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hacked-by-jake · 3 years ago

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Hbj, first of all I hope you have a great day. The theories about Jake using the character, it's making me crack my head, I've always been suspicious of the fact that he has such a quick love interest in MC, I don't see the point in him trusting and liking lovingly so fast in someone he doesn't know, whenever things get tough, he loves to say sweet things to calm down.

I love Jake, but of all the questions he can ask a stranger he decides to ask if MC has a boyfriend? It's like he wants to make sure he can use this method and after episode 8 when we decided to tell how we felt about what happened with Richy, I found him so cold in his responses, trying to treat the situation as unimportant and that bad things happen and when he saw that he was not convinced, he started to say beautiful things, I found it strange that he thought about giving up his sister for a complete stranger, because that's what we are, we don't know Jake and neither does he know us.

Despite all the theories, I know that when I talk to Jake again I'm going to trust him completely, after all they are theories, but the signs are there.

(If Jake is manipulating MC I will cry for days)

Hey, dear Anon! <3

Thank you very much! I also hope that you have a nice day/evening/night. <3

Well, first of all, even though the topic hurts a little, just like with you, but I love talking about it.

And I apologize in advance that the answer has become so long. I didn't expect that myself. xD

I fully understand your thoughts about this, and I’m also afraid that Jake is just taking advantage of us. I try to be as neutral as possible, so as not to be completely biased.

Okay, so I can say for myself, and for many others, that we’re actually the same on that point with Jake. We also trust him incredibly fast although he is anything but trustworthy at the beginning.

You know, I think the relationship between MC and Jake is a little bit based on soul mates. That it’s not a coincidence that we get to know him and that we get along so quickly.

We write more with Jake than with the other characters with whom we can enter into a closer relationship. For example, Richy, even when you flirt with Richy, it goes very fast to the point where you can get closer to him.

I think in some ways this "everything goes fast" is also simply because of the way the game works. I mean, we can’t take so much time to get to know everybody.

We immediately talk to all the characters, and directly a lot. If it would take longer in the game, it would be strange firstly because of Hannah, because she would be kidnapped much longer, and secondly, there would be a lot of tension missing. At least I think so.

You know, I think he’s asking MC if we have a boyfriend, actually, is more of a sign that he’s really interested. I don’t consider Jake to be someone who gets closer to someone when the person is already in a relationship. I think he really wanted to know. Because if he did all this just to make us trust him, he might not care if MC is in a relationship or not.

As we can notice, Jake has a hard time getting social contacts, having a hard time with things like smalltalk, etc. he tells us (we can ask him that, but I think only in the premium version) that he is and always was alone. (I can’t remember his exact wording.) And later he tells us that Hannah and Lilly are the only family he has left.

I think MC has just been the first person to really care about him for a long time, asking him more private questions. Directly during our second conversation with him, we can talk to him about the desert island, and ask him, for example, which programs he uses to hack.

I think, as he says himself, we immediately had a good relationship with each other. And if he’s been alone for a long time, and then someone like MC comes and pays attention to his personality, and not just superficially, he enjoys it.

We have not been deterred by him and his performances, and have treated him as a normal person. Not, for example, like the government that sees him as a criminal, but we know he’s a hacker, but we don’t let that put us off.

In episode 8, when Lilly criticizes us for really trusting him, we can say that we had no choice. We had to trust him, to help Hannah.

And so it was for him with MC. He was just trying to save his sister who was kidnapped in front of him. And all of a sudden, our number comes from Hannah. He had as few options as we had. He’s just trying to find his sister, so he has to trust the person whose number seems to have something to do with it.

Moreover, we are all in a dark time. A kidnapper and murderer who kidnapped one person, murdered one person, and maybe even a second one, Richy.

Everything is always under stress and we are working hard to find and save Hannah. Stress, grief and worry. When two people like MC and Jake meet and have to work so closely together, then a little distraction is really good. Or being drawn closer to someone when you’re desperate.

And then he writes a pretty agitated message, I don’t know if you ever chose this option, I can recommend it to you.

I think we can see how Jake really is when we talk to him about that Hannah might have done something to herself.

Jake says, "But if you think she might have done something to herself, that’s out of the question."

We can then say it’s okay, and we’ll continue to talk to him. However, we can continue to talk about it and tell him, for example, that we should not exclude anything. He’s still stubborn, and we can tell him, "Why are you so stubborn?"

(well, unfortunately I can’t find the screenshot of this place and I can’t remember his exact wording)

However, he sounds so desperate and worried and it also sounds a bit like a reproach, so that he even apologizes afterwards and says that he did not want us to feel bad about him.

(Maybe there is someone here who has selected it and has a screenshot of it)

Yes, unfortunately Jake, in episode 8 when we talk about Richy, sounds and is very cold and emotionless. I think it’s just hard for him to understand how it felt. And "unfortunately" he is more focused on finding Hannah that is one of the only things that interest him.

I think Jake is also kind of blaming himself for not being able to help Hannah faster.

As we also know from episode 8, Hannah had sent him an email. However, this address was no longer active, and he only saw it when it was actually too late. He called her right away, but if he’d seen the message sooner, that might never have happened. Of course, it’s not his fault, but that’s how we humans are. And I think it’s the same with him.

If he feels guilty, I can understand that he wants to help so badly. He probably blames himself for breaking off contact with her at the time. That he didn’t dare tell his sister he is her brother.

Maybe then everything would have been different, and Hannah wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.

I think he was thinking of giving up on Hannah and running away with MC because it was stressful for him, too. He also suffers from the situation, but does not admit it to himself.

As he says himself, he tries to look at everything as objectively as possible, so he ignores what happened to Jessy and Richy. Because I think he’s also hiding his own feelings.

And in between, we can see him from the emotional side. Only rarely, but sometimes it happens.

And right now he realizes that for some time it would be easier to disappear with MC and turn your back on everything. Since the situation also burdens him, it is quite normal to think about choosing the easier way, which would also make him feel better.

But, as he also says, this would bring nothing. The responsibility would catch up with us and we would live forever with the guilt of just letting Hannah down.

And last but not least: the topic of manipulation.

And yes, that’s exactly what Jake is doing with us, manipulating us by using our feelings for him, and calming us down by telling us nice things.

Best we see this in episode 7. After his pursuers tried to hack us. Although he used this method before, manipulated us, but in episode 7 it is the most extreme to see.

However, I have to say that we are doing the same thing with him. We’re doing the same thing.

And best we see that, in episode 8.

When we tell him that the others want to see what we have for clues, etc., and the others want him to come into the group.

We know for a fact that Jake isn’t thrilled. But we get him to decide against it by saying, "I can’t do this without you."

And that’s actually also a point that shows me that Jake really likes us, he gives in and accepts the situation after we tell him that.

And that’s exactly what happens when we ask him to write the letter to Ted with Lilly, where we can tell him that we’d like him to be there. And from that moment, Jake says yes.

If he really didn’t want it, or he didn’t care that we told him we couldn’t do it without us, he wouldn’t give in.

He would just keep saying that he doesn’t want to and he doesn’t want to talk to us about it.

We wouldn’t even have time to contradict him, or just tell the others everything, since he could have erased any evidence from our phone.

He lets us manipulate him as much as he manipulate us.

And he writes when he joins the group chat that he wants to change his mind to tell the others everything, because of us.

And even the others realize that Jake likes us.

Lilly, for example, says (when we talk to her in episode 6) that he interrupted the vote, that his reaction wasn’t normal just because he cared about the subject. He’s very biased, not just because we’re important to him to save Hannah. It’s because we were treated unfairly by Lilly and the others.

Jessy says to Phil that there’s someone who likes us, but she doesn’t know if we’re reciprocating his feelings.

I don’t think I need to say anything about Dan, do I?

Jake and MC are not as inconspicuous together as the two think themselves.

I think I’ve addressed the most important things now, so I want to say an end conclusion: I really believe that Jake likes us and not just manipulates us. I really think he wants to get closer to us.

I’m not a psychologist or anything, of course, but I think Jake has some psychological problems that he might even know himself. Many things are difficult for him and I can often identify with him on this point.

His actions and manner are not always the right ways, sometimes he does not know how to behave and what is okay and what is not. We can see it with Jessy and Richy.

With us, he tries to show empathy and support us, which is why he wants us to rest a little afterwards.

Jake doesn’t seem to have had an easy life, and of course that leaves its mark. I don’t think he’s that cold sometimes because he means it badly.

I know we haven’t known him for long, but this whole situation is so special that it’s not surprising that MC and Jake get along so well and get closer.

Of course I can’t say exactly, maybe it’s really all just played by him, that we will only see at the end, but I don’t think that everything is fake.

And of course, thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and theories with us. As you can see, I had a lot to say and really enjoyed answering that, and I hope I could help you a little bit.

So, I hope that I have not forgotten anything important now and that I have taken up everything I wanted to and can say. 😅

As I said, I don’t know everything myself, and this is just my opinion. I hope I’ve managed not to be so biased.

Take care of yourself and stay healthy, lovely Anon!💚🎭🌹

#duskwood anon ask #duskwood #duskwood jake #duskwood mc #duskwood Jake x mc #duskwood thoughts #duskwood theories #duskwood game #everbyte studio #everbyte game #everbyte duskwood #duskwood everbyte #duskwood hacker #iamjake #hbj dw answers

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sharonitwd · 7 years ago

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It’s Just One Bullet, Chp:13

THIS chapter gave me the biggest amount of hell I’ve ever had with a chapter. I had written this chapter previously and had to re-write it from memory. Honestly the quality in the re-rewrite isn’t as good as the re-write and I wish I could have posted that a month ago.

So celebrate Valentines day by reading some Sad Shit

Amid the shouting and hectic escape Sharon managed to stop Travis from hemorrhaging, luckily the bullet went straight through his shoulder and missed his bone, but that also meant he has both an entry and exit wound that she needs to take care of.

Reaching for the bandages on her lap she stared at her dirt still under her uncovered fingernails, now that she had dealt with his still bleeding flesh without any gloves the wound needs to be properly cleaned. She’d had dealt with her risk of sepsis from her own gunshot and had gotten over a small fever, but now they don’t have running water or antibiotics.

"Ben," Sharon said, looking away from her nails and pressing the cloth harder in Travis’s shoulder. "Can you hand me the peroxide? It's in my bag."

Lilly blocked the sink that held Sharon's bag with her body. "No." Her hands gripped the counter behind her as the fake wooden floor beneath them swayed.

Carley scoffed. "What is she supposed to do? Let him bleed out?"

"You can stop the bleeding but we are not doing anything else until we figure out how this happened." Lilly shook her head. "We just lost everything."

"Well we're lucky as shit to have this RV!" Kenny exclaimed.

“Ducky, can you go sit in the back with Clementine?”

"And nobody died." Sharon reluctantly wrapped up Travis's injury.

”But mom-”

"Somebody in here caused this.” Lilly growled.

”Please, sweety.”

"Settle down back there; the bandits have had our number for weeks!" Kenny shouted back, his eyes darting from the road to his wife.

"Okay. . ."

"This is different. . ." Lilly looked to Lee, then back to the group. "Somebody was working with them. Whoever it was, was slipping them our meds. They didn't get their last package, so they attacked! Lee found a bag of supplies hidden outside the wall."

Duck didn’t seem to see the blood on Sharon’s hands or the open wound in Travis’s shoulder, he didn’t even notice the argument as he walked right past Lilly to the back of the RV and stared out the window.

Lee looked away from Duck and nodded. "It's true."

"So, Sharon."

Sharon felt her already shaky fingers slip on the bandages.

Lilly leaned forward. "Is there something you want to say?"

"Why the hell are you accusing her?" Kenny quickly asked.

Lilly ignored him and crossed her arms. "Well? Do we have to get it out of you?"

"Hey- back off." Travis scoffed, trying to cross his arms as well.

"You are in no position to made demands." Lilly glared at Travis, then at Ben who sunk further into his seat.

Carley crossed her arms. "And you can't just point fingers!"

"I didn't just come up with this, I've had my suspicions."

Kenny rolled his eyes. "Probably not the best time, Lilly."

"If not now, when?" Lilly gestured wildly around the room. "Look at what just happened!"

“We’re all okay now, though.” Ben said.

"Why her?" Lee asked, momentarily stopping Lilly from continuing. "This seems like a stab in the dark, Lilly."

"She is always SO eager to run out to the city, so eager to leave! It just so happened that on the DAY that she was going to be trained to use a gun she conveniently finds a crossbow in the woods." Lilly counted each offense on her fingers. "She never talks about herself, hell, she could have been related to the bastards for all we know."

Sharon's eyes didn't leave her work. "My family isn't a bunch of looters! My dad was a little league coach and my mom was a florist."

Lilly leaned forward. "You're not saying it wasn't you."

Even though Lilly isn't looking at him, Ben shook more visibly when she neared. "Like, look, maybe we should, uh, vote or something like that."

"Vote?" Lilly stood up straight. "What?"

"It would be better than randomly accusing someone!" Travis shouted.

"We need to look at the facts!" Carley joined him. "Let's calm down, let's eat, and we will deal with it."

"Yeah." Ben nodded quick. "Let’s do that."

"With what food?" Lilly's voice got louder with each word. "We lost EVERYTHING, do you not GET THAT?!"

“Lilly!” Lee shouted. “Calm down.”

For only five seconds no one said anything as Lilly tried to calm herself.

"I’m sorry, um- can't we wait until. . ." Ben hesitated, eyeing the bandages that stained red as Sharon touched it. ". . .that is uh, dealt with?"

"I agree with Ben." Travis sighed.

“I’d really like to unwrap this and use the disinfectant." Sharon said, her hands still. “If he gets sepsis I don’t know what we can do for him, can we talk about this after that?”

Lilly took in a breath, slowly looking between three on the couch. "Was it all three of you?"

"What?" They all said in unison.

Lilly let go of the sink and placed her hand on the wall closest to Travis. “I’ve seen you leave her room at night, I’ve seen Sharon leave theirs-”

“We’re friends.” Sharon rolled her eyes. “And I sleep-walked once.”

"I've seen you three together, right now you're in the middle of them!"

Sharon patted down the last strip of gauze. "Do you think I’m this close to them because I want to?"

Travis directed his eyes to Sharon, lightly pulling himself away. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"That's not what I-"

Travis, with his free hand, batted Sharon’s hands off of him and readjusted his shirt. He scooted to the right, although he couldn’t get any closer to the wall.

“Lilly, stop waving a finger at everybody.” Lee said. “We know something’s going on and we can get to the bottom of it if we keep our heads.”

“I know what we found and unless you have your suspicions, then I say IT’S HER!”

Travis reeled back. "Can you not shout in my fucking ears?"

"Hey, hey-" Lee placed himself between the two, forcing Lilly to grab back on to the counter behind her. "This is getting out of hand!"

"We don't need to argue." Sharon said, directing it to Travis yet hoping Lilly would agree. "We can talk about this without shouting."

“Look, just let me out.” Ben held himself tighter. “I didn’t do it, but I don’t like this; I don’t like where this is headed.”

Lilly outstretched her arm still on the wall, face to face with Ben. "You look me in the eyes and tell me you didn’t have anything to do with it."

"Lilly, lay off of him." Carley tried.

"I-"

SLAM!

Everyone gripped whatever was attached to the RV to stop themselves from losing balance or toppling over as their world rumbled and shook.

Lilly placed herself in the hallway between the rest of the group and the front seats. "What's going on out there?"

"I hit something." Kenny groaned, instinctively switching on his hazard lights. "We gotta stop!"

"Alright." Lilly turned to face the group, her scowl returning when Sharon entered her view. "Well, we can deal with this now, then."

As Kenny slowed the vehicle stop Lilly stood at the doorway, hand on the handle and waiting. "Everybody out." She ordered, already out of the door before Lee could stop her. "OUT."

Carley was the first out, pacing close to the forest and sighing loudly as everyone filed out behind her. On her right stood Travis and Ben with Lilly already looking under the RV, on her left Sharon leaned against the vehicle and Lee stood by her side, both of their arms crossed.

Lilly waited until Kenny had stepped out of the vehicle to start speaking. "Kenny, the RV has some surface damage, but there's a walker trapped underneath."

"God dammit." Kenny swore, kneeling down to look at the problem. "Everyone, keep your eyes peeled."

Lilly stood in the center of the arc that the five had created around the doorway and turned her attention to Sharon. "You know what, we shouldn't just kick you out. We should hear what everybody thinks."

“I think you should chill out.” Ben shook.

"You know what I think?" Travis said, even though Lilly didn't look his direction. "I think you're fucking crazy."

"Travis- L-Lilly, this isn't necessary." Sharon unknowingly wiped blood in her dirty-blonde hair as she ran a hand through it. "Jesus, haven't we been through enough already?"

"This IS NECESSARY!" Lilly spun to see everyone's reactions, pausing at Lee. "Are you all not listening to what I'm saying?"

"Lilly, we get it." Lee said, facing his palms towards her. "We won't-"

"Are you sure you get it?" Lilly gestured around her. "No one else is doing anyth-"

"God, this dumb fuck walker!"

As everyone turned to face the front of the vehicle Sharon pushed herself away from it, standing by Carley with the forest at her back and Lilly at more than an arms distance away.

"Are you okay over there?" Lee asked.

"Yeah yeah. . ." Kenny mumbled back.

Lilly turned away from Kenny, quickly eyeing Sharon in her new spot between Carley and Ben. "You all have no other option. You can tell me it's Sharon and everything will be right as rain."

"Leave her alone." Carley demanded.

"There is no way it was her." Lee stepped up. "It was somebody else. It could've even been someone sneaking into our camp."

"That's ridiculous. That's what you think?" Lilly scoffed, frowning when Lee nodded. "Okay, fine then. . . Kenny?"

"I don't know! Fuck!" Kenny yelled back. "Just, stop, would ya?!"

"Well, your vote counts for you and Katjaa!" Lilly called.

Lee opened his mouth to mention the woman who stole Clementine’s hat that he met in the woods.

"We don't need all these VOTES!" Ben screamed. "What do we have to do for you to STOP this? I'll do ANYTHING!"

"Ben." Travis attempted to elbow him, though with his injury he instead grunted. "Calm down."

"I'll-I'll do watches for a month."

"Ha." Lilly rolled her eyes. "The hell you would."

"I-I'll get more food." He tried. "More medicine, just-"

"DO YOU THINK ANY OF THAT IS GOOD NOW?" Lilly screamed, watching as Ben visibly recoiled and shook. "God, you're pathetic."

Travis felt blinded, pushing Ben behind him and taking a step towards the woman. “Fuck you, Lilly! You can't IMAGINE the shit we've been through! You-"

"Guys! Arguing like this is just going to make things worse, we need to calm down." Sharon tried, raising her still bloody hands. "Let's just go back inside and cool off."

"Do we need any more evidence than this?!" Lilly gestured to her.

"Fuck EVIDENCE!" Carley shouted, stepping in front of Sharon. "Stop treating them like this!"

"Shut up, Carley! I've heard enough out of you!" Lilly eyed the front of the RV. "Kenny! What's it going to be?"

Kenny sighed loudly. "Just give me a damn minute!"

"Ben, Travis. You two have until that walker is dealt with to tell me it was HER and not you!"

At that Sharon eyed Ben, when he noticed she nodded. In response He shook his head roughly and closed his eyes.

Carley, not seeing the exchange, continued. "Stop this! You're torturing them!"

"This is about trust, and I've never trusted her!" Lilly pointed. "She shown up out of the blue outside the inn! She never talks about her past! She's ALWAYS trying to leave but SOMETHING is keeping her back!" Lilly dropped her arm and looked around the group. "The deal with the BANDITS!"

“Please, let’s just get back in the RV.” Ben pleaded.

“That’s not happening.”

Sharon sighed. "Say it. Just do it."

"Say what?!" Travis exclaimed.

"She'll kick us out of the group!" Ben shut his eyes again.

"We won't." Lee tried. "We'll understand."

"Just tell her it was me." Sharon demanded, roughly crossing her arms.

"Tell me." Lilly demanded. "NOW."

Lee tried to get in between the crazed woman and the teens. "Lilly this is getting out of hand-"

Lilly ignored both of them, shoving herself away from Lee. "DO IT."

Sharon felt her world go red. "Lilly just STOP!" She felt her face flare up. "If you hate me so much why didn't you just shoot me in your room when you had the chance?"

Lilly took a step away from Lee, her back only a few inches from the RV.

"I'm sorry about your dad but that does NOT give you an excuse to treat people like garbage! My girlfriend left me for dead then right after that I had to KILL a baby boy after he got bit, I took care of him like he was my own son.”

Sharon took a deep breath.

“My parents neglected me until I was six, I had a younger brother and sister, and I'm five-six. There, I talked about my past, so give me a god damn break!"

Squish!

Everyone aside from Lilly turned, watching as Kenny did one more final stomp to the walker's head. "There! I got 'im! Now, what the fuck's-"

"LOOK OUT!"

"SHARON!"

BANG!

Sharon tumbled backwards, the wet grass did nothing to soften the ground beneath her as her back hit the dirt.

"Oh my god. . ."

She opened her eyes to see the night sky, her ears still ringing from the shot that happened right next to her ear, above her Carley stood with her gun still aimed at the RV.

"Lilly?"

"Holy fuck."

Katjaa shouted from inside the RV. "KENNY, what's happening?"

"Jesus CHRIST! Keep Duck away from the- " Kenny turned to the RV, promptly slamming the doors in both Duck's and Clem's face. "What the FUCK happened?"

Eyes looked to Carley while her's are wide and glued down the ironsights. Kenny's hand brushed over his own gun, though he dropped it when Lee approached the woman and slowly pulled the weapon from her grip.

"Are you okay?" Lee said, lowering the gun.

Carley let out the breath she was holding, breathing harder until Lee pulled her into an embrace.

"She just. . . Lilly was going to shoot her." Ben mumbled. "She was going to kill her."

"Shit." Kenny sighed, picking up Lilly's pistol from the ground and looking past Lee and Carley’s feet, eyes wide at the young woman still laying on the ground. "Sharon- crap, you alright over there?"

“I. . .” Her gaze stayed glued to the stars, although it was a cloudy night she could see every one. “I almost left her again.”

Kenny walked over and inspected her body in the moonlight, no blood aside from Travis’s, just wide unblinking eyes. “C’mon girl, we gotta get inside.”

Sharon grasped onto Kenny’s hand, allowing him to help her off the ground and to the door. When he opened it Duck and Clementine quickly back away quietly.

“Come on everybody.” Kenny called, leading Sharon up the stairs. “We don’t wanna stick around to see who heard that noise.”

Sharon pulled away from him and held onto the counter, hanging her head as she leant over her bag.

Travis and Ben were the next inside, both silent as they continued to the back and taking a seat on both sides of the booth. Lee followed after them and opted to stand and wait by the door as Carley stepped up, quickly shutting the door behind her as the RV jerked foreword. She opened her mouth though before she could say anything Katjaa spoke up.

"Lee, a word please?"

Carley closed her mouth and nodded, she brushed past Lee to sit silently with both Clementine and Duck on the couch.

Lee approached the cab as quiet as both Katjaa and Kenny are.

After a few long moments of hushed whispering Lee turned and faced the rest of the group, eyes landing on each person. “Duck, your parents. . . uh. . ." He squinted when the boy didn’t react to him. "Duck?”

Duck didn't seem to notice, picking at a hole in his pants and only making it worse as he slowly pulled the fibers apart.

“DUCK.”

The boy whipped his head up.

“Your mom and dad want to talk with you.”

Duck got up, quickly squeezing himself past Lee and sitting in between his parents on the ground. Lee shrugged and continued through the vehicle, once he neared Sharon he cleared his throat.

“Sharon, I need to talk with you and the boys-”

Sharon quickly pulled a napkin out of her pocket- where a clean cloth napkin came from is beyond him- and pressed it to her face. The cloth muffled any sounds she didn’t want anyone else to hear, all aside from Lee.

“Are you okay?”

Pulling the napkin away from her face she balled it up and stuffed it back in her pocket, her voice strained as she tried to speak. “No, Lee, I’m not.”

Lee shut his mouth, slowly following behind Sharon as she made her way to the back, Ben scooted over for her and sat in the middle, the three looked up to older man and waited.

Travis noticed Lee’s hesitation and sighed. "What's wrong now?"

"Katjaa is. . .”

Sharon wanted to scream, she wanted to shout and cry and tell Lee to leave, she wanted to curse and rip her hair out. The blood in her veins turned to ice and boiled in her chest.

"Katjaa got bit, back at the motor inn."

“What?!” Travis covered his mouth. “When- oh fuck. . .”

Sharon could feel something wrong. Fingertips went numb and skin didn’t feel like her own as she balled it into fists, like someone was moving her hands for her. Slowly the world around her turned hazy and a static texture appeared.

“. . . What are we going to do?” Ben asked, doing a double take when he saw the blank look in the young woman’s eyes next to him.

Lee leaned on the counter next to him. "Kat is going to keep an eye on the bite but we are keeping the same plan, we're heading East."

Sharon didn’t even know when Lee had left or how long Travis had been asking her if she’s okay. At some point Ben had started muttering to himself.

“Guys, it’s going to be okay-”

“No, it’s not.” Ben propped his head in his hands.

Sharon tried to copy his movements, leaning forward and bringing her palms to her face, though her head continued down her arms and hit the table with hands hanging limp. “Oh my god.”

“Sharon I. . .” Ben shook his head. “Oh god, Sharon this is all my fault.”

“Your fault?” Both Sharon and Travis said in unison, though in different volumes.

“No, this is my fault.” Sharon’s breath misted the table. “I could have done more, I could have told everyone, I could have told everyone-”

“Told everyone? About what?”

“We killed Lilly.” Ben barely suppressed a sob. “We killed Katjaa.”

Sharon’s fingernails found her scalp. “Oh god, what have I done?” As Sharon muttered to herself she yanked on her hair. “What have I done, what have I done-”

“Woah, woah.” Travis reached out across the table with his good arm and stopped Sharon from hurting herself, inadvertently tangling his own fingers in her already tangled hair. “This isn’t- what- just stop-”

“God I’m such an idiot, why didn’t I just say something sooner?” Ben crossed his arms and buried his face in his sleeves. “I can’t believe-”

“Ben, Sharon.” Travis looked to him, his face scrunched then softened at hearing both of the two openly crying in front of him.

The growing puddle of tears started to get Travis’s sleeve wet. With a curse under his breath he reached out with his bad arm, momentarily retracting as pain shot through his shoulder. He tried again and pushed through, grabbing on to Ben’s hand.

“Guys, it’s going to be alright.” Travis said, though he couldn’t tell if either of his friends heard him. “We’ll be fine, we’ve survived this long we can keep going. . ."

None of them replied, neither of them even squeezed his hand. He had so many questions yet nothing would give answers while they are like this.

"I’m- I. . . I don’t know what to say.”

His words went in one ear and out the other, Sharon couldn’t think of anything aside from the fact that Lilly’s blood is splattered all over the side of the RV right behind her, and it’s all her fault. Katjaa is bitten and it’s all her fault. Duck and Clementine no longer have place to sleep, Travis is hurt, and they are getting closer to Lisa.

And it's All. Her. Fault.

When Sharon's eyes dried up her sleeves were still damp, the hand that was in hers had slipped off and now rested on her jacket sleeves. Both boys are silent along with the rest of the group that occupied the RV, aside from light snoring.

Sharon rubbed the dent in her forehead, then rolled up her damp sleeves. She tried to ignore the puddle of liquid on the table.

Looking around; Carley surprisingly sat far from Lee at the whole other end of the couch with Clementine in between them. Further ahead Duck laid down on the floor between his mother's and father's seats, from here Sharon could see Kenny is still awake and driving though Katjaa is out of sight.

Carefully Sharon stretched her back and didn't stop until her spine stopped cracking. Scooting off the seat she encouraging Travis to lay down instead of slouching over the table, he moaned and allowed her to help him down.

He didn’t seem to be losing more blood, the bandages had bled through but not enough to raise concern. His skin is still warm and pink so Sharon let him be and walked away.

Her second stop is the sink, digging through her bag and taking a quick note of the supplies she still has left. Enough food to last a week only if everyone eats one meal a day, not enough water to use all of the noodles and packet food, not enough water to keep everyone hydrated. It’s the same situation back at the inn, except they can't collect rainwater here and nobody knows that she has all of these supplies.

Just after the attacks the group agreed to split the food: one stache in Lilly’s room and one stache in the RV, which means they should have enough rations to last a little after they reach Savannah along with Sharon’s supply. Knowing this she dropped her shoulders, though now she will need an excuse to having a third stache that no one aside from Ben knows about.

Sighing, Sharon pushed aside her unicorn pajamas and unzipped a little pouch behind it. The little jar of baby food remained sealed and clean, just looking at it reminded her of Brandon and Lisa.

Lisa used to hold out two jars, one of a random flavor and another of peas and carrots. When Brandon would pick the peas and carrots Lisa would put down the other flavor and replace it with another, switching it around and letting him pick again. He'd always pick the peas and carrots.

Sharon suddenly reached for the edges of the counter, balancing herself as the RV shook, it wasn’t as forceful as the walker they hit from earlier, this was just a bump in the road. Nearing the front Sharon braced herself in the hallway, narrowly avoiding Duck’s sleeping body at her feet.

Katjaa looked normal despite what has happened, a little pale and still bloody from the attack making Sharon feel guilty that she never offered to clean her up. She faced her window so Sharon couldn’t get a good look at her face. Opposite her, Kenny had dirt lining his arms and shirt, he squinted as if the dark streets are too bright to see.

Getting closer she thought maybe he doesn’t notice her, then he eyed her in the rear view mirror. “What’re you doin’ up? Go back to sleep.” He muttered, returning his eyes to the road.

“Kenny I had watch last night, you’ve been awake longer than me.” Sharon whispered. "You want me to drive?"

"No. . ." He shook his head. "I got it. . ."

"Are you sure? I can drive, I can handle an RV."

Kenny hesitated for a minute before lifting his foot off the pedal and pulling over to the side of the road, switching on the hazard lights robotically. He turned and got out of the seat, carefully letting Sharon squeeze by as he sat down on the ground next to Duck. The boy didn't stir as his father sat down beside him.

"Avoid all cities, turn around if you start seeing three story buildings. Head North if you can’t go East." Kenny whispered. “Keep an eye on that gas tank, let me know if it gets close to empty and we'll find somewhere to fill up.”

"I understand."

“Don’t be afraid to wake me up if you see something suspicious, anything. We're screwed if we run in to any spike traps.” His words devolved into yawns. “And uh. . . be slow around corners, don’t go over fifty. . . the front end looks longer than it is.”

Sharon nodded, buckling her seatbelt and adjusting the seat under Kenny’s watch. She shifted gears and checked the mirrors, eyes lingering over Katjaa.

Kenny cleared his throat. “You still know the way to Savannah?”

“Of course.”

She waited until Kenny laid down to take her foot off the breaks, slowly pulling away from the side of the road. She turned the hazard lights off and checked the mirrors, silently wishing that she'd lifted the back shades before she sat down.

It took a moment for her to divert all attention to driving, her mind focusing Katjaa sitting in the passenger seat, her seat belt strapping her into place. It’s hard to see her in the darkness yet easy to see her pale white skin contrasting with the darker interior. Aside from the bloody head wound she looked fine, just sick, like she could pull through this.

Sharon quickly lifted her foot off the gas, narrowly avoiding the walker in the road without stirring the sleeping passengers. The speedometer read fifty as she slowed down, meaning she was over the speed that Kenny had told her to stay under.

Swerving again, Sharon avoided the vast amount of abandoned cars and stray walkers on the road, maintaining a low speed while still going fast enough to make good distance. She slowed even more, eyes straining to read the passing street sign, Sharon looked around at the dashboard and radio, eyes squinting at the old displays.

As there seems to be no clock in sight, Sharon could only assume that either: Kenny has had trouble finding clear roads to drive on and they hadn't made much distance, or she had been asleep or 'zoned out' for about two hours.

Normally the drive to Savannah would take around three hours, depending on the traffic. In her notebook is a page wholly dedicated to how much time it would have taken to walk there, a week if she's lucky, a week and a half if she has to scavenge for food, two weeks if she is slower than she thought, three weeks if she is just really bad at math. The page dedicated to travelling by RV had been scrapped, already thrown in the camp fire the night before.

Off hand she guessed five hours from here, avoiding highways and big cities wont be too bad as long as there's nothing blocking the way, speed limits are no longer enforced aside from Kenny so she doesn't have to go twenty-five in a school zone. Five hours sounds right.

Five hours to Savannah. Five hours to a boat. Five hours to get the kids to safety.

Five hours to get to Lisa.

#Text #twdg #twdg fanfiction #Situp Walking Dead #SiTWDG #Chapter update

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twdgfanfiction · 8 years ago

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Chapter 31 - Amidst The Ruins

Pain ached through Lee's entire body, his eyes scrunched up as they slowly opened, a low groan coming from his throat. The world around him came into focus and, confused, he glanced around, noticing that he was staring up at a ceiling. Trying to sit up, fatigue washed over his body, causing him to lie back down with a deep sigh. The movement and noise seemed to have attracted attention however, as Sarah's face appeared above him. Worried eyes stared down at him, and he noticed a small scar through her eyebrow, it almost hidden by her glasses' frame. Her voice was quiet when she finally asked him. "Are you alright? You've been out cold for hours."

"Ow. I've felt better, but I ain't dead yet." Lee replied, attempting to sit up again. Successful, he watched Sarah holding her hands in front of him, ready to help if he needed it, and continued to listen as he questioned her. "What happened? I remember Carver…"

"You killed him." Sarah muttered, her face falling grim whilst she shook her head, her gaze falling down to his chest as she continued. "I know why you did it. Carver's hurt so many people, but I couldn't watch another life be taken."

"That's good. I don't want you getting used to it, but it is something that you have to face. Taking a life…Like it or not, you might not have a choice when the time comes." Lee explained, watching Sarah look back up at him, nodding softly to show him that she understood.

"Okay, that makes sense, I guess." She agreed, though she seemed conflicted with what Lee was telling her. With a frown, Lee glanced around the room he was in, noticing he was in fact in the infirmary. People were lying on gurneys, their injuries bandaged and limbs hacked off when they were unsalvageable, their friends and family huddled around them. His gut dropped when he saw Jack weaving through the crowd, checking on a particular survivor when, with a somber expression, he pulled the sheet over the body. The older man standing beside broke down, resting his head on the blanket that covered the deceased's head, their foreheads touching as he wished prayers that Lee couldn't hear.

"Whilst you were out of it, we had to clear up the mess from the fighting. There were so many bodies… I knew a lot of the people that died." Sarah explained, turning around to see Christa helping Jack with wrapping up injuries, the pregnant woman soothing the young child with kind words and soft voices. Lee couldn't see the teen's face, but he knew from her sagged shoulders that the events that happened were weighing on her.

"What's the damage?" he asked, worried about his friends and the good people that lived in Howe's. "Are our friends alright?"

"We all made it through, but…" Sarah trailed off, not looking at Lee as she stared off into the distance, a saddened look on her face whilst she whispered. "Lilly. When she pushed you out of the way, the bullet caught the side of her zygomatic bone and ricocheted off, damaging the temporal bone as well… at least, that's how Jack explained it to me."

"She saved me." Lee muttered, staring down at his hands resting in his lap. Moving his fingers, he winced as the muscles in his arms and hands ached terribly, the skin on his knuckles bruised and cut. Guilt ripped at him, wondering if he could have changed what had happened. If he had paid more attention to Carver rather than talking with Joel, maybe Lilly wouldn't have had to push him out of the way. She could die, and thinking of that made him realise of their relationship so far.

"If she didn't push you out of the way, Carver would have killed you." Sarah pointed out, a small smile on her face in an attempt to help the older man feel better. "I'm sure she was thinking of helping you when she did it."

"Lilly and I were once friends, you know?" Lee started, staring at Sarah as she watched him, an inquisitive look on her face as he continued. "We ran into each other the first few days this all started, down in Macon. We didn't get on very well, her father was mostly the reason for that."

"Why? What did he do?" Sarah asked, hopping up onto the gurney Lee was sitting on, watching him.

"A man I was travelling with, Kenny, his son got attacked by walkers. This woman saved us and brought us into the drug store that Lilly and her group were hiding in. Her dad was an asshole, he thought Kenny's son was bitten, but he wasn't. Let's just say it ended up with Kenny on the floor." He noticed her expression change to shock, and decided to keep going as she sat in silence. "After we moved to this motel just outside Macon, we got on better. She helped me with some shit, and I helped her. After her dad died, she wasn't the same…"

Sarah glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the other patients, Lee following her gaze to see Lilly lying on a gurney, her face covered in bandages. A heart monitor was attached to her, the sound of the machine going beep, beep, beep was almost lost in the agonized wails of the other patients. His face fell at the sight, unable to look anymore as Sarah asked him. "How did he die?"

"It's a long story. We trusted the wrong kind of people, and our friend paid the price for it. When I tried to warn everyone they pulled on us, and we got shoved in a meat locker." Lee sighed, recalling waking up to the shouting and vomiting back at the 's farm, Clementine sitting by his side frightened. "Larry had a heart condition. He wouldn't calm down, despite us telling him to… and he had a heart attack. Kenny made the call to destroy the brain, and Lilly thought we could still save him."

"What did you do?" Her voice quieted, and he knew that she could already guess the ending to his tale.

"I tried to save him. Kenny thought I was being an idiot, that I was gonna get everyone killed, and thinking back… I knew that he was right. No one would know what would happen. I can see where he was coming from, but it all went to shit when he… threw a salt lick on Larry's head." Sarah's face showed her horror at the story, her gaze falling down whilst he sat there, recalling the incident in perfect clarity. The blood that splattered on him and Lilly when the salt lick was thrown on Larry's head, her desperate screams and Kenny's excuses. It would always haunt him.

"He could have been saved! ...C-Couldn't he?" she asked, trying to understand the reasons that Kenny had for killing another person.

Lee shook his head, a somber frown on his face as he explained to her. "Sometimes, you make decisions in a split second, and you gotta live with the consequences for the rest of your life. It's hard, carrying that weight. I didn't envy Kenny for making that decision.

"That's why you killed Carver." Sarah replied, staring down at her own hands. "It was one of those decisions, wasn't it? You had to hurt him to stop him from killing me."

"I did, honey." He agreed. Slowly, she jumped down from the gurney, her back to him as he slowly followed, swinging his legs over the edge, his feet touching the wooden floor. Standing up, he felt his legs ache and wobble slightly, his hand gripping on the gurney for support. Sarah was right beside him, helping him stand up properly as they glanced around, watching the scene going on around them.

"The people that didn't make it are being taken for a cremation outside, a final farewell… now that Carver isn't here to make us put them on the Wall." She explained, crossing his arms as she stared at one of the patients, a young man with his upper arm bandaged, his worn face contorted in pain as he gripped the wrapped wound.

"That's not the only thing that needs doing." Christa suddenly replied, walking over to the two with a worried expression, staring at Lee whilst she asked. "How you feeling, Lee?"

"I'll live." he brushed off, staring at her with confusion. "What did you mean, Christa?"

"With Carver gone, the community needs a new leader. We can't go on without someone at the top making decisions." She pointed out, quickly adding when she noticed Lee's frown. "We took out Carver because he was corrupt, not because he was a leader. Like it or not, we need someone to lead."

"I agree." Sarah agreed, nodding whilst the adults looked down at her, both of them then turning to each other. Lee didn't want to admit it, but she was right. Without someone at the top to guide them, the community wouldn't make it through the winter.

The three started walking through the infirmary, ignoring the patients being treated by Jack and Huan, the latter sparing them a glance before resuming his work. Edith was right beside him, translating his explanations so that the people could understand, her words spoken softly and with a calm air around her, soothing the troubled patients whilst the doctor treated their injuries. Glancing up at them, she smiled at them, her hands holding the patient's hand as Huan worked getting a bullet out of their shoulder, the injured survivor writhing in pain. Lee paused, watching the scene with a sympathetic gaze, and finally Huan was able to get the bullet out. Placing it on a metal tray, he got to work disinfecting and wrapping the wound up.

With that taken care of, Edith turned to the trio, staring at Lee in particular as she asked him. "You were out cold for hours. You feeling alright?"

Nodding, he listened as she continued. "Good. I guess Christa already told you about this empty space at the top thing, and I agree with her. We should gather the survivors that made it through this mess, lay it out straight to them, and they can vote for who they want."

"We got enough people left for this?" Lee piped up, gesturing to the number of people injured and dead in the room. "That fighting before nearly decimated us all."

"Despite how this looks, many of the people in this community made it out with some scratches. I can come with you guys, Sam can take my place with helping the patients." Edith offered, smiling when Lee accepted it without a word. Quickly, they all walked over to the doors leading into the rest of the building, Lee opening the door and exiting the room, the others following after him.

Continuing to make their way to the open part of the ground floor, Lee glanced around, seeing people pulling bodies down the flight of stairs and from the stores, some of the victims likely scared people hiding from the gunfire. Both he and Sarah shared a saddened look, the young teen averting her gaze when she noticed someone kneeling beside a corpse. Quietly, Lee approached them, signalling for the rest of the group to go on without him. Doing so, Sarah spared one last glance at him, before she was guided away by Christa, the pregnant woman adopting a more calm look on her face, yet he could see that the fighting and death was getting to her as well. Softly, he encouraged her. "Go on, I'll only be a minute."

Both of them nodded, walking away whilst Lee turned around, staring down at the man, recognizing him to be Frank. With a shocked expression, he stared down at the corpse he was kneeling beside, the peaceful expression on their pale face making his gut twist painfully. Softly, he placed a hand on Frank, and muttered quietly. "Beth… Frank, what happened?"

"Carver happened. When everyone started shooting each other, Beth… she killed someone. Bludgeoned them with a nearby crowbar to protect me, and then she got shot down." He revealed, his hand placed in her cold hand, unable to pull himself away from her side. Lee's face fell into a somber expression as he watched Frank's hands shake, unable to see his face from standing behind him. His shoulders quaking with grief was all that he needed to know. "I know she'll go to the pyre. She was so young, Lee. So full of life. All she wanted to do was help people, and she was killed by the man she trusted to help this community."

"Carver got what was coming to him, Frank. Beth can rest in peace now." Lee sighed, staring down at her tranquil face, the blood from a bullet wound to her neck splattered onto her jawline and cheek. Feeling his hand being shrugged off, he glanced down at Frank, noticing how broken the man was after this loss. It vaguely reminded him of Kenny, back in the train when Duck was bit, how he had to talk his friend down whilst his wife was dealing with their son slipping away.

"She'll have to go on the pyre soon. It's better than throwing her body out for the walkers… give me some time, to say goodbye?" Frank asked, glancing up at Lee with tear filled eyes. Nodding, he walked away whilst the remaining farmer mourned his loss. Moving past the stairs, he found Sarah, Christa and Edith standing in the middle of the open space, the people remaining crowding around them.

Making his way to them, some of the survivors glanced back at him, moving out of the way for him to meet with his friends, nodding to him respectfully. He returned the gesture, shifting his eyes back on his group as they noticed him coming, Christa sharing a smile with him before she went on to address the crowd. "What's happened today, it's obviously hurt all of us. So many good people lost. This doesn't mean we can't think about our future here, though, we need a leader if we are to survive through this winter!"

"We had a leader, and look how well that helped us." One of the survivors pointed out, crossing his arms with a dejected expression on his face, it quickly turning to anger when he asked them. "What are you gonna do to make sure it doesn't happen again?"

"Back in Wellington, we have a system." Edith explained, addressing the people as they stared at her, some surprised with her words. "We have a leader, but also people that advise them. Sort of like a voice for the rest of the community. You're right, giving all the power to one person will just make another Carver, so you vote for one. The advisors they pick, they have to be approved by the people, makes sure there's no corruption going on."

The crowd nodded at that, people seemingly pleased with the idea as they mumbled in agreement with each other. Lee liked that plan, it made it easier, and so he asked the people around him. "Alright, so who's it gonna be? Who can we trust to make things right?"

"I say you, Lee." Alicia spoke up, moving past the barrier of other survivors as she appeared, Kate close to her legs. Lee stared at her, shock clear on his face whilst his group seemed more subdued with the suggestion. It wasn't just them, the others were loudly agreeing as she explained. "You're the one who showed us who Carver really was. People here trust you, you're a good man despite your losses. Ever since you've come here, we've seen how you deal with situations, with the weakest of our community. In my opinion, a good leader is one that helps the weakest, not throw them to the wolves like Carver did."

"I'm not a leader." Lee rejected, feeling overwhelmed with people electing him for the role. "I can't. People have died because of me, and not just here. Trust me, there are others who are more suitable to leadership than me."

"That's not what I saw with our group." Christa replied, turning to Lee with a sympathetic stare, knowing why he was so hesitant on taking the mantle. "Lee, remember back in Savannah, when the house we were hiding in got overrun? You were the one who took control. Despite Clementine being taken and the herd overwhelming Savannah, you were the one who guided us. What happened to Kenny, Ben and Clem wasn't your fault, don't run away from this. I know you can do good by these people."

"How can you be so sure in me?" he asked, shaking his head in rejection.

Christa's smile was soft, sincere, and her voice was filled with confidence as she replied. "Because you showed me I can."

"Christa's right, Lee. I know you can do this!" Sarah added, smiling brightly whilst Lee stared down at her. Seeing all the people believe in him filled Lee with confidence, something he hadn't felt in a long time, and knowing that he had a chance to improve people's lives, he nodded slowly, watching people's faces turn ecstatic at his acceptance on his new role.

"Alright, I'll do it." He smiled softly, looking around at all the faces staring at him. The people he met during his stay in Howe's were gazing at him, the friends he made, and seeing them look up to him, it made his self-esteem much better. Maybe he could do some good. With a joking tone, he laughed quietly as he asked them. "You all stand with me?"

"Until the end, man." Gabriel smiled, offering his hand in congratulations. Shaking it, Lee couldn't stop smiling as the larger man laughed loudly, bringing him in for a tight hug. Coughing for the force, Lee stumbled slightly when he was released, and the other people cheered loudly for the election of their new leader, Joel coming forward to shake Lee's hand. With a more resigned look, he accepted the gesture, feeling the hatred the guard had for him decay when he offered him a smirk.

"No hard feelings, yeah?" he asked, his smirk widening when Lee replied with a short nod, a smile on his face. With water under the bridge, he listened as Joel asked them. "Who's gonna be your advisors?"

"Three's a good number to have." Edith added, staring at Lee whilst he thought about it.

Rubbing his jawline, he glanced over at Alicia, the woman wondering why he was staring at her until he finally decided. "Alicia. I can't ignore you helping me throughout all of this. You were the one to go against Carver and get the people together in the first place. They trust you, and so do I."

"You want me? I-I ain't much of an advisor-type person." She stammered, her hand reaching up to brush a stray hair out from in front of her face. Kate glanced up at her, a youthful face curious about what was going on in her home, and she turned her gaze to Lee. Keeping the older man's gaze, she moved out from behind her mother's legs and, copying what she saw people do just before, held her pudgy hand out.

With an amused look, Lee kneeled to her eye-level, taking the small hand into his larger one and shook it gently, giving the young child a soft smile that she returned. Alicia watched this, her hand guiding the child as she moved back to her spot of safety behind her mother, staring up at her with bright brown eyes. Taking a deep breath, Alicia turned back to Lee, smiling softly as she accepted. "Alright, what's the worst that could happen?"

"If it's you helping then I'm happy. You haven't fucked us over yet, Alicia." Joel smiled, glancing back to Lee as the latter continued to think, offering some advice. "Alicia's good with the people. In my opinion, you need someone to look at security and someone for medical advice. I think Jack is a good choice for medicine."

"He is our only doctor, I'll give him a try." Lee agreed, frowning as he thought deeply. "I don't know who should be security."

"I can help with that." Christa offered, an amused look on her face as Lee stared at her in surprise. "You can think of anyone better?"

"Not really. I guess you do know what needs to be done to protect this community, but what about when the baby comes?" Lee asked, noting Christa's smirk disappearing at the thought of her baby, quickly adding to avoid upsetting his friend. "I just don't want to push you too much."

"Hey, we can cross that bridge when we get there. For now, you need me to help, and I don't wanna sit around and let everyone else do the work for me." She explained. Lee couldn't argue with that, and he wouldn't want to either way, rather addressing the crowd surrounding them once more, explaining their next plan of action.

"We gotta repair the damage done here today, and the people we lost deserve a proper funeral. Starting now, the Wall is no longer being used, and the walkers will be given the funeral Carver denied them." He instructed, crossing his arms as he recalled something important, glancing around the faces staring at him. "Where's Luke?"

"I left him tied up in the holding cells on the second floor." Joel explained, realising what Lee was planning as he added. "You wanna judge him?"

"We all have to decide what happens to him. Carver's death was unavoidable, but the community can still have their say with Luke." He pointed out, appearing in deep thoughts before he slowly addressed the crowd. "You shall decide his fate. The charges that face Luke are two cases of murder, one of which attempted, sabotage and betrayal. The punishment is yours to decide."

"I say we kill him and be done with it!" Ellie piped up, anger clearly shown on her face as the others appeared in shock at her bluntness. Lee glanced down at her, listening to her whilst she ranted. "He told Bill about the plan for our group to escape! My brother's blood is on his hands just as much as his father's!"

"We don't know what happened in Bill's office with Luke. He could have easily threatened his son with violence if he didn't give the plan away. God knows Bill's treated that boy like dirt." Gabriel rebutted, shaking his head with pity whilst Ellie glared at him, his voice loud as he continued. "We can't ignore the fact that he killed Carlos as well."

Sarah's face fell at the mention of her father's name, Edith holding the young teen close whilst Joel discussed with the others. "Revenge is an ugly thing. You gotta be careful not to go down that path too, Ellie. You forget Luke was in the same boat as you when he shot Carlos."

"I didn't betray my friends to get it! I don't care what any of you think, I deserve justice for Alex! I need it!" The last sentence was yelled with a more destroyed tone than the rest of her enraged shouts, Lee appearing solemn as her face cleared of any anger, instead clearly showing grief and heartache. People seemed to have agreed with her, but it became more split when Alicia suggested.

"Why don't we exile him?" Confused looks could be felt on her back, and she one of them being Lee. "Without Carver to protect him here, Luke's got no allies. He's no threat to the people. If he changes his leaves, finds another group and starts again, then we don't have more death. If he dies out there, then there's the justice that Ellie and others need."

"I hate to admit it, but both options are as good as each other." Edith admitted.

"We should exile him. We're just stooping to Luke and Carver's levels if we kill him for revenge. Trust me, Ellie, killing him won't bring your brother back! Just like it didn't bring George back for Luke!" Sarah begged, staring at Ellie whilst the older woman appeared conflicted, looking away in shame over her outburst.

"It doesn't have to be decided today. We should focus on repairing and saying farewell, and come back tomorrow with clear heads." Lee sighed, feeling the fatigue creeping back as he ordered the crowd. "Work together to fix the damage. Some of you should get the pyre ready for the funerals, and bring the walkers from the Wall back here. All the bodies of those who died here today should be taken outside to the site. We'll commence the ceremonies at 5 O'clock this afternoon."

Dispersing, the people of the damaged community went on with the jobs they were given, Joel leading a small group outside to kill the walkers left on the Wall. Out of the group, Lee noticed Nick walking up to them, a sorrowful look on his face as he thanked them. "Thanks, Lee. I know all this shit with Luke is hard, but… I don't want to know him anymore."

"It must be hard. I'm sorry, Nick." Lee apologized. Rubbing his upper arm, Nick glanced over at the flight of stairs, appearing unsure on what to do. Frowning slightly in sympathy, Lee knew that he must be thinking of seeing his former friends, giving him a few moments to compose himself.

"I gotta see him. One last time, before the community decides what to do with him tomorrow. I think I deserve some answers." He growled, frustration and betrayal obvious on his face. Lee nodded at that, offering the younger man a soft smile of empathy.

Suddenly, Sarah walked up to him, staring up at her old friend as she grabbed hold of his hand, her voice soft and kind as she offered. "I'll come with you. No one should be alone for this."

"Thanks, Sarah." Nick thanked, giving Lee one last glance before the two of them made their way to the flight of stairs, the new leader watching them disappear up the stairs. Standing there, he sighed sadly, wondering what tomorrow would bring for his group. Thinking of the people they lost on the way, he wondered how they would react to being in this situation with him. PEte would have been the rock that Nick needed, and a much needed voice of reason for LEe, possessing some wisdom that he could share with him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Edith walking closer to him, her voice professional and to the point as she explained. "We should discuss what happens now. Wellington still needs an ally."

"That we do." He agreed, walking with Edith and two of his new advisors by his side. Climbing up the stairs, he paused momentarily to watch the people below getting to work, some of the survivors brushing up the broken glass from the smashed shop windows, whilst others continued to drag bodies onto improvised stretchers, using them to carry the pile of deceased to the designated sight outside. Christa placed a hand on his shoulder, willing him to keep moving with a knowing look, and followed him when Lee finally pulled himself away from the scene.

None of them engaged in conversation, most likely wanting to get to the office to discuss their community's future and the supposed alliance with Wellington, Edith appearing worried about her own people. Remembering what she told him, Lee wasn't surprised, and found himself wanting to help her. It was a long way from how he was after Clementine, and he couldn't decide whether it was good to have hope again, or fear that the hope he was feeling would only hurt him further. Reaching the top of the stairs, the group quickly made their way over the main hall of the first floor, passing the useless fountain and benches. There was no one around, not even in the restaurant; all of them working hard downstairs to clean up the mess that Carver started.

Finally, they reached the door leading into Lee's new office, the door being opened and Lee entering first. Glancing over at the large desk near a window looking out onto the community, he made his way to it, ignoring the papers scattered over the heavy oak furniture whilst sneaking a peek at the commotion outside. Able to see the wall, he watched as Joel and the others dragged bodies in from the outside, spotting Jason's body being dragged in after his head was pierced, giving the poor man some peace. Turning away, he sat down at the desk, somewhat intimidated with the size and the authority it carried, before he started addressing the others. "I think we should start with this alliance with Wellington."

"That's what I was thinking." Edith agreed, moving to Lee side as she explained. "As soon as possible, we should start trading routes between our two communities. My people need food, and yours needs medicine."

"Carver kept a map around here to plot down places we haven't yet scavenged, lemme grab it." Alicia revealed, moving to one of the drawer whilst the others watched. Pulling out a large map from one of the drawers, she moved back to the desk, Lee putting the papers in neat piles while she laid the map across the desk. Glancing down at it, he noticed it was the map of the entire United States, watching as Edith pointed out the routes. "We can use these highways to transport supplies between Howe's and Wellington. It's quite a distance, around eight hours each way."

"We'd do well making sure the trucks are protected from raiders." Christa noted, leaning on the desk as she added. "Some people with weapons should give the bandits second thoughts."

"With the trade up, we'd be able to invite more people into the community. We need more helping hands to make sure this place is running smoothly." Alicia added, glancing outside at the working going on below. "We lost a lot of people to fighting. Maybe you can send some of your population down here?"

"We numbering in the hundreds, I'm sure we can spare some families." Edith agreed, watching as Lee marked down the routes in highlighters.

Staring at the coloured map, he tapped his finger against the desk, a smile on his face as he nodded. "I think we can do this. When will you be setting off, Edith?"

"Soon. I can't stay here any longer, my community needs the good news desperately." She explained, crossing her arms as she added. "Our car is pretty much fixed, but the snow's a real pain to drive through. Plus, we're outta gas."

"We can spare some. Howe's has scavenged enough to last us for a while." Lee offered, smiling up at Edith whilst continuing. "If your community is starving, we could give you some food and water to get the people through until the trading routes are up."

"That would help a lot. Thanks, Lee." Edith gasped, a grateful expression on her face as she glanced at the sky outside. Following her gaze, he noticed the storm had died down, a fresh layer of snow sitting on the tall pine trees, weighing the branches down. The sky cleared up, showing shades of blue through the grey clouds rolling by, the sun sitting high in the sky and lighting the surroundings up.

Slowly, he listened as she finally remarked. "We're gonna be losing daylight soon. I have to get my group ready, and we'll leave soon."

"I can drive you guys to where you left your car?" Alicia offered.

Turning to her, Edith nodded as she accepted the offer. "Thank you. That would help a lot."

"Sarah'll be on the second floor still, if you wanna tell her." Lee explained, noting Christa and Alicia's confused expression as he realised that they didn't know. With a grim face, his voice quieted whilst he revealed the truth to them. "Sarah wasn't planning on coming back to Howe's. She'll be going with Edith and her group back to Wellington, for a new life."

"Sarah…" Christa muttered, looking away from Lee as she leaned on the desk, instead staring at the door with a glum look. "I suppose it makes sense. Poor girl's lost a lot here, bad memories and all that."

"She's a good kid. You'll look after her, yeah?" Alicia asked Edith, staring at the latter with a pleading look, upset to see Sarah leave Howe's. Edith nodded at that, giving the woman some peace of mind that there would be someone to keep the young teen safe, but it didn't stop Lee's heart from aching. Quietly, he heard the door opening, noticing it out of the corner of his eye, and glanced up at it with the rest of the adults in the room.

Confused, his smile returned when it was revealed to be Sarah, the young girl peeking her head from behind the wooden door shyly, wondering what was going on in the room. Edith approached her, happy to see her whilst Sarah entered the room fully, letting the door close fully behind her. Staring up at the grown woman, she listened as Edith began to explain to her, trying to not let the sadness become evident in her voice. "You should pack your things, sweetie. We're leaving soon for Wellington."

"About Wellington." Sarah started, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves whilst Lee watched her, confused about her behaviour as she revealed. "I've decided that… I want to stay here. In Howe's."

Surprised by the change of heart, Lee slowly stood up from his desk, walking over to Sarah as he asked her. "What changed your mind?"

"...You're really helping these people, unlike Carver, and I saw how you were after all the fighting. I know you can do some good. You saved me, and you never gave up on finding me. I don't want to give up on you or my friends, especially Nick. Right now, he needs me just as much as I needed him." She pointed out, keeping her gaze with Lee as she finished. "I don't want to abandon my friends. Not now."

"You're a good kid, Sarah. I don't think you will, but if you do change your mind, Wellington will always accept you." Edith offered. Sarah smiled brightly at her words, and nodded in response, watching as the older woman turned to Lee, Alicia walking past them and waiting by the door. "Take care of yourself, Lee."

"You too, Edith." With that, both she and Alicia left the room, leaving Lee, Sarah and Christa behind. Looking back down at the young teen in front of him, he raised an eyebrow as he noticed something different about her appearance, pointing it out softly. "You cut your hair."

"Oh! Y-Yeah, I decided it's easier than just keeping it in the bun." She sheepishly replied, playing with a strand of her black hair. Rather than it reaching past her shoulders, Sarah cut the bun straight off, leaving the hair to splay out in random directions at the nape of her neck, making it more difficult for anyone to get a grip on it. The bangs she had in front of her eyes were gone, rather brushed further behind her ears, some pesky hairs stubbornly sitting on her forehead. Quickly, she dug through the pockets of her jacket, pulling out the hair band that Lee was given back in the cabin, her voice soft as she spoke up. "I don't need this anymore."

"I think you suit this. It's cute." Lee tried to comfort, noticing it not working as Sarah just nodded, rather standing there as he added. "I have to get some work done. Why don't you go with Christa and help out? It'd be a big help."

"Sure thing." She nodded, glancing up at Christa when someone else poked from behind the door, Lee noticing it as Omid.

With a smirk on his face, he turned to Christa as he revealed what was making him so giddy. "You wouldn't guess what Laurel and I found in storage?"

"Knowing you, something inappropriate." Christa shot back, an amused smile on her face as her boyfriend chuckled at that, shaking his head as he fully entered the office, keeping the door open with his foot.

"Nope. Baby clothes! I wanted to find you to show you some of them." He offered, looking down at Sarah as he added. "You can come too. Just make sure to take my side when Christa says no to all of them."

"Alright, alright. Let's go, Sarah." Christa sighed, the smile still on her face as she left the room with Sarah beside her, Omid letting them go through before giving Lee a raised eyebrow.

"So, you're going on up in the world, huh?" he joked, his smile widening when Lee returned an exasperated sigh in response. "Just don't get too big a head. You gotta remember the little people too."

"Will do. I'd get going, before Christa and Sarah ambush you with their choices in baby clothes." Lee brushed off, gesturing for Omid to leave the office as he returned to the desk, staring down at the map laid over his desk, listening as his friend piped up.

"Oh, Ellie's waiting outside. Something she wants to talk to you about." He revealed, letting the younger woman passed as he gestured a farewell, closing the door behind him and leaving Lee and Ellie alone in the room. It was silent. Finally, he glanced up from the map, his hands propped on the desk to keep him up whilst he leaned over it, watching her as she moved closer, a worried expression on her face without saying anything to the new leader.

After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke up, her voice quiet and reserved. "You've been working hard, I see?"

"Just setting up trading routes with Edith. She's going back to Wellington soon to bring the news to her leaders. Hopefully, we can get supplies moving to make it through the winter." He explained, looking back down at the map as he added in a concerned tone. "Is there something you need, Ellie?"

"Well, not need really…" she trailed off, sighing to herself as she bit the bullet, coming out slowly. "I'm leaving."

That shocked him. Moving his gaze from his map once more, he stared at Ellie with a confused expression, his voice calm yet sorrowful as he asked her. "What? How come?"

"It's not just me. Walter was thinking of leaving too, going off to find Matthew. I was planning on going with him." She explained, crossing her arms as she interrupted Lee before he could reply. "I know, this place is safe now that Carver's out of the picture, but… I just can't stay in the same place where my brother died. Walter feels the same, he doesn't enjoy the fact that so many people have died for change to happen, but that doesn't mean we don't believe in you."

"I'm not judging, Ellie. I understand where you're coming from, but it's safer here. We can help Walter find Matthew with our scouts." Lee offered, noting how Ellie's expression fell at his kind words.

"You have plenty of shit to deal with, we don't wanna add finding Matthew to that. It's not all bad. I get on pretty well with the big guy, and my family may be gone but I still have friends in other communities. I might try my hand at Prescott after we find Matthew." She shrugged, a sad smile on her face when Lee frowned deeply at that, her voice soft as she consoled him. "Hey, this ain't goodbye. I'm sure we'll run into each other again someday. You are a man who people can't help but run into, Lee."

"You can say that again." He joked, both of them sharing a short laugh before he offered. "Take some supplies. They'll give you a chance until you reach this Prescott."

"Thanks. We're planning on leaving tomorrow, after the whole shit with Luke is sorted. The Ellie you saw before… that wasn't the real her. I don't want you remembering me like that." She sighed, turning around with her back facing Lee.

Staring at her with a sympathetic gaze, his voice was gentle as he called out. "I don't think of you like that. You're just a young woman who's lost everything. I hope you can find a new life out there."

"Me too. Goodbye, and good luck." With that, she left the office, allowing the door to shut softly behind her. Left on his own, Lee sat down in his office chair, staring around his office in a reserved manner. Outside, his community were working towards a better future for them all, and with the trade routes set up with Wellington, he wondered if he should start looking for other communities to work with. Maybe that Prescott that Ellie was planning on going. Until then, he returned to looking at the papers that he stacked neatly to the sit, noticing that they were the reports from Jack, Frank and Laurel.

Rubbing his temple, he leaned back in his chair with papers in hand, and started looking over the mess that Carver had left the community in, determined to set things right and make up for his past mistakes with his previous group.

#twdg #twdg lee #twdg sarah #twdg christa #twdg omid #twdg nick #twdg edith

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