty close to him before he finally noticed them, but Lee didn’t even give him a chance to speak, shooting him in the head. In the split second that it took for the guy's body to fall to the ground, Lee holstered his gun before grabbing the hands of the two kids and making a run for it. They made it through the opening and a couple of feet away before hearing people shouting behind them. Lee didn't stop, though; he saw that the kids were slowing down, so he grabbed them in his arms and began running even faster. After a while they arrived at an asphalt road, and Lee wasn’t sure where they should go. While he had some knowledge of where the Macon Youth Detention Center was, he couldn’t say how to get back to the motel from here. They could take the road, which, while safe, would take them more time to get back, or they could try to find their way back through the forest, which was risky since it was the middle of the night. There was a third option, which was finding a place to stay for the night and getting back to the motel tomorrow.

What will Lee and the kids do?

A) Go through the forest.

B) Follow the road.

C) They will try to find a place for the night.

Chapter Text

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

Lee shook his head; just the thought of going out this late at night was not only stupid but also dangerous, no matter which way they would choose. Not only that, but without his axe or any melee weapon, if they encountered walkers or bandits, he would have to use the handgun. That would be suicidal to say the least because God only knows how many walkers the noise would draw to them. Still, he will have to follow the asphalt road for the time being since he still wasn't so sure where they were. Putting the kids down, the two still held his hands, and looking down at them, it was clear that they were scared of being outside in the dark. Lee led them down the asphalt road, but with street lights not working and minimal moonlight due to the cloudy sky, he had to ask Duck to grab Clem's hand. The boy was a little unsure, but after explaining that he wanted to turn on the flashlight, Duck reluctantly agreed. Turning on the flashlight, Lee was finally able to see what the road had in store for them; sadly, it was just trees all around them. Walking for a good couple of minutes, they finally saw a building they could use to stay in for the night, but to Lee's disappointment, it was a warehouse of some kind. Looking down at the kids, he could see they were getting pretty tired as is, but he sincerely doubted that there would be any beds in there. The only upside to staying there would be that they were already here and the number of walkers inside would be smaller than in any neighborhood.

Looking at the place for another second, Lee shook his head; it was no place for kids and was simply too big for him to secure on his own. The kids didn’t say anything; they were still staying quiet, but he wasn’t sure if it was out of fear or because he told them to be. Peeking at them, Lee was sure they were not comfortable being out in the elements, so he guided them as well as he could. Thankfully, after what seemed like another ten minutes or so, they finally arrived in front of a gated community. It looked relatively untouched, and there were no walkers in sight. While they were most likely somewhere inside, he knew so from experience; the place also looked like it was relatively recently constructed. How did he know that? On the far right side of the community, there were still a couple of building vehicles and materials. Walking up to the gate, he found it was unlocked, and while normally that would be worrisome, Lee couldn’t see anything worth concerning himself about.

Once inside the community, they saw rows of the same-looking houses, with the same decorations and the same cars still parked in the driveways. It was a good sign, Lee thought, because if there was anyone living here, they would have tried to escape when the walkers showed up. Lee wasn’t sure which house to pick, but he sure as hell wasn’t picking the first one. When he finally made up his mind, he picked the fifth one in the second row of houses; while it looked exactly like all the others, it wouldn't be the most obvious choice. Walking inside, Lee made sure they were slow and careful about their moves; he wasn’t going to take any chances that walkers sneaked their way inside. After finding a bedroom on the second floor, he told the kids to hide in the closet while he made sure the whole house was safe. It took him only a couple of minutes to search every room, but there were no walkers inside. He just wanted the day to be over, so after locking every entrance, window, and room in the house, he decided to check if there was any food. Thankfully there seemed to be a lot of canned goods and water bottles in the house, even some sugar and coffee. He wasn’t sure if it was good; there was no expiration date on it, but he was sure as hell gonna try some of it tomorrow. Going back to the room, he found the kids playing a board game, and just as he was about to reprimand them for getting out of the closet, he decided against it.

“Hey, you hungry or thirsty?” Lee asked as he entered the room with a case of water bottles and two cans.

“No.” The two kids said in unison, with Duck shaking his head.

“In that case, you two go to bed.” Lee said, even if they were playing, he could see the execution in their faces.

“Sure…” Duck said between yawns, the stress of the whole situation was finally having an impact on the normally high-energy child. “...thing.”

“What about you, Lee?” Clem asked as Duck got under the covers.

“What about me?” Lee asked, a little confused about what she was talking about.

“Where are you going to sleep?” Clem asked, the curiosity and innocence on her face were adorable.

“Oh, Clem.” Lee said, shaking his head. “I’m not gonna sleep.”

“Why not?” Clem asked.

“I have to keep watch.” Lee explained as he sat down in a chair next to the bed. “Make sure the two of you are safe.”

“You think they’re gonna find us?” Duck asked; he sounded a little bit scared.

“No.” Lee said, while he wasn’t sure of it, he faked confidence to ease the kids' fears. “I’m more worried about walkers.”

“Oh.” Clem said with a nod before climbing into the bed. “I see.”

“Goodnight, Clem.” Lee said with a smile. “Sleep well.”

“Goodnight, Lee.” Clem said, returning him a smile before closing her eyes. “Stay safe.”

“Goodnight, Lee.” Duck said it louder, clearly only because he didn’t want to be excluded.

“Goodnight, Duck.” Lee said with a small chuckle as he finally turned off the flashlight.

Seeing the kids fall asleep, Lee didn’t feel nearly as tired as he should, but to be frank, he did spend most of the day unconscious. Putting his stolen handgun on his lap, he faced the locked door to the room, waiting for any sound, walker or not. He would be ready to defend the kids with his life if he had to; he just hoped he wouldn’t have to end more lives.

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Mark]

The sun was high; it was the middle of the day, and Mark was still getting used to walking with the brace on his leg. It was slowly getting easier, and some exercise helped him get back into fighting shape, but he still wasn’t as fast as before. Looking around, he saw Lee getting down from the upper floor, he had his axe in hand, which was weird, but Mark paid him no mind. Lee was a good guy in his books, so he had nothing to worry about. Or at least that’s what he thought until he heard muffled screams behind him; it sounded like the kids.

“Wha-” Lee shouted at the top of his lungs. “SOMEONE'S TAKING THE KIDS!”

Turning towards Lee, Mark nearly lost balance, but what he saw caused him to panic: some people jumped the fence and grabbed the kids. He saw Lee running towards them, the axe still very much in his hands as he sprinted towards those kidnappers. Mark as well tried to run after them, but after the first couple of steps, he fell to the ground.

“Fuck!” Mark cursed in pain, falling onto his injured leg.

His vision was blurry as he saw Lee jump the fence and follow those people. Mark tried to get up, but his entire leg felt like it went through a meat grinder. While trying to stand up, Mark saw Larry and Doug run past him and peek over the fence, and he expected one of them to jump and give chase, but neither of them did.

“Damn it, they got away.” Larry said, looking over the fence before.

“What about Lee?” Mark asked as he saw Larry walking towards him.

“No idea.” Larry said, shaking his head as he helped Mark onto his feet.

“Saw him run after them.” Mark said, being led towards a folding chair nearby.

“Can’t do much on our own.” Larry said as he almost dropped Mark onto the chair.

“But we have to do something.” Mark said, adjusting his chair.

“We wait for others to come back.” Larry said.

“I have to agree with Larry on this one.” Doug said, giving the brace a once-over.

“It’s the only logical thing to do.” Larry said, the man looked like he was holding down a lot of anger.

“Not my reason.” Doug said, shaking his head. “I just wanna make sure the brace didn’t break when you fell.”

“Bah, who care’s-” Larry started grumbling but was cut off by his own daughter.

“Heard people shouting, but I can see that we’re not under attack.” Lilly said as she walked out of her room, gun range earmuffs in hand. “What's going on?”

“Yes, I’d also like to know.” Katjaa said, making her presence known; he wasn’t quite sure when she arrived, but it was quite clear it wasn’t that long ago. “I was just taking a nap.”

“This will be… some bad news, Katjaa.” Mark said, not quite knowing how to break the news to her.

“Oh, just say it, Mark.” Katjaa said, waving him off before noticing something was off about the place. “Where’s Duck?”

“Some people kidnapped him.” Larry said before Mark could think of a more gentle way of telling her. “I’m sorry.”

“W-What?” Katjaa asked, the shock of this news causing her to drop down to that couch.

“Damn it!” Lilly cursed in frustration. “How did this happen?!”

“One of the blind spots-” Doug started but was cut off by the woman.

“I was gonna have them patched up today!” Lilly said before pushing the RV out of rage. “Fuck! Just our luck.”

“What do we do now?” Mark asked, seeing from the corner of his eye Katjaa, who was silently crying with her hands covering her face.

“I’ll try to follow the tracks.” Lilly said, taking the rifle from her father. “Try to see where they took them.”

“I’ll help.” Mark said, trying to get up only to be stopped in his tracks.

“Mark, you’re still not fully healed.” Lilly said, looking with pity, he hated seeing that look pointed towards him. “I can’t have you slowing me down.”

“Yeah, besides, I still have to take a look at the brace.” Doug said, stopping Mark fully from even thinking about taking off.

Watching Lilly go around the motel walls and towards where the kidnapper took the kids and where Lee ran, Mark couldn’t stop thinking about them. It was clear to him now that this place wasn’t as secure as they thought, and now it was no longer a matter of if the motel falls, but a matter of when it falls. Watching the others go about their day, he saw Katjaa, stricken with grief and anxiety over her son’s fate, walk into her room without talking to anyone. Larry was getting geared up and walking back onto the truck, standing tall and on guard, waiting for anyone to try and attack them. Mark sighed and allowed Doug to check the brace for any cracks; he was thankful that he was worried about him. But the only thing that Mark could think about was Lee and the kids; he really hoped that the man would rescue them.

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Fancy Neighborhood, Macon]

[Pov: Kenny]

It’s been a long half of a day, he and Carley were sent over towards one of the fancy neighborhoods to loot anything useful, but the only thing of note were some canned goods. There were other things they were tempted to take, but out of all of them, the food was the only thing they couldn’t leave behind. Clothes, weapons, books, board games, fancy cups, and utensils, while nice, weren’t necessary or in short supply; they could find that stuff everywhere. Food, on the other hand, was beginning to get more and more rare; it was only a matter of time before it was worth more than gold. 

Kenny was already thinking about when it runs out; they would have to grow their own food or maybe hop on a boat. He could get behind that idea; he was missing his boat, and fish were not only healthy but also plentiful. More so now that most of the people were gone, he was already daydreaming about going back to Florida.

But all that was a faraway dream for the time being; they would have a lot of road before them if they even tried getting down there. For now they would have to survive day after day, hopefully not getting killed by a bunch of psycho bandits in the process.

Walking back to the motel, they were about to enter an intersection of three roads, but the sound of people talking loudly stopped them. Getting behind cover, the two of them sneaked up towards the source of the noise; they weren’t sure what to expect. But what they saw was worrying, to say the least. They saw a bunch of people with two pickup trucks and a lot of gear; they were getting ready for something. Getting a better look at them, Kenny was sure of who they were, and by the gasp to his left, so was Carley: it was those Save-Lots bandits.

“Shit, we have to leave.” Carley said, turning around and ready to leave.

“Why would we do that?” Kenny said, stopping her.

“We have to warn the others.” Carley said, looking at him confused.

“Or we could do something.” Kenny said with a smirk, an idea already coming to him.

“What are you talking about, Kenny?” Carley said, sounding frustrated with him. “There’s too many of them, Kenny.”

He knew Carley was right; they should leave and warn the others, but Kenny saw this as an opportunity. While he wasn’t sure if they could take them head-on, a more indirect method could see some interesting results. He felt the grenade he snuck away back at the police station; he could use it now and throw it at the gathering of those assholes, but he was saving it for an emergency. Looking around, he could see a couple of cars in good condition around the place; they mostly looked untouched. He could set off an alarm; walkers would force the bandits to scatter back to the hole they left. He tried to find any other way of dealing with them, but he couldn't see anything that would help, and he had to decide soon, or Carley would just drag him back using force.

What will Kenny do?

A) Throw the grenade at the bandits.

B) Turn on a car alarm.

C) Get back to the motel and warn the others.

Chapter Text

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Kenny]

Kenny looked at the gathering of bandits; whatever they were doing here wouldn’t bode well for them; he had to do something about it. Looking around, he tried to find a good target, and he almost gave up until one of them spoke up. All the other bandits stopped talking and listened to that guy; he was flanked by a man and a woman, and he's most likely the leader of those guys. Looking closer, he recognized the man next to the leader as the same guy who escaped them when they were looting the police station. Taking out the hand grenade from his pocket, Kenny stood up, but before he could do anything, he was pulled down by Carley.

“What the hell are you doing?” Carley asked, outraged.

“I’m gonna take the big bad bandit leaders out.” Kenny said, pointing at the leaders and showing her the grenade.

“Where the hell did you get that?” Carley asked, her eyes wide in shock.

“Took it from the police station.” Kenny explained. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I do.” Carley said, shaking her head. “I still think we should just leave and warn the others.”

“We won’t get a better opportunity than this.” Kenny said, getting a little frustrated with her.

“...Fine, let’s do this.” Carley said reluctantly. “I’ll have your back just in case.”

“Good.” Kenny said with a nod.

Standing back up again, Kenny pulled the pin out, took aim at the leadership of the bandits, and chucked the explosive. Seeing it fly through the sky, Kenny was ready to see the fruits of his labor. Sadly the good feeling didn’t last long, as the woman standing next to the leader was staring in their direction. As the grenade neared them, she caught it before throwing it back at Carley and him.

“Shit, RUN!” Kenny said as he saw his own grenade being thrown at them.

“Motherfu-” Carley said as they tried to escape but was cut off by the explosion.

The blast threw him off his feet and made his ears ring loudly, and as he stood up disoriented, he heard gunshots being fired in their direction. Looking back, he could see Carley was injured by the explosion; he could see some blood flowing from her legs, but he didn’t know how far the injuries went.

“Ke… nny… he… pl… me…” Carley said, her voice full of pain as she crawled towards him using her only hand.

And he almost went back for her, but seeing the bandits running towards them in the distance, he knew he couldn’t take them out on his own. Giving Carley one last glance, he saw the desperation, fear, and pain in her eyes, but he still turned around. He could do nothing but leave her behind, and though he hated himself for it, he had to be there for his family. As he looked away, he saw Carley crawling away and towards the forest, and as he began running, he heard a single gunshot.

Running away, he peeked behind to see four bandits following him, he couldn't lead them back to the motel, so he took a different road. Turning to the left after passing the fire station, Kenny ran straight for the old junkyard, they savanged a couple of parts out there for the RV, but the place was like a maze, so he hoped he would lose them here. Jumping over the low-hanging barrier, Kenny made a beeline for the maze of multi-layered stacked vehicles. They were stacked pretty high, at least as tall as a house, and from his memory there were a lot of spots to hide in; now to find the best one. Running along the wrecked cars and trucks, he finally saw a full-on eighteen-wheeler with the box trailer still attached. It was parked next to a stack of smashed cars; it was the best he could find, and those bandits were getting pretty close. Kenny ran up to the truck before dropping to the ground and crawling under the box trailer. Getting to the other side, he hid behind the front part of the eighteen-wheeler. Looking around at his hiding spot, he was sure they couldn’t see him; he just had to stay quiet until they left.

“Damn it, where is that bastard?!” Yelled one of the bandits as he slammed the doors of one of the wrecks.

“Don’t know; he must be hiding somewhere.” Said a second voice.

“We don’t have time for this.” Said the first voice.

“Right.” Said a third voice. “The attack is supposed to be in a few minutes, right?”

“Yeah, it is.” Said the second voice.

“Fuck it.” Said the first voice. “We tell them he’s dead.”

“What if they want proof?” Asked the second voice, sounding worried.

“We lie.” Said the first voice, making it sound obvious. “We have enough on our plate as is.”

“I have to agree.” Said the third voice; it was that which nearly caused Kenny to react. “Those motel fuckers have been a pain in the ass for too long.”

“Besides, if this guy was with them, we can kill him when he returns home.” Said the first one with a chuckle.

“And if he’s not?” Asked the second voice.

“Then it doesn’t matter.” Said the third voice. “Let’s go back; we have a lot to do.”

“Here you are.” Said a new voice, this one more authoritative and female. “Did you find him?”

“Yeah, he’s dead.” Said the first voice.

“So, where’s the body?” Asked the woman; she didn’t sound friendly at all.

“He’s… um… We don’t know.” Said the first voice.

“So how do you know that he is dead?” Asked the woman in charge, her voice becoming less friendly, if that was even possible.

“We shot him a few times; I’m sure he’ll bleed out in no ti-” The first voice tried to explain frantically but was cut off by a gunshot.

“You two, follow me.” Said the woman, her declaration would not only shock Kenny but also make him worry even more for his family. “We’re moving on to the motel.”

“Now?” Asked the second voice.

“Yes, now.” Said the woman with annoyance in her voice. “Are you stupid or something? Ya know what? Don’t answer that; just follow me.”

As the entire conversation was playing out, Kenny was forced to stay quiet and do nothing but listen. They knew where they were staying; those sick bastards knew, and now they were moving to attack them. His family was there, his Katjaa and Duck were there in a place that was gonna become a war zone, and he was stuck behind enemy lines. There were a lot of those bandits, from what he saw, at least twelve or now eleven, but they got the element of surprise. He could follow them behind and attack when they least expect it, or he could try to flank them and attack from the side. He could also try to find a way around them and warn them if he got there in time.

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Lilly]

Lilly was pissed; not only had a bunch of people sneaked up on them, but those same people also kidnapped the kids. It was one thing after the other: the bandits, those railway people, some other guys Lee knew, and now kidnappers in the woods. For the end of the world, there were a lot of people out and about the place; it seems like Macon wasn’t nearly as empty as they first thought. Walking through the forest, Lilly followed the footprints left behind by the kidnappers and was making good progress. Being this deep into the woods, she was taking it slow since walkers were showing up more often. After a minute or so, she came across an interesting sight: there was a cut-up net and five sets of footprints, but only four sets after that. While she couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, she believed that whoever they were, they managed to kidnap Lee. That didn’t bode well for them; being an able person down will put them in a weakened position.

Kneeling down next to the net, Lilly was in deep thought when suddenly she heard a branch snap and a low groan. Turning towards the source of the noise, Lilly saw a big walker too close for comfort, but before she could raise her weapon, it lunged at her. The force of the attack caused them both to fall to the ground, but Lilly used her rifle to keep the monster from biting her. She cursed; the damned things were getting better at sneaking up on them by the day, and it would kill them one of these days. Using her knee and the rifle, Lilly used all her strength to throw the walker off of her and to the side. It didn’t go that far, so she rolled away from it, sadly covering her clothes in mud before jumping to her feet. Looking at the walker, she could see it was already standing up, so without wasting any time, she took out a hunting knife she kept on herself and approached it. Once close enough, the walker tried to grapple her, which she managed to dodge, and she got behind the monster. Seizing the opportunity, she slammed the blade into the thing's skull. With the final blow, the walking corpse died, but the blade became stuck in its skull and pulled Lilly to the ground with it, causing her to hit the ground with her knees.

After taking a breather, she decided to get back to what she came out here to do in the first place. Returning to tracking down those kidnappers, and while it did take her a good couple of minutes, Lilly did finally find a clearing, and in it, her target. Out there beyond the forest, she saw a big facility, and she recognized it was that Youth Detention Center. She had heard of it since there were some scandals or something about it in the news. Lifting up the hunting rifle, she looked through the scope and saw a lot of people walking about the place. It seems like a group of survivors made it their home, but she could also see some teens and kids, so who knows what’s going on there.

Looking around, she finally noticed a couple of those kidnappers dragging an unconscious Lee and the kids into the building. Seeing this, Lilly wanted to run and save them, but she saw a lot of guards around the place; she’d need more people for it.

Giving the facility a once-over, Lilly shook her head; there was no way that she could breach that place on her own. She decided to simply get back and get more people for it; there would hopefully be more than enough time for that. Walking towards the motel, she didn’t encounter any more walkers on her way, but as the motel came into view, she heard something that sounded like a car crash. Running towards the motel, she saw a horrifying sight: the bandits were attacking the place. She could see Mark, Katjaa, and Doug getting into the RV; her father was shooting at the attackers, and two pickuptrucks were smashed into the truck that was acting as their first line of defense.

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Gated Community, Macon]

[Pov: Lee Everett]

After a couple of hours, Lee was finally starting to get tired, but he wouldn’t allow sleep to take him, not yet. Looking at the kids, Lee saw that they were still asleep; nothing could wake them up, not even a bird slamming into a window, which did happen some time ago. Getting a little thirsty, he leaned to his right and grabbed a new water bottle; he didn't drink a lot today after all. It’s been hard to be alone with his thoughts, but he had some time to think about things; the motel was no longer a safe place. He’d have to convince the others, but he was not gonna stay there any longer; besides, it reminded him too much of his past.

Just as he was about to take a sip of the water, he heard something from the outside. Standing up, Lee made sure to be quiet, not only because someone could be there, but also because the kids were sleeping. Peeking through the only window in the room, he saw a couple of people walking around with flashlights. There was only one group of people he knew that carried flashlights, and it was those human trafficking pieces of shit. Silently cursing them, Lee saw as every person entered their own buildings; they were looking for something, most likely them. Walking towards the doors, he saw a dresser next to it, so he decided there was one thing he could do. Grabbing the piece of furniture, he pulled it, trying to make as little noise as possible and blocking the doors, which thankfully opened into the room. Still not wanting to take any chances, he leaned against the furniture and held it in place.

Lee waited a couple of minutes before hearing someone break into the house; thankfully, the kids didn’t wake up. He heard the person walking around the house, looking for them, until they finally came to this room. They tried to open it a couple of times but thankfully gave up and moved on. Lee almost let out a sigh of relief but thankfully held it in and waited for the person to leave the house.

What will Kenny do?

A) Attack the bandits from the back.

B) Go around the bandits.

C) Flank the bandits.

What will Lilly do?

A) Defend the motel.

B) Evacuate the motel.

Chapter Text

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Larry]

Larry let out a tired sigh as he sat down on the folding chair on top of the military truck; things were slowly going south, and he felt like they wouldn’t last long. They were surrounded and outnumbered by too many enemy factions to stay at the motel. He’ll have to talk about it with Lilly later because they had to leave or suffer the consequences if they didn’t. Meanwhile, he sat and waited for his daughter to return, time passing by and no sign of Lilly, Kenny, or Carley. He expected the latter two to be back by now, but they were still unaccounted for, and while he wasn't worried about them, he didn’t like what it could imply. Looking at the road and the forest around them, Larry felt a weird tension in the air; something was happening, and he wasn’t sure what it was.

Just as he was about to stand up and see what the others were doing, he was distracted by the sound of a gunshot coming from the woods in front of the motel. He snapped his attention to the forest, waiting with his rifle raised and pointed at the woods, ready for the bandits to show up, but nobody came. He waited for a few seconds, not wanting to be too hasty in his judgment, and for his efforts he got nothing but the sound of birds chirping. Lowering his weapon, Larry let out a grunt; this whole business with the bandits was getting frustrating. They had to be on their guard 24/7, and it was getting mentally tiresome, but any slip-up would cost them dearly.

Turning around, Larry wanted nothing more than to get back and wait it out until Lilly got back, but the sudden and loud sounds of engines running made him stop in his tracks. Looking back to the asphalt road leading towards Macon, he saw two big pickup trucks with plows attached driving at top speed in his direction. They were too close, and Larry couldn’t do anything about it, so he did the only thing that he could do: he jumped off the truck towards the motel. He was lucky too, because if he was just a few seconds late, he’d have been thrown off the truck by the force of the car hitting it. As the pickups slammed into the truck and Larry landed on the ground, the sound of many people advancing on the motel reached his ears. But not long after that, the sound of explosions and people screaming made the old vet smirk; those fools sprung the traps around the motel.

Running for cover, Larry saw a couple of bandits running through the gap between the truck and the motel walls, which was now wider because of the crash. As he made his way to cover, he saw the others beelining it towards the RV. It was all good and well that the others were evacuating, but Larry wouldn’t mind some backup. Hiding behind a small pickup they used as a field hospital bed, he took a couple of pot shots at the bastard, seeing more and more filling in. There had to be at least twenty of them, if not more, but most of them were poorly armed with bows and arrows. Sadly some of them did have guns, and high-caliber ones at that; they were most likely the more skilled shooters amongst them. Picking three scumbags off, Larry felt a bullet hit him in the right shoulder, making him drop to the ground. Checking his wound, it didn’t look good, as he was losing blood rapidly; the bullet must have hit the artery, as he could barely and with great difficulty use it. Just as he was about to peek from behind the cover to try and shoot some of the bandits, he saw his daughter jump the fence; it was the same spot that the kidnappers used to get in. Peeking from behind the cover, he saw the place; the whole motel was overrun by bandits, and while those with guns focused on killing him, one side of the RV was being covered with arrows. The situation was hopeless, and they couldn’t win; the only thing they could do was survive, and that meant keeping the RV safe and leaving the cursed place. He could see that Lilly was thinking the same as she took cover behind the RV and began shooting at the bastards. He wouldn’t, of course, allow his sweet little daughter to do all the work; he wasn’t that bad of a father. So with great effort and fighting through a lot of pain, Larry lifted himself up and out of cover, lifting the weapon, and began shooting the bandits. He took care of an additional seven scumbags before running out of ammo; seeing no reason to hold onto the weapon, he picked a suitable target and chucked it like a spear with all the force he could muster. Feeling his right arm fall to the side, he could no longer feel anything from it—no pain, no cold, no wetness. His entire right arm was dead, unusable, so the only option that was left, the only one that he had, was taking out a handgun and shooting using his non-dominant hand. It was at this time as well that he heard the engine to the RV fire up; finally the nerd got the vehicle up and running, and it was a good time too, as more bandits flooded the motel. Where do they keep getting these people?

“DAD, we have to leave!” Lilly screamed as she shot another bandit in the head. “There’s too many of them.”

“Leave, I’ll cover your retreat.” Larry said, dropping behind cover as his legs lacked the strength to hold him up.

“DAD, I can’t leave you.” Lilly said, he could already see tears in her eyes. “Please…”

“LEAVE NOW!” Larry shouted, he would not see his daughter die today, not on his watch, his body getting weaker. “That’s an order.“

“Dad…” Lilly muttered.

“Lilly, we don’t have time.” Doug said, peeking from the RV, Larry couldn’t see him, but he was glad that the nerd was on his side.

“But…” Lilly said, looking between the two of them.

“I’m sorry, I really am.” Doug said before getting back into the RV. “But we have to go.”

“Dad…” Lilly said, looking at him with sadness in her eyes, feeling the effects of the blood loss.

“Stay safe, my sweet lily flower.” Larry said, looking at his daughter one last time, he wasn’t feeling any better; his body was weaker by the second.

“Goodbye. I love you.” Lilly said before getting into the RV.

“GOD DAMN IT!” Said a man in a clean white suit, holding a heavy-looking gun. “CUT THE CRAP- and they’re leaving.”

Larry lifted his handgun and shot at the pompous man, clearly a privileged asshole, who was walking past him. As the bullet hit what seemed like the leader of the bandits, his white suit now stained in weird black blood, but he didn’t drop to the ground as expected. The man stumbled a couple of feet backwards and let out a grunt of pain before turning to look at him. As he turned, Larry immediately recognized the man; he was a certain state senator of Georgia he once saw in the news. It was Senator Samual, the man Lee nearly killed. He remembered the face from the news, but the senator was much more wimpy and weak-looking back then; now he had this sickly look to him with sunken cheeks, pale skin, and thin hair. But the most striking new feature was the black veins all over his body, his eyes lacking any color with just black dots for irises, and the black blood flowing out of the new wound. As the man’s eyes turned to him, Senator Samual pulled the gun at him before shooting Larry in the stomach. As the bullet pierced his abdomen, his vision got blurry, and he nearly passed out, but he held on only to see his daughter leave safely.

“Motherfucker.” Sam cursed, not out of pain, but more like he was inconvenienced.

“Hahahahahahahaha…” Larry chuckled to himself as he saw the RV disappear in the distance.

“What are you laughing about, old man?” Sam said, his tone both angry and mocking. “I won, you lost.”

“You didn’t win shit, ya slimy senatorial fuck.” Larry said with a satisfied smile on his face as he saw his group get away safely.

“So, you know who I am, ya want a cookie for that?” Sam said with a smirk as the bandits began securing the motel.

“I hate him…” Larry said, Lee on his mind, as the face of Sam reminded him of the criminal. “I really do, that good-for-nothing criminal…”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Sam said, looking to others for any clue.

“But you’re not any better…” Larry said, taking this one last chance to gloat even if he had to use Lee’s name. “I hope Lee kills you…”

“What?!” Sam screamed in surprise.

“Hahahahaha…” Larry laughed at the shock on the senator's face.

“He’s alive?! He’s here?” Sam said ramblings, but Larry wasn’t listening to that sick fuck. “Speak ya old fuck, spe-”

Larry closed his eyes as he stopped hearing the arrogant prick talking; he was finally at peace. With his sweet little daughter safely away from the monster, he could rest and die. As bright light surrounded him, he could hear the sound of a voice he hadn't heard in a long time, the voice of his long-deceased wife. The sound brought a smile to his face as he turned to face it; the light was so bright he was blinded, and at the same time it all went away—all the worry and sorrow went away. All that he felt was happiness and contentment; he was enough, and he did enough.

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Kenny]

Kenny wasn’t having a good time; he was following the bandits using the forest as cover, but the more he saw, the more bizarre it all was. The group he and Carley tried to attack was joined by two more groups, which stacked the odds in the bandits favor, as now there were around forty or so bandits. Which was a lot, too many for them to take on by themselves, but most of them were armed with bows and crossbows, while they had guns. Still, if they fought this battle, it would be just a matter of time until they got overrun by the bandits horde.

After what seemed like a good half an hour, Kenny finally sees the bandits do something; that something is crashing those two pickup trucks, which now he sees have plows on them, through their defenses. Kenny could see Larry in the distance jumping from the top of the truck and towards safety. This crash left a massive hole in the defenses of the motel, which a smaller group of bandits used to run into their base. The rest of the bandits waited as their leader watched some of his men get blown up by the traps they set up, but the look on the man’s face didn’t change. The leader of the bastards looked as confident as before, which made Kenny rage on the inside. Kenny lifted up his hunting rifle and took aim, not at the arrogant asshole, but at those bandits who were pouring into the motel. He killed at least three of them before some of the other bastards noticed that there were gunshots coming from the forest. Not long after, he was being shot at, which seemed to happen a lot nowadays, but thankfully most of them were way off target, with only a couple shots hitting anywhere near him.

After a couple shots, the bandit leader barked an order, and a number of other bandits began running into the woods, most likely looking for him. He could pick them off, taking the heat off the motel and letting the others escape unnoticed, but the chances of him dying were pretty high. He could also try to hide, but there weren't any great places to hide in these woods, or he could take the third option and simply run away.

What will Kenny do?

A) Stand his ground.

B) Hide.

C) Run.

What will happen to Larry? (Meta Choice)

A) Peaceful Afterlife

B) Fate Worse Than Death

Chapter Text

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Woods, Macon]

[Pov: Kenny]

Seeing the overwhelming odds before him, Kenny knew this situation was fucked up beyond repair and there was no point in dying here and now. So, he turned around and ran away from the motel, from his wife and son. Abandoning them tore a hole in his heart, but he had to be alive to save them or avenge them if the worst came to pass. Still, he looked back at the motel for a second only to see the RV driving away from their lost home. It filled him with renewed vigor as he dodged arrows and trees; the bastards weren’t letting up, they wanted him dead.

He ran for a good couple of minutes; in that time it got so dark that he could barely see where he was going. His eyes thankfully got used to the night, allowing him to see a church in the distance. It was the only building in the area, a lone church in the middle of the woods, which already sounded like the plot to a shitty low-budget horror movie. Still, he desperately needed cover; he was too tired to run any more, and looking back, he could see a couple of flashlights following him. They were getting closer by the minute, so with his only option being the church, he opened the doors and entered it. Once inside, he was met with a sorry sight; the church must have been old because all the tall, high-wall windows were shattered. This place wasn’t going to be a place he could hide and wait for them to leave, but he could take them out since there was still ample cover to be had. Walking up to one of the empty windows and getting ready for a fight, here they were on equal ground, or at least that’s what Kenny thought. Looking back at the cross on the altar and silently praying for his family to be safe, for the others to be safe, and for himself to live through this coming fight.

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Travelier Motel, Macon]

[Pov: Lilly]

Seeing the carnage in front of her, Lilly jumped over the fence before running for cover behind the RV. Peeking from behind the RV, Lilly took aim and began to shoot at the enemy, but as she did that, she saw her father was shot and bleeding. The situation was dire, and she could already see that they couldn’t win; the bandits were pouring in, too many for them to handle with so many of their people missing. Picking off a couple of them, she turned to look at her father. She was about to say something, maybe try to save him, but before she could do or say anything, the engine of the RV fired up.

“DAD, we have to leave!” Lilly said, hoping her father would stay strong and follow her. “There’s too many of them.”

“Leave, I’ll cover your retreat.” Larry said, falling to the ground, and Lilly could see his face becoming more pale than usual.

“DAD, I can’t leave you.” Lilly said, she was feeling devastated; she had nobody else, and she couldn’t lose him too. “Please…”

“LEAVE NOW!” Larry screamed; he always used that tone when she fucked up or did something stupid. “That’s an order.“

“Dad…” Lilly said, she was thinking of a way they could win, but nothing came to her mind.

“Lilly, we don’t have time.” Doug said, peeking from out of the RV, a worried and panicked look on his face.

“But…” Lilly said, the uncertainty would get her killed if she didn't do something soon.

“I’m sorry, I really am.” Doug said before turning around and walking towards the driver's seat. “But we have to go.”

“Dad…” Lilly said, but she already knew what she was gonna do.

“Stay safe, my sweet lily flower.” Her father said, he hasn’t called her that since she was 5 years old.

“Goodbye.” Lilly said, her eyes closed as she leaned against the RV wall. “I love you.”

With that said, Lilly jumped into the RV a second just before it drove off and closed the doors behind herself. Doug slammed through the garbage gates and took them as fast as the vehicle could away from the motel. Looking back at the motel through the rearview window, Lilly saw the bandits securing the motel as well as a man shooting her father once and then multiple times. It was agonizing to watch, but Lilly didn’t take her gaze off the motel even for a minute, until it disappeared from view. Turning around, she had to keep being strong; others would depend on her, and no matter how hard it would be, she couldn’t break down, at least not now, not with others watching.

She closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat before walking towards the front passenger seat. As she was making her way through the RV, Lilly walked by Mark and Katjaa. The older woman was shaking; the attack, combined with her missing husband and child, was having a massive effect on her. Mark sat next to her trying to calm her down and reassure her that everything was going to be fine, but for all his effort it looked like nothing was helping. Lilly felt for the woman; she really did, but she herself wasn’t feeling well enough to even think about trying to help. Walking by the two, she sat in the front passenger seat to Doug’s right; doing so caused the nervous man to give her a look before focusing back on the road. The road was empty, with no walkers in sight and no people either, but it was getting pretty late, with the sky a deep dark orange color; it would get dark soon. Opening the glovebox, Lilly took out a map of Macon and its surroundings; she stashed it here just for this kind of occasion. Looking it over, she saw that there was a road that would lead them to the detention center, where Lee and the kids were. Looking up from the map, she saw a small shop in the distance; it was the same one she saw on the map, and they would have to take the road immediately after it if they wanted to get the others.

“Stop here.” Lilly said, so loudly and suddenly that it caused Doug to slam his foot on the brakes.

“What?” Doug said, the man was clearly so shocked by the events of today that he only registered what she said after stopping the vehicle. “Why did you tell me to do that?”

“We have to take that road.” Lilly said, her eyes back at the map, plotting the best way to save Lee and the kids.

“Lilly, we have to get as far from the motel as possible.” Doug said, his voice still having a trace of fear and panic, but not nearly as much as before. “That road won’t-”

“We have to get the kids back.” Lilly said, looking up at the rest of the group.

“Y-You found them?” Mark asked, looking genuinely surprised.

“Yes.” Lilly said with a nod as she circled the place on the map with a Sharpie.

“R-Really?” Katjaa asked, looking up at her, this conversation finally snapping the woman out of her panic attack.

Lilly looked Katjaa in the eyes and let out a sigh before saying. “Before the motel was attacked, I tracked the kidnappers and saw where they took Lee and the kids.”

“Where are they?” Doug asked, looking much more confident, or as confident as a man like him can look.

“A youth detention center.” Lilly said before showing everyone the map and where the detention center was.

“T-Thank you, thank you for this.” Katjaa said, she looked like she wanted to jump across the RV and hug her, but thankfully nothing happened.

“Don’t thank me yet.” Lilly said, looking down for a second, she was trying to use the whole situation to get her mind off her father, but it all reminded her of him. “We still have to get to them.”

“What did you see, Lilly?” Mark asked; she could see that he was dreading her answer.

“The whole place was crawling with people; they were guarding it.” Lilly said, seeing most of the optimism leave their faces, but not Katjaa’s; she must still be happy just to have hope.

“Great, another bunch of psychos to deal with.” Doug said, frustration visible on his face as he punched the dashboard; thankfully it didn’t do much since it was Doug.

“You could say that again.” Mark said, shaking his head with a dry chuckle.

“Knowing our luck, it won’t be the last time I do.” Doug said, she winced at that; he, the nerd, just had to jinx them.

“Don’t jinx it.” Lilly said, lightly punching him in the shoulder.

“If it’s alright with you all, I will lay down for a second.” Katjaa said before standing up and walking towards the back of the RV.

“Are you feeling alright, Katjaa?” Mark asked, a concerned look on his face.

“A little bit weak, but nothing a nap won’t fix.” Katjaa said with a small smile as she lay down.

“Alright.” Lilly said, not knowing how to interact with the woman; they rarely talked as is. “Emm… Say if you need anything.”

“Will do, Lilly.” Katjaa said before closing her eyes.

They all watched her lay down and fall asleep in seconds before looking at each other. It was a little concerning how easily the woman could fall asleep, but they had to move on from that trail of thought.

“So what’s the plan?” Mark asked, his words breaking through the awkward silence.

“First we’re gonna loot that shop; we left a lot of supplies back at the motel.” Lilly said, laying out the first part of her plan.

“Good idea, we don’t exactly have a lot of food on us.” Doug with a nod.

“My thoughts exactly.” Lilly said, she really regretted not packing the RV full of supplies. “Then we’re gonna take a stop at a gated community. Stay there for the night.”

“It’s getting pretty dark.” Mark said, he was right, but Lilly was prepared for this. “There could be walkers there.”

“That’s why I stashed a couple of flashlights in the RV.” Lilly said before walking up to one of the drawers and taking one out, showing it to the others.

“Nice.” Mark said with a smile, the man’s mood was already better than any of theirs, but that’s just how he was. “But we’re still gonna have to search a couple of those houses.”

“I know.” Lilly said, regretting not packing any guns into the RV.

“And we kept most of our guns and ammo at the motel.” Doug pointed out.

“I know that too.” Lilly said with a frustrated sigh that all the things were really starting to get to her; they had so much back at the motel. “We each gonna take a gun and slowly and carefully secure the first two rows of houses near the gate.”

“What next?” Mark asked, leaning against the countertop.

“After that we go and scout out that detention center.” Lilly said, hoping the other would be on board with her plan. “We have to be sure when and where their defenses are the weakest before striking.”

“Lee and the kids might not have that much time, Lilly.” Doug said, while he had a point, Lilly wasn’t gonna give up that easy.

“I know, but being underprepared was what made us lose the motel in the first place.” Lilly said, hoping her point would stick.

“I don’t know; maybe we should just sneak into that place.” Mark said, looking a little unsure.

“What?” Lilly said, her voice getting a little louder, this just wasn’t her day. “Mark, that's stupid. What if we get caught? We’d be all dead or worse; there’s just too much on the line to act rash.”

“Jeez, Lilly.” Mark said, putting his arms up in defense. “It was just a suggestion; no need to take it out on me.”

As Mark sat down, they all got into a comfortable silence before getting ready and going out to loot the shop. That’s Mark and her; Doug stayed behind to keep Katjaa and the RV safe from any theft or bandits. The last thing they need is for someone to steal their only remaining and working vehicle.

What will Lilly do?

A) Go with her plan.

B) Go with Mark's plan.

Chapter Text

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Woods, Macon]

[Pov: Kenny]

The fight went by so quickly, Kenny could barely recall all the details, but it wasn’t easy either. Leaning against the wall of the church, breathing heavily, he looked at his wounded leg; a cloth ripped out of a shirt he took off one of the bandits was wrapped around it. They had no medicine on them, but he managed to dig out the bullet with his fingers; it was painful but necessary. Looking to his side, he saw the remains of his rifle, the wooden stock smashed to pieces; it was useless. It wouldn’t fire anymore, but he wasn’t gonna get rid of it just yet; the barrel was useful as a metal pipe. It wasn't gonna be his main weapon, thankfully, since he got a better one looted from one of the corpses; Kenny got his hands on a quality hunting knife.

[A couple of minutes ago…]

Kenny looked down the scope of his rifle, watching the light nearing his location, and as they entered the opening that the church stood at, Kenny saw that there were seven of them. Looking them over, Kenny couldn’t figure out who the leader of this pack was, so he took aim at one of the two guys carrying crossbows. Pulling the trigger, the bullet sailed through the air before piercing the guy's skull, causing blood to be sprayed at the other bandits. As the gunshot rang out through the air and the body dropped, all his buddies turned off their flashlights and scattered, disappearing out of Kenny's view. Dropping to the ground, he took cover before walking away from the window he just used and towards the one behind him. Sneaking up to the opening, Kenny peeked out of cover and saw two bandits hiding in the tree line. They had their bows pointed at the church, and as he got out of cover, he saw two arrows flying towards him. He didn’t have time to take cover, but thankfully they both missed him. Taking aim, he saw them trying to take cover behind the trees, but as they were about to shoot at him again, Kenny nailed one of them in the stomach. The bandits fell to the ground, screaming and moaning in pain before quickly being taken out by his friend. Looking through the scope, Kenny saw the other bandits take a knife to the other one's skull, killing him on the spot. It wasn’t even a mercy kill; they could have saved the guy, but the guy didn’t even hesitate before stabbing his comrade.

It shocked Kenny so much that he didn’t take the shot, accidentally allowing the bandit to make a run for it. Lowering his weapon a little, he was looking for the other bastards but saw nobody out there. He was about to make his way towards a different window, but the sound of hinges creaking caught his attention. Looking towards the front door, Kenny saw two bandits bust in, weapon at the ready, as they tried shooting at him. Thankfully, he was fast enough to duck behind a confessional, but the arrows came pretty close, nearly grazing him. Lifting up his rifle, Kenny shot one of them in the stomach, causing them to drop to the ground. He was running low on ammo, and he knew it; he couldn’t miss. Before he could reload and take care of the other one, though, he was tackled to the ground by the massive beast of a bandit. As the two of them landed on the ground, Kenny still had his rifle firmly in his hands; he tried to aim it at the guy, but there was no space to do it. The other man was wailing on him with his fists, hitting him in the face a couple of times before suddenly taking out a hunting knife. Having no other option, he grabbed the weapon by both ends before smashing the side of it into the bandit's face. This caused the bastard to grab his face in pain, allowing Kenny to back away and stand up; without wasting a second, he put a bullet in the other man’s head.

Before he could even get a breather, though, another bandit ran into the building, hatchet in hand, and went straight for him. Kenny lifted his weapon, aiming to shoot the bastard; this caused the man to flinch as he stopped in his place, looking ready to take cover. But as he pulled the trigger, all that was heard throughout the church was a soft click, a disappointed groan let out by Kenny, and the laughter let out by that bastard. Kenny could see a wide smile break out on the man’s face as he laughed in his face, and he couldn’t stand it. Running up to the bandit, he took the weapon by the barrel and swung it at the man’s skull before he could resist. There was a loud crunch as the weapon made impact, and the bastard fell to the ground, letting out incoherent grunts as he did so. The attack caused the man’s skull to cave in and the rifle’s stock to break into many pieces. Looking at the carnage in front of him, Kenny let out a worn sigh before throwing the broken weapon to the side. He was ready to take a breather, but before he could do that, a shot rang out as he felt a bullet pierce his leg, causing him to fall to the ground. Turning his gaze towards the entrance, he saw one of the bandits walking inside, gun in hand. As he inspected the area, he's gonna die if he didn't do anything. Kenny couldn’t allow that to happen, so he fought through the pain of having a bullet in his leg and lunged at the man. Throwing the man against the wall, Kenny grabbed the bandit's arm and slammed it against the wooden walls, trying to make him lose his weapon. His other arm was used to choke the fucker out; after hitting the man’s hand for the fifth time, he heard the weapon fall to the ground. Still Kenny didn’t stop; he kept up the pressure, looking at the bandit as he saw the life drain from his eyes. Only after he was sure that the man was dead did he allow for the body to drop to the wooden floor.

Backing up a bit, Kenny finally hit one of the walls of the church before dropping to the ground. He could still feel the pain from getting shot, so he inspected the wound. While he wasn’t an expert, he knew from the media and his grandfather that if a bullet didn’t go through the other side, it was bad news. Crawling up to the bodies of the bandits, he began looting them to find anything that could help him with this but only found a single half-drunk water bottle and a hunting knife. He took it after seeing his bloodstained and filthy hand; he had to clean it to do what he was about to do. After making sure at least one of his hands was clean, Kenny ripped up his pants around the wound using the hunting knife before trying to squeeze the bullet out. It didn’t help that much; it was pretty deep, so after taking one of the bandits' coats, he bit down on the fabric and started digging for the bullet with his fingers. It took him a good, long, and horrific agonizing minute before he finally managed to rip it out of his leg. Doing so didn’t lessen the pain, but that most likely was because he was just done digging in his own flesh.

Throwing the bullet to the side, Kenny uses the knife to cut up a shirt that one of the bandits was wearing before tightly wrapping it around his wound. It was the best he could do for the moment, so he leaned against the wall and rested, thinking about his family as he closed his eyes.

[Back to present…]

And that’s how it all went down, Kenny survived, but it got pretty close there a couple of times. He was beaten and bruised, would most likely have a black eye, had a high risk of getting his leg infected, and was left with only a knife to defend himself. It looked grim, but at least he was still alive; he would never allow himself to die before making sure that his family was still out there.

Getting his shit together, Kenny remembered the gun that one of those bastards dropped; standing up, he walked towards it and picked it up. There were only five shots left in the magazine, better than nothing; he’s gonna have to use it only in emergencies. Looting other bodies, Kenny only found a protein bar, a flashlight, two more loose bullets, a small bottle of whisky, and a busted can of beans. Throwing the spoiled can of beans to the side, Kenny looked at the bottle of whisky before downing the whole thing in one go. It wasn’t much; the bottle looked like one of those cocktail mixes you see at gas stations, but it would help the pain for now.

[October 20th, 2010 / 1 month in]

[Macon, Georgia]

[Pov: Lilly]

Lilly and Mark looted the store, and while there wasn’t much inside that hadn't gone spoiled, the store itself seemed to be untouched by looters. They got a lot of canned goods, water bottles, some hygiene items, and even a crossbow, which was good, not as good as guns, but good nonetheless. Walking back to the RV, the duo saw Doug standing in front of the doors to the RV, pacing back and forth.

“Doug?” Mark asked as they walked up to the nerd. “Everything alright?”

“I’m sorry, I-I-I-” Doug said, stammering at the end of the sentence, guilt prevalent on his face.

“Doug, focus.” Lilly said, slapping both of his cheeks lightly, trying to get him to calm down.

“What are you sorry for, buddy?” Mark asked, looking confused; nothing seemed out of place at first glance.

“It’s Katjaa… she’s- emm, she-” Doug said, tripping over his words.

“What is it?” Lilly asked; she really didn’t want to lose another group member. “Is she alright, Doug? Answer me.”

“She-She’s gone.” Doug finally spat out.

“What!” Lilly said, shocked and angry, as he checked the RV only to not see the older woman in there. “How did this happen? Where did she go?”

“No idea.” Doug answered, swallowing a lump in his throat. “She took a flashlight, my gun, and the map before running into the woods.”

“And what were you doing?” Lilly asked; while her tone might have sounded accusatory, she was concerned first and foremost.

“Whoa, Lilly.” Mark said, having enough and finally getting in between the two. “Ease up on him.”

“I was answering a call of nature.” Doug said, looking down in embarrassment.

“Great!” Lilly said, running a hand through her hair. “Just great.”

“Why do you think she did that?” Mark asked; he was pretty sure he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from her.

“Why?” Lilly said almost mockingly. “There’s only one reason; she went to save her son on her own.”

“Makes sense.” Doug said before getting a look from the two of them. “Sorry.”

“What can we do?” Mark asked, worried for the pregnant woman.

“We follow the plan.” Lilly said, she hated to abandon one of her own, but they were in position to chase after her in the middle of the night.

“But-” Doug started but was cut off by Lilly.

“No buts.” Lilly said, cutting in. “It’s just the three of us now; I can’t allow any more of us to die.”

After saying that, Lilly got into the RV and took over the driver's seat; she saw the other two enter the vehicle and take their seats. Firing up the engine, she took the road towards the gated community where they would spend the night. Hopefully Katjaa would survive; if not, Lilly would have even more regrets on her shoulders and blood on her hands.

On the next episode of The Walking Dead…

—

“Welcome everyone to Allentown!” Lee said with his arms spread out, greeting the newcomers to their community.

—

“This place has grown quite a bit since we got here.” Lilly said, leaning against the side of a building.

“That it did.” Lee said as the two of them admired their work.

“But they’re still out there, Lee.” Lilly said with a frown, the memories of her father still fresh after so many months.

“I know.” Lee said, nodding.

“We have to be prepared.” Lilly said, fire and determination in her eyes.

“This time we will be.” Lee said, smiling, knowing this time will be different.

—

“Howdy, neighbors.” Said one of the strangers approaching their gate. “I’m Andrew St. John.”

“Nice to meet ya.” Lee said from the top of the wall, he knew the last name from somewhere, but he just couldn’t place his finger on it. “What can I help you with?”

—

“So you knew Lee before the pharmacy?” Lilly asked the old man; he barely even looked homeless.

“Yup!” Terry said with a nod, curious where this conversation was going. “Where’s that question coming from?”

“I’m just curious about his life before the walkers.” Lilly said, looking down for a second. “He doesn’t talk about that a lot.”

“I know some things about Lee.” Terry said before shaking his head. “But those secrets ain’t mine to tell ya.”

—

“Things have quieted down recently.” Mark said, the two of them were on patrol outside of town, looking for any threats. “How’s Katjaa doing?”

“She’s still not letting Duck out of her sight.” Kenny said, shaking his head. “She’s smothering the boy.”

“Shouldn’t you do something about it?” Mark asked.

“I know I should, but she’s my wife, and I just can’t stand the fear in her eyes when the two are separated.” Kenny said with a sigh. “I don’t know what to do.”

—

“What the-” Mark said as they neared a tree line. “Kenny, do you see that?”

“What in god's good name is that?” Kenny asked, looking at something.

“Don’t know, but we should get back.” Mark said, backing away slowly. “Report it or something.”

“Ye-” Kenny started but was cut off by something. “Shit!”

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 1: "Man in Black”

What will Sandra do?

A) Try to take the medicine from her. - The woman dies, which means she doesn’t get to join up with the soldiers, meaning she doesn’t do their dirty work. Sandra gets the meds.

B) Try to negotiate. - (Chosen) The woman shoots Sandra in the shoulder, and Kenny blows her head off. They get the meds. 

C) Ask for the meds. - Sandra convinces the woman to give them the meds, who in turn runs away and is never seen again.

D) Let her go. - She leaves and is never seen again.

What will Carley say?

A) “You’re wrong!” - Sets Carley down a dark path, but your choices would have shaped how she falls from grace. Anything from suicide to turning on the group was on the table.

B) “Maybe you’re right.” - (Chosen) With time and the right decision, this will help Carley recover mentally from the loss of her right arm. That is if she survives long enough for that to happen.

What will Mark do?

A) Stop Larry. - Mark would try to forcefully stop the older man from going and succeed, but the noise they would make arguing would attract the attention of the two soldiers. They would have to run for their lives and would take the truck, leaving Sandra and Kenny without a fast way back home. 

B) Stay hidden. - Mark would stay quiet and let Larry go on his own, but the older man wouldn’t last long. One shot and a smack with a rifle, and Larry would be down. The soldiers would have taken Larry prisoner, and that would be the last time the group ever saw him for a long time. Mark would tell Lilly a half-truth, just enough not to be thrown out. The loss of her father this early on would cause Lilly to be even more ruthless; in the future there would have been a chance for Lilly to leave the group in some way to search for her father.

C) Join Larry. - (Chosen) They two rush the soldiers together and with some difficulty succeed in killing them, but in the fight Mark gets his kneecap shot off and has to be helped by Larry to the truck. They get the meds and quietly wait for the others.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 2: "Hiding from the Shadows”

What will Sandra do?

A) Take the card. - (Chosen) If Sandra ever gets captured by the soldiers, she will survive for sure. If Sandra dies, Clem will find it in the cupboard in their motel room and keep it secretly.

B) Leave the card. - If Sandra ever gets captured by the soldiers, there’s no guarantee that she will survive.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 3: "Neck Deep”

What will Lee do?

A) Help Terminus - (Chosen) There’s a chance that Terminus will live on as a community and not become cannibals.

B) Go back to the Motel - Terminus will have the same fate until meeting with Rick’s group.

If you choose A) how will Lee go about helping them:

A) Wait until an opportune moment and strike quietly. - (Chosen) Lee will try to take out the leader of the attacker, while Dell releases the rest of Terminus. Sadly, the cannibals will be able to mount a counterattack; many people will die, and Lee and the rest will win. The crazy leader of the cannibals will blow himself up, taking out a good chunk of the base. Terminus will be abandoned, and the survivor will flee.

B) Wait until an opportune moment and go guns blazing. - Lee will wait until the cannibals hold a banquet, and when most of them are there, he will use an RPG to kill most of the leaders. Meanwhile Dell will release the rest of the Terminus group, who will take care of the rest. Terminus will continue to exist and will help Lee and the group take out the Save-Lots bandits.

C) Go now and strike quietly. - Lee will take the sniper rifle before going onto the roof of the building. He will see that the Cannibals have the people of Terminus surrounded and on their knees. While he’s doing this, Dell will take everything from the armory and take it to the front of the building. Lee will kill some of the cannibals, and Dell will give the people covering fire; the people of Terminus will arm themselves and destroy the cannibals. Terminus will continue to exist and will help Lee and the group take out the Save-Lots bandits.

D) Go now and blow them away. - Lee takes the RPG and joins the fight. With Lee blowing up a good chunk of the enemies, the people of Terminus stand a chance. Dell brings all the weapons from the armory and joins the fight but is quickly cut down by the leader of the Cannibals. The leader takes out a walkie-talkie before suddenly all the walls around the community blow up. Walkers come as people scatter to the wind, Terminus falls, and the survivors run for the hills.

Who will Doug help first?

A) Carley - Carley will be thankful, and this will further their romance. Sadly, if the bandits find the motel, Mark would die in the escape.

B) Mark - (Chosen) Mark will be able to help the group more, and if it comes to it, escape the motel. Carley will approve of this choice, and it will further their romance.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 4: "It All Went Wrong”

What will Doug do?

A) Let them go and warn the others. - The group prepares for the raid without the thugs being any wiser. 

B) Try to take them out on his own. - Doug kills one of the thugs but gets shot in the process and dies. The group prepares for the raid. The younger man runs away, and later they come back for revenge.

C) Call the others for help. - (Chosen) Doug calls the others, and with their help, they take care of the two thugs. The motel's location remains a secret for now.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 5: "At All Cost”

What will happen to the gruff man?

A) Take the man for questioning. - (Chosen) Larry will take him into an empty room before trying to get the information out of him through torture. They will get the info about where the bandits live, after which he will kill the gruff man. The man turns into a walker and attacks the group the next morning; while protecting Duck, Sandra gets bitten.

B) Let him go. - The group will lock him in one of the rooms and decide his fate the next morning. Sandra will sneak in during the night and let him go. The man will go back to his camp and live. He will tell his boss about what happened, and they will attack the motel the next day.

C) Kill him. - Lilly will just shoot him before anyone has the opportunity to do anything about it. This display of brutality will cause Sandra to leave the group when Clem gets better. She will die on the road, and Lee will stumble on Clem locked in a car on his way back from Terminus.

D) Keep him as a prisoner. - The group will secure a room to keep the man in for the time being, and after a couple of days, he will spill the beans, after which Lilly will take him into the woods and kill him.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 6: "Not Friendly”

Will Lee go with Steven?

A) Yes - (Chosen) Lee will reunite with Terry, the homeless man, and get a chance to form an alliance with this new group.

B) No - Lee will arrive at the motel earlier and meet Kenny before they go scouting the bandits base.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 7: "Sorrow”

What will the group do?

A) Go scouting the bandits base. - (Chosen) The group will gather information on the bandits for the future. If Sandra gets bitten, she will volunteer to go, saying she doesn’t have much time to live anyway.

B) Set up traps for the bandits. - Will allow the group to dispatch a large number of bandits in the future. Doug and someone will set out into the woods around the motel to set up traps, but they will be ambushed by walkers. Depending on how you bring it with you, Doug dies or lives.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 8: "Old Bones”

Who will Lee talk about the Save-Lots bandits with?

A) Talk with Logan. - (Chosen) Will reveal the most about the bandits.

B) Talk with Terry. - Will reveal a lot about the bandits and would have allowed Lee to recruit him later.

C) Talk with Steven. - Will reveal the least about the bandits, but you would have learned about some other communities around the area.

What will Kenny and Sandra do?

A) Let them pass. - They will pass them unnoticed. They will be spotted by the bandits, and Sandra will sacrifice herself.

B) Attack them. - (Chosen) They will kill the bandits, but Kenny gets an arrow through the leg, and Sandra nearly falls off the bridge.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 9: "Recon”

What will Kenny do?

A) Let her do it. - (Chosen) Sandra will give her leather jacket to Kenny and tell him to give it to Clem. Sandra will go up to the gate and be caught by the bandits, but before they can do anything, she will blow the gate up. This will cause the Save-Lots bandits to get swarmed by walkers and kill many of their people.

C) Talk her out of it. - Sandra and Kenny will go back to the motel, but somewhere along the road, she will get too tired and tell Kenny that it is time. Sandra will give both the rifle and her leather jacket to Kenny before leaving into the woods with just her handgun. A gunshot will ring out through the woods, and Sandra will never be seen again.

Will Lee ask him how he knows so much about the Save-Lots bandits?

A) Yes - (Chosen) Logan tells him about how he was a part of that group before they became bandits; he will tell him about Jolene and her daughter. After that Lee will leave and get back to his people. 

B) No - Lee will just say that he has to leave and get back to his people before walking out and going back to the motel.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 10: "Boom”

Where will Kenny hide?

A) Hide in the trunk. - Won’t hear the bandits talk. Kenny will get stuck in the trunk and arrive back at the motel near midnight.

B) Hide in the car. - (Chosen) Will hear that the bandits are looking for them. After crossing the bridge, he will get back to the motel without trouble.

C) Run into the woods. - Won’t hear the bandits talk and will become lost for a while. On his way back he would have found an abandoned campsite, with some supplies and a box of tape recorders.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 11: "Returning Home”

Will Lilly follow through with Lee's plan?

A) Yes. - They follow through with Lee’s plan, but the bandits still have a way through to their side of the river, but in lesser numbers. The group’s path to the city is forever lost, and they can’t scavenge for supplies there anymore, making them run out of food much sooner.

B) No. - (Chosen) They follow an made-on-the-spot plan that Lilly isn’t even sure about. Ultimately it will help with the defense of the motel, but not by much.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 12: "Plan In Action”

What will Lee do?

A) Fight them. - (Chosen) Kenny and Lee fight the bandits and win quite easily, but the leader of this small group manages to escape. He will follow them and discover where the group is living, unless something drastic happens.

B) Sneak by them. - Lee and Kenny would sneak by unnoticed, but the bandits would go into the police station. A fight could break out, or maybe Lee draws their attention elsewhere, or maybe Lee and Kenny have to choose between hiding next to the wall of corpses and the corpses lying on medical beds.

C) Distract them. - The one sneaking into the police station would get shot, but Lee and Kenny would manage to kill all the bandits.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 13: "Police Brawl”

What will Lee do?

A) Blow the Police Station Up. - Blowing up the station would deprive the bandits and anyone else of access to explosives. This would also cause the leader of those bandits to get spooked but would also increase the number of bandits sent to their side of the river. More walkers would have migrated from Macon towards the motel.

B) Destroy the Entrance to the Police Station. - (Chosen) The access to the explosive is cut off, but the leader of the bandits follows Lee and Kenny.

C) Nothing. - The bandits get access to explosives; this guarantees that the bandits will destroy the motel when they inevitably attack the place.

Will Kenny take a grenade for himself?

A) Yes - (Chosen) Kenny will have a chance to use it in the Battle of the Motel. This will ensure the utter defeat of the Save-Lots bandits but also be a death sentence to a random group member (coin toss).

B) No - Kenny will not have that choice in the Battle of the Motel.

Will Larry spill the truth about Lee to Carley?

A) Yes - Carley learns that Larry knows about Lee’s criminal past.

B) No - (Chosen) Carley comes to some unusual assumptions.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 14: "The Foundation”

What will Larry do?

A) Investigate - (Chosen) Larry walks into the bushes and scares off a rabbit. He doesn’t notice someone watching him or them leave. What he does notice is a pair of severed walker hands; they weren't there before. Looking around, he sees a walker staring at him from the distance; creeped out, Larry leaves. Clem and Duck get kidnapped; this causes the group to be weakened and will lower their chances of winning against the Save-Lots bandits attack. Mark damages his brace.

B) Leave - Larry catches someone sneaking up on him, and they get into a fight; Larry kills them. After looting the body, he discovers that it was just a kid. Clem and Duck are never kidnapped, and the group is together for the fight. If things were done correctly, Lee could have asked the Masons group for help in fighting the bandits.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 15: "Shadows In The Forest”

Which one will Lee follow?

A) The one carrying Clem. - (Chosen) Lee gets kidnapped, causing him to be absent for the fight with the bandits. Lee is able to save the kids before anything happens to them.

B) The one carrying Duck. - Lee saves Duck and manages to capture one of the kidnappers. He drags him back to the motel for an interrogation. Depending on further choices, Lee could go alone to save Clem or stay and fight the bandits.

C) The one not carrying anyone. - Same as B), but both of the kids are abducted.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 16: "Detention Center”

What will Lee and the kids do?

A) Go through the forest. - Lee takes the kids through the forest; Duck gets eaten by walkers. Lee can lie or tell the truth; telling the truth would mean getting thrown out of the group. If the group lost the motel, Lee and Clem would have seen an overrun motel with the bodies of bandits, Larry, and walkers lying on the ground.

B) Follow the road. - Lee takes the kids following the road; they walk for an hour or so and make it back to the motel. Lee has a few close calls and has to carry the kids most of the way there. If the group lost the motel, Lee and the kids would have seen an overrun motel with the bodies of bandits, Larry, and walkers lying on the ground.

C) They will try to find a place for the night. - (Chosen) Lee finds a gated community, and they spend the night there. They’re safe for now. They don’t get to see the ruins of the motel.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 17: "War On The Horizon”

What will Kenny do?

A) Throw the grenade at the bandits. - (Chosen) Kenny throws the grenade; one of the bandits notices it and throws it back at the duo. Carley is injured and left behind by Kenny, who is being chased by bandits. Carley tries to crawl away, but a gunshot is heard. Kenny tries to lose the bandits and hides in a junkyard. Carley's fate remains a mystery. Bandits attacked the motel earlier.

B) Turn on a car alarm. - Kenny sets off the alarm and spooks the bandits; a lot of walkers swarm them. The bandits are forced to retreat and attack the motel later at night. If the kids hadn’t been kidnapped, Lee could have asked the Masons group for help in fighting the bandits. Kenny learns that Duck was kidnapped. Kenny has the choice of trying to find his son or defending the motel. He could use the grenade in the defense of the motel. The group has a big chance to win, drive the bandits back, and keep the motel.

C) Get back to the motel and warn the others. - Kenny and Carley run back to the motel; Kenny learns that Duck was kidnapped. They tell the group that the bandits are getting ready to attack them. Kenny has the choice of trying to find his son or defending the motel. He could use the grenade in the defense of the motel. The group would still lose the motel, but nobody would have died.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 18: "Return To Sender”

What will Kenny do?

A) Attack the bandits from the back. - Kenny kills one of the bandits' commanders but is shot and permanently blinded in the left eye. He runs away and joins up with the Mason group and joins them in leaving Macon.

B) Go around the bandits. - Kenny makes it in before the RV leaves and joins up with the others.

C) Flank the bandits. - (Chosen) Kenny shoots some bandits, but after a few shots gets chased by a group of them.

What will Lilly do?

A) Defend the motel. - Lilly joins her father and tries to save the motel, but the number of bandits overwhelms them. The RV gets away before she can get on, but she survives by running into the forest. She meets up with Kenny. Larry dies, and the motel falls to the bandits.

B) Evacuate the motel. - (Chosen) Lilly jumps the fence and covers the group as Doug tries to fire up the engine. Larry and Lilly protect the RV, but Larry gets shot. Lilly leaves the motel with Katjaa, Doug, and Mark. Larry dies, and the motel falls to the bandits.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 19: "Battle For Travelier Motel”

What will Kenny do?

A) Stand his ground. - Kenny fights the bandits and kills most of them, but one of them gets a good shot in and permanently blinds Kenny in the left eye. Kenny gets away.

B) Hide. - Kenny tried to hide in the forest but was caught in a bear trap and found by two brothers.

C) Run. - (Chosen) Kenny runs into an opening where he finds a church. Using his surroundings, he kills nearly every bandit and only gets a leg wound in return.

What will happen to Larry? (Meta Choice)

A) Peaceful Afterlife. - (Chosen) Larry leaves the story.

B) Fate Worse Than Death. - Larry would come back in the final confrontation between the bandits and the motel group. He would have been a conscious undead mind-controlled slave to the bandit leaders and a hulking Mr. X-like brute.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 20: "Escaping The Motel”

What will Lilly do?

A) Go with her plan. - (Chosen) The group has a chance to join up with Lee at the gated community. Katjaa steals a gun, the map, and a flashlight before running to save her son.

B) Go with Mark's plan. - The group leaves the gated community too early and misses Lee and the kids. Katjaa stays with the group to help them save her son.

Episode 3: "A Good Man" - Act 21: "Dark Woods”

None

Character status:

Lilly - 6 (Alive)