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the-delta-42 · 2 months ago

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The Walking Dead Game What Ifs: What if the Motel group went to Ericson?

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Carry On

What if the Motel group went to Ericson? Prompt Submitted by Cred1988 on FF .net

Requests On Hold

Lee sighed, looking around. The Motel was not what they’d hoped it was. The rooms were all locked, and the alarms still worked, they had little to no food and there was nothing to hunt. It’d been three months and Lilly and Kenny were starting to agree with each other.

“The RV’s almost ready to go.” Said Carley, getting Lee’s attention, “Lilly’s got what little we have packed into it with Katjaa and the kids.”

“I’m just glad that gas station still had some gas in it.” Murmured Lee, looking over at Clementine, “Do you think Savannah’s got more supplies?”

“I hope so.” Said Carley, “We’re going to have some more mouths to feed when we get there.”

Lee frowned, confused, as Carley walked off.

“What are you hiding?” Demanded Larry, making Lee look at him.

“What?” Lee’s confusion turned to irritation.

“You’re hiding something about Savannah.” Glared Larry, “What is it?”

“Nothing.” Said Lee, walking away, with Larry following after him.

“Don’t bullshit me, Lee,” Snarled Larry, “for all we know, you could be planning to kill us!”

Larry had gotten the attention of Lilly, Kenny, Mark and Carley. Lee sighed, before looking around and saw the others, “Alright, since we’re going to be spending who knows how long driving, I was convicted of murder and was on my way to prison when everything went to shit.”

“What?!” Demanded Kenny, quickly making his way over to Lee, with the others joining him, “Why didn’t you say anything?!”

Lee gave Kenny a flat look, “I was a bit preoccupied with the dead walking around, Kenny.”

Kenny scowled, before sighing, “Alright, fair enough.”

“Is that it?” Asked Lilly, frowning, “Dad, I don’t see what that has to do with Savannah.”

“Clem’s parents are down there.” Said Lee, before running a hand down his face, “I heard a voice message left by her mom. Her dad got bit by a guy down there and, since she was close by, she’s probably dead too.”

Everyone stared at Lee, as the man sighed.

“Does… does Clementine know?” Asked Carley, after a moment.

“No.” Lee shook his head, “I haven’t told her. I mean, how do you tell a kid that her parents are dead?”

“Wait, so you could kill a guy without a problem,” Lilly pinched the bridge of her nose, “but you can’t tell a child that her parents are dead.”

“It’s not that easy.” Defended Lee, “I mean, if you’re volunteering...”

“How hard could it be.” Scoffed Lilly, walking over towards the RV, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Lilly went into the RV, only to rush out a few minutes later, “I take it back, it’s impossible.”

Lee sighed through his nose, he, Carley, Kenny and Lilly were in downtown Macon scavenging everything they could for their journey. Lee, Kenny and Mark had tried hunting in the woods and came back with a kid, Ben, and his teacher, Mr. Parker. Lee had to cut Mr. Parker out of a modified bear trap. Parker died and, subsequently, turned, leading to Ben telling them that the bite didn’t turn people, everyone turned anyway.

They’d left Ben with Katjaa and the kids, with Mark and Larry watching them until they got back. So far, they’d cleaned out the Pharmacy, some hardware stores and a gun store. They’d been lucky, they’d found some canned and some long-life food.

“I think this should do.” Said Lilly, getting Lee’s attention, “Hopefully, we can get some more supplies when we get to Savannah.”

Lee hummed, looking around at Macon, before sighing, “Let’s go, then.”

The journey to Savannah was mostly quiet, Lilly was driving the RV, especially since they ran into a roadblock in the form of a train. Lee, Kenny, Mark, Lilly and Carley scouted it out, with Carley finding an old vagrant called Chuck and Lee and Kenny finding out that the train still worked.

“All our supplies are in the RV,” Argued Lilly, “and what do you suppose we do when we reach Savannah?”

“We carry it until we find a boat.” Insisted Kenny, “Lee, back me up on this.”

“Lee, it’ll only make things difficult.” Stated Lilly, as the other watched Lee.

“There’s enough gas for the RV to get to Savannah,” Said Lee, getting a smile from Lilly, “Some of us can ride ahead in the train and the others can meet us there. We’ll scout Savannah, if we find a boat, we can take it, but if we come up short, we’ll get out of there when the others arrive.”

“How’s that going to help?” Demanded Lilly, giving Lee a glare.

“It’ll save all of us time, if some of us go ahead, we can search while we wait for the others to join us.” Said Lee, “We just need to decide who’ll go with who.”

“Clem’ll want to go with the train, to look for her parents.” Said Carley, “I’ll go with her, watch your backs for you.”

“Duck and Katjaa are coming with me.” Said Kenny, getting a frown from Lilly.

“Katjaa’s the closest thing we have to a doctor, Dad might need her help.” Protested Lilly, looking around.

Lee sighed and looked around, “Okay, Carley, Clem and Me will go with the train, Kenny?”

“I’ll take the train.” Grunted Kenny, “Duck and Katjaa are coming with me.”

“Actually,” Katjaa interrupted them, “I’ll stay with the RV, if Larry has an episode, I want to be on hand to help.”

“Can I go on the train?!” Burst Duck, looking up at them. Katjaa gave him a nod and Duck grinned.

“I’ll stick with Lilly and the RV,” Said Mark, “keep an eye on the supplies, make sure nothing goes bad.”

“Having Ben with us might help with some things.” Said Lilly, as Lee, looked over towards Chuck.

“We’re gonna have to ask him if we can borrow his home.” Said Lee, turning to approach Chuck.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Scoffed Larry, “What’s he gonna do to stop us?”

“Have you ever seen a homeless guy while they’re high?” Asked Lee, looking at Larry.

Larry frowned, taken aback, “No.”

“Me neither,” Said Lee, “but hopefully, he isn’t.”

Half-an-hour later, the group split in two, with Lilly’s half going in the RV, while Lee’s half going in the train with Chuck.

“Where should we meet up?” Asked Lilly, leaning out of the RV’s driver’s side window, “When we get to Savannah.”

“My parents are at a hotel in Savannah,” Said Clementine, “It begins with an M.”

“There’s a hotel Clementine’s parents are staying at,” Said Lee, after a moment, “She said it began with an ‘M’.”

Lilly frowned, before Larry nudged her, “He’s talkin’ about the Marsh House.”

Lilly nodded, “Okay, we’ll see you at the Marsh House.”

Lee watched as Lilly drove off with Katjaa, Ben, Mark and Larry, before he looked at Carley, “Still up to teaching them how to shoot?”

Lee and Carley taught Duck and Clementine how to use a gun, with Chuck supplying them with some empty bottles for the kids to practice on. Then they ran into another road block, this time in the shape of a tanker trailer hanging down from a bridge.

They met Omid and Christa and Lee and Carley took the kids on their first supply run, which ended about as well as they expected. The kids froze up and Lee and Carley had to deal with the Walkers, one of them almost getting Clementine after it grabbed her hair. But they got the blowtorch they needed to cut the tanker free. After briefly explaining what happened to Christa, Carley took up a watch post on top of the train, while Lee and Omid cleared the way, they had to jump off the bridge and onto the moving train when a horde of Walkers came up to them, with Omid injuring his leg when he landed.

Lee and Carley helped Omid and Christa into the train car, as they left the Walkers behind them. After a bit, Lee cut Clementine’s hair and took her and Duck up to the cab where Kenny could keep an eye on them.

Lilly yawned as Mark took over driving, while Katjaa quietly taught Ben some first aid, in case anything happened to her. Larry was up front with Mark, keeping an eye out for any blocks in the road.

Twisting herself into a comfortable position, Lilly allowed herself to fall asleep.

Lee carefully led the others through the Savannah streets, fortunately for them, the way was sign posted. They heard some bells tolling in the distance, just as they reached the hotel. Clementine froze when she saw her parents, prompting Carley to usher her into the hotel, as Chuck barricaded the doors with a shovel.

After catching their breath, the adults worked on checking for Walkers, telling Clementine and Duck to stay in the lobby. After clearing out some of the Walkers, Lee sent Omid to stay with the kids, before they started clearing the upper floors. It took them a long time, with Lee discovering that the Walkers couldn’t ‘see’ them if they were covering in Walker guts.

The hotel had a good supply of food and water. They cleaned themselves up and settled down for the night.

“How do you think Clem’s taking her parents deaths?” Asked Carley, as Lee sat on a couch next to her.

“She’s upset.” Said Lee, “But, she’s coping with it. Kenny and me are going to go down to the water front tomorrow, he wanted to go now, but I think I managed to convince him to wait. Not much we can do while exhausted.”

Carley sighed through her nose and nervously swallowed. She was never good at this sort of thing, but she’d ordered herself to go through with it.

“Lee?” Carley, tried to steel her nerves. The man looked over at her and Carley, taking her opportunity, quickly kissed the man. Lee stiffened a bit, before returning the kiss.

“Nelly the Elephant packed her trunk and said goodbye to the Circus,” Muttered Katjaa, in time with the chest compressions she was performing on Larry, “and off she went with a trumpety trump—”

Meanwhile, Lilly was desperately trying to get a nitro-glycerine pill down his throat, while Mark was up front with Ben, trying to lose some crazy guy who was trying to get them and their supplies. Larry twitched, before a breath rattled out of him. Lilly smiled and sat back, before Larry lurched forwards and bit into Katjaa’s neck. Katjaa held her hand against her bleeding neck wound, blood spilling over her hands and onto the floor of the RV. The Walker turned its attention to Lilly, before lunging for her, making the woman scrambled back, as Katjaa passed out and died from blood loss. Hold her handgun up, Lilly froze, as Larry started to get up and advance on her. Swallowing, Lilly pulled the trigger, Larry’s head snapping back, while Mark ordered Ben to put Katjaa down. Hearing the guy still chasing them, Lilly face became hard, before she opened the roof hatch poked her head out and started shooting at the truck chasing them, hitting the driver of the truck in the centre of his forehead.

The truck swerved and crashed off the road, making Lilly return to the inside of the RV. Glancing at the supplies they’d found, Lilly looked at the two dead bodies on the floor.

“Pull over.” Said Lilly, getting Mark and Ben’s attention.

“What?” Asked Mark, quickly glancing at Lilly and then back at the road.

“Pull over.” Ordered Lilly, “We need to move their bodies.”

“I’ll do it when we’re off the freeway.” Said Mark, just as he spotted the exit for Savannah, “There’re some trees up ahead, I’ll stop there.”

Lilly rolled her eyes, before the RV came to a stop. Grabbing a shovel, Lilly took Ben and went to dig graves for Larry and Katjaa.

Lee quietly grumbled, in the morning he’d woken up in bed with Carley, the events of the previous night still fresh in their minds. He’d gone down to the water front with the hopes of finding a boat, they found that all the boats were either wrecked or cannibalised. While they were discussing their prospects, they got into a fight with another survivor, which was defused by Clementine appearing. The survivor, a young woman who gave her name as Molly, explained things that’d happened, how she moved the Walkers around using the bells all across the city, as well as a group call Crawford.

Their discussion was interrupted by the Walkers Molly’d lured away returning to them. Kenny, Molly and Clementine managed to escape to higher ground, while Lee was forced to escape into the sewers, where he met Vernon and his group. Things had been initially tense, but Lee managed to calm them down, with Vernon volunteering to escort Lee back to his group. On the way back to the hotel, Lee asked about Crawford, getting a brief explanation about them from Vernon.

They got to the hotel and Lee found Carley and Clementine waiting for him, and Kenny lounging around drunk, then everyone sat down and started discussing their options.

“Omid’s getting worse,” Said Christa, “we need medicine.”

“And a doctor.” Said Carley, looking at Christa, “We can’t give him anything, we might give him something that’ll kill him.”

“We also need bullets.” Said Kenny, having sobered up, “We ain’t got a lot of them.”

“And this Crawford place has both.” Continued Christa, “They might even have food or warm clothes.”

Lee frowned, before looking around, “Okay, we’ll go and get the medicine.”

Carley looked around, before clearing her throat, “Lee, you got a minute?”

Lee looked at the rest of the group, before following Carley out of the room, “What’s the matter?”

“Two things,” Started Carley, “one, Christa’s pregnant, I heard her and Omid talking about it, and two, we’re gonna have a capacity problem when the others arrive, I mean, the RV was packed as it was with all of us in it, but now, we’d be lucky if we had standing room.”

“I’ve got another RV that I’ve been working on.” Said Molly, making the pair jump, “It needs a battery and some gas, but other than that, it’s ready to go.”

“And the parts are in Crawford.” Stated Lee, frowning, “I’ll go speak with the others.”

Some of them went to Crawford, leaving Carley and Chuck to watch of the kids and Omid while they were gone. Clementine tried to sneak out, by Carley caught her before she could follow them. Looking out the window, Carley saw the RV pull up in front of the Hotel and Mark get out, followed by Ben and Lilly.

“Hello?” Called Mark, as they entered the hotel. Lilly looked around, spotting a pile of dead Walkers.

“Lee?” Lilly called, just as a door to a stairwell opened, admitting Carley, “Carley, where are the others?”

“Getting supplies, and some stuff to fix up another RV.” Said Carley, sighing, “We ran into a couple on the road, Omid and Christa. Omid’s upstairs with a bad leg, Chuck’s watching him.”

Lilly scowled, “What about the other RV?”

“Another survivor’s been fixing one up, Lee stumbled across a doctor, so Katjaa can relax a bit and Larry can finally get his second opinion.” Shrugged Carley, “Are they still in the RV?”

Mark coughed, “Erm… no… Larry died on the way down and he…”

Carley sighed, running a hand down her face, “Shit.”

The others got back, with the new arrivals meeting the Savannah survivors, and the other half of the group being appraised of their losses.

“Vernon could be an asset to the group.” Murmured Lee, glancing over at Kenny, “It might be a bit difficult to get Kenny to do anything right now.”

“But Vernon’ll want to bring the rest of his group.” Argued Lilly, “We don’t have the space.”

“We will once Molly’s got her RV working.” Said Lee, “Who knows, maybe the rest of Vernon’s group might be able to help with things, we might get a mechanic or a survival expert.”

Lilly sighed, glancing at the supplies being removed from the hotel, “What about Clem’s parents?”

“Dead.” Said Lee, quietly, “She and Duck’ve been taught how to use a gun…but I think she and Duck are probably going to be relying on each other for a bit.”

Lilly sighed again, “Alright, I’ll help with moving the supplies until they get here. Having an actual doctor would be beneficial. It’s your call.”

Lee silently watched after Lilly, he could tell that she wasn’t coping with her Dad’s death well, like Kenny wasn’t taking Katjaa’s death well. Carley was watching the kids with Christa, while Vernon worked on Omid’s leg. Molly had gone off with Mark to fix her RV and to take Brie back to the rest of her group, while they all decided what they were going to do.

“Mark and Molly are back.” Called Carley, spotting a large RV, “We’ll start packing.”

Lee waved his hand at them, before going up to Vernon, “Got any plans for here?”

Vernon stopped and sighed, “Seeing those Walkers coming in from the railroad wasn’t good, but we haven’t got a way out of here.”

“Molly’s got another RV,” Said Lee, “if you want, you can come with us.”

“And my people?” Questioned Vernon, expecting Lee to retract the offer.

“They’re welcome to come too.” Responded Lee, “Who knows what skills they have.”

“I’ll… talk it through with the others.” Said Vernon, after a moment, “See if they’re willing to leave.”

Lee nodded, “We’ll stay here until we get an answer.”

Lee sighed, running his hand down his face, Vernon and his group had jumped at the chance to come with them, the group had divided between the two RVs, with Lee, and most of the original group and Chuck staying with their original RV and Molly taking Christa, Omid and Vernon’s group in hers.

“Penny?” Murmured Carley, getting Lee’s attention.

“Just thinking about our next move.” Said Lee, as he felt Clementine curl up against his side.

“We’ve got a fair number of supplies.” Said Carley, “I think you can relax for a little bit.”

Lee hummed, wrapping an arm around the woman and pulling her close, “Seems good.”

“You taking Clementine’s suggestion seriously?” Asked Lilly, getting Lee’s attention, “Seems like a longshot.”

It’d been about two years since they left Savannah, they found a girl, Michelle, at an abandoned gas station, Omid and Christa had their baby, Kenlee, Kenny had found three other survivors, Walter, Matthew and Sarita, as well as a working truck. Joyce had passed in her sleep, after her cancer came back, and bit Clive. Duck and Clementine had vanished for a couple of days, before coming back with a dog, Sam.

Mark, Carley, Ben and Molly were currently on watch, in case any hostile groups or Walkers tried to creep up on them. Matthew, Christa and Omid were out hunting, while Vernon, Chuck and Sarita checked their medicine supply, Brie was watching the kids and Walter was cooking over a campfire he’d built, with Sam lying next to him, begging for food. Clementine had stumbled across a pamphlet for a place call Ericson’s, during a supply run, and presenting it to Lee in the hopes it would be useful.

“A boarding school for troubled kids?” Snorted Kenny, “It’s practically a prison, the place’ll be a fucking fortress.”

“And there’ll be more things to hunt.” Murmured Lee, before frowning.

“What is it?” Asked Lilly, catching Lee’s frown.

“Clem told me she had a brother.” Said Lee, after a moment, “Said he vanished shortly before everything went to shit.”

“And she wants to find him.” Finished Kenny, frowning as well.

“If we can.” Muttered Lee, before sighing, “I’m going to check on the kids.”

Lee had, unintentionally, become the go-to leader of the group/small community, so he made most of the decisions. He’d gotten a few steps towards where Brie was with the kids, when their hunting party turned up, with seven people following them.

“Oh,” Muttered Lee, as Lilly and Kenny joined him, “great.”

“What the hell were you guys thinking?” Demanded Lilly, as Lee frowned at the new arrivals, “They’ve got someone after them and you thought it’d be a good idea to bring them to the rest of us?”

“They needed help.” Said Omid, “Besides, we’ve helped people before.”

“People who’ve proven they can benefit the group.” Scoffed Lilly, as a man in a plaid shirt started to get up.

“I know you don’t want to let us into a group you’re leading—”

“He’s,” Lilly pointed at Lee, “leading the group.”

“Then why are—” A guy with a truckers hat started talking, only for Lee to talk over him.

“Everyone, start packing up.” Ordered Lee, “We’re gonna want to be out of here before whoever’s chasing them turns up.”

“What about us?” Asked a man with a southern accent.

Lee sighed, before looking at Lilly and Christa, “Keep an eye on them, in case they try anything.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Demanded the man in the truckers hat.

“It means,” Lilly’s face was sour, “you’re coming with us.”

“Okay,” Kenny, started loading things into the flatbed of his truck, “Where’re we meetin’?”

“Head for West Virginia.” Said Lee, “We might not like it, but that school might be our safest option.”

The group travelled for a few days, with their new group members giving their names. The southern accented one’s name was Luke, while the one in the trucker’s hat gave his name as Nick. Alvin and Rebecca were a married couple with a baby on the way, there was an older man who was Nick’s Uncle, Pete, and the man in the plaid shirt, as the teenage girl with him, were Carlos and Sarah, father and daughter.

Carlos was a doctor but was unreasonably hostile towards Duck and Clementine trying to teach Sarah how to use a gun.

“She doesn’t need to know how to use one of those.” Snarled Carlos, as Clementine glared up at him.

“If you’re gonna stick around, she needs to know.” Retorted Clementine, stubbornly, “Otherwise she’ll be a detriment to the group.”

Carlos glared at her, before looking at Lilly.

“I’m on Clementine’s side with this.” Said Lilly, as soon as she noticed that Carlos was looking at her expectantly, “Clementine and Duck were younger than she is when they were first taught, and they’ve survived because of it.”

“As long as I’m around—” Carlos was cut off.

“So, you want her to die if you’re not around.” Scoffed Lilly, glaring at Carlos, “We’ve got three doctors, you’re not irreplaceable.”

Carlos looked like he’d been slapped, before the RV suddenly swerved, sending them rocking.

“What the hell?!” Lilly staggered up to the front, “Mark, what the hell was that?!”

“Station Wagon.” Answered Mark, “Think it could be the group Clem accidentally contacted?”

Lilly remembered Lee stumbled across a boy called Adam in her radio, the girl had assumed that she’d just gone mad and thought the voice was in her head. They travelled around in a station wagon, surviving off of scraps, Lee made a deal to trade some supplies with them for gas.

“Hold on.” Muttered Lilly, as she stuck her head out the window and looked towards the lead RV, seeing Lee give a thumbs up, “Yeah, it’s them.”

“They must have found some gas.” Said Mark, as Lilly pulled the window shut.

“Looks like West Virginia might actually be possible.” Said Lilly, going back over to the kids and Carlos, getting ready to resume their argument.

Lee frowned, they’d managed to find the school, but it looked inhabited.

“So, how’re we gonna do this?” Asked Carley, getting Lee’s attention.

Lee let out a sigh, before glancing back, “Clem and I’ll go introduce ourselves, try and get a feel for them.”

“Seems risky.” Remarked Carley, “Think we’ll—”

An arrow narrowly missed Carley’s head and embedded itself in a tree next to her.

“What the fuck?!” Lilly drew her gun, just as Clementine and Duck bolted over to a bush. A few seconds later, Clementine tumbled out of the bush, pulling a boy with a rat’s nest of a mullet out with her and Duck was on his back as a girl with red hair straddled his chest.

Lee quickly crossed the distance, just as Clementine buried her teeth into the boy’s arm and grabbed the two new arrivals.

“HELP!” Screamed the girl, “GUYS! HELP!”

A moment later, a dark-skinned woman was rushing out of the gate, stopping when she saw Lee holding the two children.

“What do you want?” Demanded the woman, glaring at them.

“We were going to introduce ourselves,” Said Lee, “until one of these two shot at us.”

“They’re raiders.” Protested the blond boy.

Lee paused, before looking at the boy, “Why the fuck would you think we’re raiders?”

“Why else would you be out here?” Said the girl, as some more kids joined the woman.

“Uh, because we’re trying to find somewhere safe to settle down and we might have a dick chasing us?” Snarked Clementine, “What raiders have kids with them?”

There was an uneasy silence, before a gunshot rang out, and Nick started rushing over to something.

“Goddamn it, Nick.” Cursed Luke, as the other man stopped.

“Deer.” Grunted Nick, hefting it up, “Maybe everyone can have a decent meal for once.”

“It’s in our safe zone.” Snapped a blonde girl.

“And it was shot by our group.” Retorted Duck, holding his wrist, before he jerked his arm with a loud crack, “Hey, I didn’t fuck up.”

The woman looked around them, before spotting Rebecca, and sighing, “You’re not raiders.”

“No.” Growled Lilly, “We’re not.”

“We’ve got medicine and some food stores.” Said Carley, after a moment, “As well as a couple of doctors and hunters.”

The woman chewed the inside of her cheek, before glancing around, “How many of you are there?”

“Twenty-nine.” Said Carley, after a moment, “Soon to be thirty.”

“We don’t have the space.” Said the blonde girl defiantly, “Go away.”

“We’re out of food and medicine, Violet,” Reprimanded the woman, “and we do have the space.”

“So, what’s wrong with it?” Asked Kenny, glaring at them.

“It’s… infested.” Said the woman, “We don’t exactly have the tools to… clear them out.”

“How many are there?” Asked Lilly, after a moment.

“It’s mostly what other faculty remained behind and… some students.” Said the woman, as Lee frowned, “Most of the teachers and staff just left.”

Lee glanced at the rest of their group, before his eyes settled on Rebecca, who was breathing heavily, “Oh, great.”

Vernon frowned, before following Lee’s gaze and sighing, “Alright, Sarita, get her in the RV, someone keep an eye out for Walkers.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Asked the red head in Lee’s grip.

“She’s giving birth.” Said Lee, before looking down at them and letting them go.

The woman seemed to have come to a decision, “If you’re willing to clear the infestation out, you can stay.”

“Why can’t we help?” Demanded Clementine, looking up at Lee, “Ben can’t shoot straight, and he gets to help!”

“Because your arm’s still healing.” Said Lee, giving Clementine a flat look.

Clementine glanced down at her bandaged left arm, they’d come across a starved dog the week before, and Clementine had decided to feed it and got her arm mauled in return. Carlos tried to say it was a Walker bite, but got punched by Molly for it.

“And, I need you and Duck to watch the kids and Sarah.” Finished Lee, “Keep them safe while we work.”

Clementine scowled but nodded, going over to Duck and the other kids, leaving Lee to join the others.

“Ready?” Asked Mark, getting a nod from Lee, “Let’s go.”

Chuck, Boyd and Brie were dead, Chuck used his last three bullets on himself and the other two, Tess, one of the station wagon family, watched Rebecca and her baby and worked with the Vernon, after Lee got bit on his wrist, losing his left forearm. But they managed to clear the Walkers out. Kenny, Lilly and Christa were searching the cleared building floor by floor, removing anything that could pose as a danger to the larger group.

Carley sighed, walking over to the doctors, with Chuck dead and Sarita checking on the other injured, Vernon and, now, Tessa were now their primary doctors. The woman in charge of the school, Clarissa Martin, was its nurse. She managed to integrate their group with her students, one boy, Jesse, was adamant that they shouldn’t be let in, even going as far as to try and set a dog they had on them.

“C’mon.” Carley heard a boy, Louis, dragging Jesse over to the group, “They’re great.”

“Bullshit.” Scowled Jesse, as Carley looked over at them.

“What the fuck?” The words left Carley’s mouth before she could stop them. Jesse glared at her, while Duck looked at them.

“Clem, why does he look like you?” Asked Duck, making Clementine sit up and look over at him.

“I don’t look like a guy, fuck-head.” Scoffed Clementine, as Jesse looked at her and froze.

“…Clemmy?” Jesse’s voice was hesitant, getting Clementine’s attention.

“What?” Clementine looked at him and Louis, before freezing.

Carley silently watched the children, Jess was Sarah’s age, and one of the oldest survivors in the school, and he bore an uncanny resemblance to Clementine. The girl suddenly scrambled to her feet and bolted towards Jesse, barrelling into the boy, speaking so fast that it sounded like a foreign language.

Carley let out a sigh, before looking towards the gates, Mark and Omid were securing the gates with the truck and station wagon. The RVs were being kept near the dorms, becoming a triage area for the group. Looking towards the RVs, Carley saw Lee slowly sitting up. He was pale and looked to be in a large amount of pain.

“Is he still alive?” Pete appearing next to her made Carley Jump.

“I think so.” Answered Carley, as Lee staggered to his feet and stumbled over to Clementine, “Lee?”

“Ugh.” Responded the man, slowly looking over at Carley.

“You okay?”

“Clem’s too young for a boyfriend.” Grumbled Lee, looking down, “Where’s my hand?”

“You go bit, Lee.” Reminded Carley, “Remember?”

Clementine detangled herself from Jesse, before pulling her brother over to Lee.

“This is going to go well.” Muttered Pete, as Lee winced down at Jesse.

“How long’s it been?” Asked Luke, watching as the community talked amongst themselves, Lee and Carley were with Jesse and Clementine, Kenny had taken an interest in a boy, Willy, while Lilly and Mark spent some time with a pair of twins, Minerva and Sophie, and their younger brother, Tenn.

“A couple of months.” Answered Molly, going through a bag, “Matthew should be back by now.”

“He and Mitch are probably—” Luke was cut off by a gunshot.

In a flash, the adults were gathering the kids up and ferrying them towards the dorms, while Lee, Kenny and Lilly rushed over to the gate.

“Who the hell are you?” Demanded Lilly, pointing her gun at them.

A group of eleven people standing on the other side of the gate.

“Oh, thank god.” Gasped a red haired woman with a southern accent, “We thought we were too late.”

“Who are you?” Growled Lee, his voice full of authority, as Luke and Pete joined them.

“Bonnie?” Asked Luke, looking over the group, “What’re you doing here?”

“You know these guys?” Demanded Kenny, glaring at Luke.

“They’re with Carver.” Said Pete, “How’d you find us?”

“Bill caught some of your people.” Said an Asian man, “He… got it out of them.”

Lee looked them over, “Hand over your guns.”

“We need them.” Argued a girl roughly the same age as Duck, glaring at Lee.

“Done.” Said the Asian man, “I’m Vince, that’s Becca,” He pointed at the girl, “her sister, Shel,” A brunette, “Bonnie,” the red haired woman, “Russell,” a black teen, “Wyatt,” a man with a thick beard and glasses, “Mike,” a man with a mangled ear, “Jane,” a woman covered in dirt, “Randy,” a man with glasses, “his wife, Patricia,” another brunette with shorter hair, “and their son, Gill.” A black boy.

Lee frowned, before stepping to the side and jerking his head, as the others made sure to surround the new arrivals, “Get in.”

Thanks to Vince and his group’s warning, they were ready for Carver. That wasn’t to say there weren’t casualties. Vernon, Alvin, Mark and Ben were dead. Carver had gotten into the dorms and tried to take AJ, Alvin and Rebecca’s baby, only to be shot in the arm by Clementine. He grabbed her and threw her out a window, only to find AJ had been taken by Michelle, shooting her in the back as she ran towards Rebecca.

Outside, Wyatt and Russell were shot in the gut, Omid was bitten on the hand by a Walker that’d gotten in. Christa put it down and rushed him over to Carlos and Tess in the RVs. Clarissa came in with Kenny, the man missing his left eye, followed by Sarita, carrying an unconscious Clementine, who had a Walker bite on her left ankle.

Back in the fight, Lee saw Carver emerge from the dorms, carrying AJ and dragging Rebecca behind him. Randy ran towards him, getting shot in the face as a result. Growling, Lee aimed at Carver and fired, shooting him in the mouth. Carver staggered, letting go of Rebecca, allowing her to take AJ and run back inside.

Carley shot some of Carver’s men, with Lilly, Nick and Luke helping her. Soon, only Carver was alive, with the others dealt with the Walkers that made their way in. Sighing, Lee shot Carver in the gut.

“Put him outside.” Ordered Lee, looking around them.

They’d won.

Lee looked around the grave yard they’d made. Russell and Wyatt had died from their injuries, and they’d found Michelle and a couple of the other kids, Justin and Bo, had been killed by Carver. Pete had taken Molly and Nick and came back with Matthew and the Older Mitch’s bodies.

He supposed they didn’t have to worry about mixing the older Mitch and the younger Mitch anymore. Some of the kids had been injured, Lee had worried that they’d lose Clementine, but the Walker that bit her leg had broken her fall.

“Can’t believe it’s been five years.” Said Carley, wrapping her arms around Lee’s stump.

“Yeah.” Murmured Lee, glancing over at the school, “Why’re Jesse and Duck chasing Louis?”

“Clem likes him.” Supplied Carley, “It’s almost like one of those old cartoons.”

Lee let out a snort. He saw Kenny and Sarita with their toddler, also called Lee. Luke and Jane, one of the people that helped them with Carver, had a little girl, Jaime. Omid and Christa had another child, Omid Jr. Shel and Vince had a baby on the way and Bonnie and Mike were trying for one.

Duck had gotten close with Becca, as had Nick and Molly. Walter, Rebecca, Tess and Patricia hadn’t started a new relationship with anyone. Everyone thought Lilly would be the same, so her and Clarissa had completely blind-sided them. They’d managed to convince Carlos to let them teach Sarah how to use a gun, and the girl spent most of her time with Jesse, Lee suspected that there was something going on there, but he had already decided not to interfere.

He'd already screwed up whatever was developing between Clem and Adam a couple of years ago. With the boy turning his attention to Erin, he’d initially tried Ruby, except Marlon warned him off. Lizzie joked that the only one who didn’t know Aasim liked Ruby was Ruby herself.

“GUYS DON’T KILL HIM!” Yelled Clementine, chasing after Jesse and Duck.

“Who’s watching Bud?” Asked Lee, frowning.

“Look down.” Said Carley, gesturing towards Lee’s feet.

Looking down, Lee saw his and Carley’s son crawling over some dirt and stones.

“Looks like Lilly and the twins are back.” Said Carley, spotting the women.

“Good, maybe now Violet’ll stop sulking.” Said Lee, scooping Bud up with his remaining arm.

“I’m not sulking!” Yelled Violet, from her spot on the watch tower.

“Yes, you are.” Came a multitude of voices.

Next Story: What if Clementine went with Bonnie, Mike and Arvo?