Neo Soul King Yhwach

[Third Person Pov.]

Yhwach stood still, his eyes sweeping the situation in front of him. Three options flashed through his mind—each one carrying its own set of risks.

As much as he wanted to end Frank and Felix right here, right now, Arnold's voice echoed in his thoughts. They didn't have time to waste, but they needed time to position themselves. He looked at the young Greene, sizing him up. Arnold wasn't the type to back down from a fight, but would he be able to talk these men down long enough?

Yhwach's eyes flickered toward Mark, who seemed to be waiting for direction, his hand gripping the pistol a little too tightly. Then he turned to Arnold, who was tense, but ready.

"You're right, Arnold," Yhwach said finally, "We might not have enough time to flank these men before shots get fired. That's why we're going to buy time, so we can get into position."

"What are you saying?" asked Arnold.

"I'm saying that we need someone to show themselves and try negotiating with them. This will stall them and allow us to get behind the barn." Yhwach replied.

"And who exactly is going to be "negotiating" with these men?" asked Arnold.

"You are," stated Yhwach.

"Are we sure about that? Why don't we all just confront them? We have more guns than they do and it reduces the risk of someone getting shot." said Mark.

Yhwach's voice grew colder. "They've already seen us before. If You or I approach them, they'll recognize us immediately, and things will escalate. Right now, they don't know we're here. That's the only advantage we have. If we lose the element of surprise, it will cost lives. Your role is crucial—keep them talking, long enough for us to flank them."

"Alright, I'll do this. My brother's life is at risk. So, it falls on me to go. You're right." Arnold said. With a nervous sigh, he walked towards the direction of the group while Yhwach and Mark sneakily made their way toward the barn.

As Arnold walked, anxiety gnawed at him. Please, let there only be five of them. If there's more... this plan is so fucked. His heart pounded, but he kept his pace steady, knowing that lives depended on his and Yhwach's Plan.

"Hey assholes!" yelled Arnold. He aimed his gun at Felix who instantly turned around and aimed his shotgun at him. He was clearly nervous as Maggie still had her gun aimed in the general vicinity of Felix while Hershel aimed his gun near Frank.

"Who are you?" asked Frank.

"I'm Arnold. Why are you doing this? We did nothing to you guys. What's the point of just robbing a few defenseless people for supplies?"

"Hah. Defenseless? You have all these guns pointed at us and you're talking about being defenseless? That's some real funny shit. Where's 'Jugram'?" asked Frank.

"'Jugram'? Who's 'Jugram'?" asked Arnold.

"Don't play dumb with me. This dumbass already let us know that his group was on this farm. I know he's here somewhere. Is that why he sent you? He didn't want to confront us himself?" asked Frank.

Meanwhile, Yhwach and Mark had reached the barn and were stealthily creeping toward the other side. Mark was in front so that he could take the first shot once they were in position.

"Alright, you got me. There was a guy who came here to cash in a favor that he had done for my family long ago. We're the ones who live on this farm. 'Jugram' and his group don't live here. There is nothing for you HERE. Why don't you go somewhere else and find them if you want to see him so bad?" asked Arnold.

"Hey, don't try to insult us! We're the ones with your family's lives in our hands." antagonized Felix.

"Yeah, you try anything and this dumb fuck gets it." said the man who was holding Chet at gunpoint.

"Why do you want 'Jugram' so badly? What has that man ever done to earn your ire?" questioned Hershel.

"What has he done? He didn't give us a chance to earn our keep when we politely asked. He threatened to kill us if we didn't just walk away from him. We were just having a friendly conversation trying to get to know each other. Well, the time for walking away is over." Frank stated.

"If you're not going to listen to our demands, we're just going to have to prove our point. Let's-"

The man who was holding Chet at gunpoint didn't finish his sentence as he was instantly shot in the head. Complete Chaos ensued. One of the men ran back towards the barn for cover while the other man took his gun off Shawn and started firing at Hershel and Maggie.

"Dad, get down!" yelled Maggie as she pushed Hershel out of the way. Arnold quickly shot his gun and hit Felix in the chest and neck area.

"Ack-fuck!" mumbled Felix who fell to the ground but not without firing a shot of his own upon pure reflex. Unfortunately, the shot hit Arnold square in the chest and he crumpled to the ground alongside Felix.

"NOOOO!!!" screamed Hershel. He got up and shot his gun at Frank and one of the unnamed men. He managed to hit Frank who screamed in pain as the lead penetrated his gut. His accomplice was headshot by Mark once more.

Now, the only guy left from Frank's group was the unnamed gunman who was running to the barn. He had sussed out that the sniper was located behind the barn and he planned to ambush the man by coming around the other side.

"Come on, RC. It's your time to shine." mumbled the man. He took a deep breath and slowly walked toward the back of the barn. Nothing could be heard besides his ragged breaths and distant crying coming from the direction of the house. He took one step, then another step, and another step, before he stopped at the edge of the barn connecting the side and the back.

RC after ensuring he loaded his gun, quickly turned around and aimed his weapon around the corner, yet he immediately screamed in horror as a chunk of his head was blown to smithereens. The only thing that was heard in this silence was Yhwach's heavy breathing and pistol that was emitting smoke.

"Is that all of them?" asked Mark.

"We're going to find out," ordered Yhwach. The pair of them raced to the house. Mark's heart grew heavier as he saw Hershel, Maggie, and Shawn huddled over someone who was lying down. Chet was farther away, but they were hugging each other and in tears as well.

No. No. No. Please don't tell me it's who I think it is. Mark thought.

To Mark's chagrin, They came across Arnold who was barely clinging to life. His stomach had been pumped with shotgun shells and it was clear that the perpetrator was Felix who had died from his wounds.

"It's not…looking…too good, is it?" asked Arnold.

"Nonsense. I'll get you patched up at…you're going to be just fine, Arnold." Hershel stated. The man was clearly in denial, but Yhwach figured he should let him deal with the impending death of his son in the best way possible. It wasn't like he had any room to judge.

Arnold barely had enough strength to look at Yhwach before looking back to his dad.

"Dad, don't blame 'Jugram'. I agreed with his plan…to…ack…stall them. Everyone else…is safe, now. Give them the food that they…were promised." requested Arnold.

Hershel just looked back at Yhwach with a mixture of sadness and fury. Yhwach just turned around not meeting Hershel's eyes.

He's right to look at me that way. I got his son killed. Yhwach thought.

"I hope mom gets better. I hope that…it all gets better, and one day…ack…things will be normal."

Arnold started chuckling faintly.

"What's so funny?!" demanded Hershel.

"You were right, Dad. I can hear his voice. He's calling me to come with him…"

Arnold said no more as his body finally gave out. Hershel howled and started sobbing even more violently while Maggie and Shawn joined him. Out of the corner of his eye, Yhwach could see that Doug had walked outside and was looking at the scene in horror.

Another cough was heard and Yhwach looked to see one man was still alive. Frank, the ringleader, was also clutching his stomach and was looking up at the sky.

He walked over and looked down at him. He looked almost pitiful compared to the confident demeanor that Yhwach had come to associate him with. No one was going to help him and Frank knew it.

"Why didn't you listen to me? Why didn't you just walk away?" demanded Yhwach.

"Walk away? Come on, 'Jugram'. It's like I told you before. You don't know the things that we had to do just to survive. You try to be a good guy and look where it gets you. Nowhere good." said Frank.

"I'm the one that's still breathing, Frank. I'd say being a "good guy" has gotten me this far. So far Good seems to always triumph over evil." Yhwach stated.

"Evil? We're not evil. We were never going to kill you if you gave us your shit. We had a code. Those who complied wouldn't be hurt. That kid didn't comply and now he's dead. Wasn't he someone who was good? Where is his triumph?" laughed Frank.

Yhwach felt his jaw tighten. He wasn't angry at Frank's words. No, the anger was directed inward. I made this choice. I put Arnold at risk, knowing it could cost him his life.

Frank, sensing Yhwach's silence, pushed further. "Is that it? Nothing to say? You know I'm right. That kid is going to die, everyone here is going to die, and soon there will be nothing left but blood and tears as you see the destruction of your—"

A sudden shot rang out stopping Frank's speech. Yhwach turned to see Hershel had his gun out. Tears were on his face, but his eyes were full of loathing. He lowered his gun slowly and turned to look at Yhwach.

What will he say to me? Will he honor Arnold's last wish? Yhwach thought.

"Hershel—"

"Don't. Just don't. The Lord will take care of Arnold now. That brings me to you. On one hand, the only reason that our family got caught up in this mess was you. On the other hand, the only reason that more people didn't die was because of you." grunted Hershel.

He was definitely fighting an inner battle within himself and Yhwach was bracing for the news that they would leave empty-handed. That this would all be for nothing. Hershel let out one of the deepest sighs a man could have, but his eyes did not show any of the anger that they had moments prior.

"I will honor the deal that was made and give you our supplies. After that, I think it's best that you leave and let my family grieve in peace."

"Thank you, Hershel," Yhwach replied, his voice low.

Nearby, Doug was consoling Maggie who was hugging on to him for dear life. Shawn had stood up and was being comforted by Chet. The pair of them had muffled sobs, but Yhwach knew Shawn was trying to keep it together for his dad. 

"I'm going to have to do the same for the rest of my children and my wife and be there for them in this time of need. As for you, I'm going to ask Chet to help sort out the food that you're going to take with you. You'll be free to go." Hershel declared.

Mark stepped forward hesitantly. "Are you sure? We could—"

"I think YOU'VE ALL DONE ENOUGH!!!" boomed Hershel. Mark just looked down at the ground in shame. He knew that Hershel had a right to be angry with him and Yhwach. He had just lost a son.

To his credit, Hershel looked a bit surprised at his outburst and started to speak once again in a slightly softer tone.

"Please. Just take the food and leave us in peace."

Yhwach said nothing as Hershel walked away, leaving the chaos behind. His head throbbed, the weight of what had happened settling heavily on him. Even in victory, the losses were undeniable.

[Scene Break Location: St. John's Family Dairy]

Lee looked around the property. Kenny had gone back inside the barn and Danny had gone inside the house. Larry was sitting at the gazebo by himself.

Andy should be occupied. Now, I need to come up with a plan to distract him long enough to take off the locks. If he's sitting near it, I won't even have a chance. Lee thought.

He looked around for a simple answer to his problem. Maybe saying that he saw a bandit sneaking around the property would entice Andy to go look in the forest.

No, he would probably just ask me to come with him. That option is off the table.

Maybe he could talk to Larry and convince him to start some kind of argument with Lee. As a result, he would need to be "calmed down". Andy could be convinced and help Larry with his heart issues while Lee could slip into the barn and use the distraction to unlock the door.

No. Larry would never work with me to pull off something like that. With my luck, I would end up giving him an actual heart attack.

He needed something that would worry Andy enough that he would go outside the barn for an extended period of time. Something that would threaten the calmness of the farm.

Something that an electric fence can't protect on its own. Wait a minute. That's it. The electric fence. If I can find a way to shut off the generator, I'll alert Andy that it malfunctioned and he'll have to go check it out.

Lee walked over to the orange generator box. There was a power switch that he could use to shut the generator down, but that wouldn't be enough. He would have to find a way to damage it without making too much noise.

Maybe I can open up the panel and mess with the generator that way. I need something to unscrew the panel though.

There was a toolbox on a table nearby, so Lee quickly opened it up and looked through the contents for anything useful. He grabbed a small multitool and closed the box.

"Multi-tool. That should do the trick," mumbled Lee. Quickly getting to work, he unscrewed the panel before opening it up. Inside was a belt that was constantly whirring at light speed. Maybe if Lee could remove the belt, Andy would be occupied with trying to find a replacement.

First, he turned off the power button and then he used the multitool to remove the belt. He put the belt in his pocket and quickly stood up.

Now's my chance to make a break for it before Andy gets here. He's going to notice the generator isn't making any noise.

He went to stand over by the fence while the door opened. Andy came out with an annoyed expression. He walked over to the generator while Lee pretended to remain oblivious to the entire situation.

"Fuckin' Danny. Where did he find this piece of shit?" grumbled Andy. He opened up the box and was immediately disgusted by what he saw.

"Awww, fucking thing threw a belt! Damn it to all... son of a... fuck! This'll take forever..."

Lee took the opening to immediately walk into the barn. as he was greeted by Carley.

"Hey, did you find something for the lock?" asked Carley.

"Yeah. I got this multitool. Andy's currently occupied by the generator. That should give me all the time I need to unlock the door." Lee replied.

"Alright, let's-"

A bell rang in the distance.

Duck immediately jumped up and said, "Mom, Dad! Dinner time! It's dinner time!".

"Okay, honey. Let's get back." said Katjaa.

"Aw shit. That could not have been worse fucking timing," mumbled Kenny.

Duck immediately pulled on his dad's hand.

"Dad! Dad, c'mon, let's eat!"

"Kenny, come along. Don't keep the children waiting." chastised Katjaa.

"Okay, listen. Kenny and I will make an excuse for you. Just get that door open!" whispered Carley. She left with Kenny, Katjaa, Duck, and Clementine to go to the house. Lee was left all alone.

Alright, I have to get this thing off right now before the brothers come looking for me.

Lee got to work quickly unscrewing the screws on the lock. All the while, he kept looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was approaching.

I wish I had gone to prison for breaking and entering. I could be in my element right now.

Finally, Lee finished unscrewing the lock. He took a deep breath and opened the door. What he saw inside made him horrified. There were a bunch of various sharp tools including buzzsaws and bear traps. The bear traps seemed very familiar, but his mind was so scrambled that he couldn't quite put his finger on where he had seen them. Blood caked the floor as well as a bathtub in the corner of the room.

"Boy, didn't you hear the bell?" asked a voice. Lee turned around and saw Andy smiling at him, almost as if he didn't care what Lee had seen. It was so unnerving that Lee found himself a little fearful of what this man was thinking.

"Dinner time," emphasized Andy. Lee quickly shook away his scared thoughts and opted to confront Andy directly.

"What the hell is this?! Why the fuck is there blood everywhere?" demanded Lee.

"Look. We have food here, but Danny and I still gotta do a lot of hunting to keep everyone fed. When we catch something in the woods, we skin it and dress it back there. Mama doesn't like us to make a mess in the house. So you see? Nothin' to worry about." explained Andy.

Throughout his entire monologue, Andy still kept the same unsettling smile plastered on his face. Lee was starting to get a dangerous feeling about the dairy. If he had the power to, he would just tell the group to take the dinner home with them and not spend a second more.

He didn't have that power, though. Andy had a very plausible explanation for what happened and most of the group wouldn't see that as a tangible reason to not have dinner with the St. Johns even if a few were suspicious.

That's why Lee found himself walking to the house with Andy in tow. He thought back to what Lilly had said to him right before he left the motor inn.

[Lee's Flashback]

"Lee, be careful out there."

"Lilly, you know I'm always careful. Is something wrong? You look a bit tense."

"Look, I know what I said to the group about the dairy farm being secure. But you never know in situations like this. Don't judge a book by its cover. Be prepared."

[End Of Lee's Flashback]

Lee still had Yhwach's gun in his back pocket. The thought of the old man made him wish that Yhwach was among them. His Military training gave him a certain edge in situations like this. He would know what to do. Not Lee, someone who was a teacher and killed a man by accident.

As he entered the house, the warm smell of bread and meat overwhelmed his nostrils. The meal seemed to speak to him as he went to the dining room.

"Don't you worry, honey, I've already sent a plate up to Travis. He fell asleep soon after. If you want, you can go see him after the meal is done." soothed Brenda.

"He did? Didn't you just serve us?" asked Lee.

"He got an early meal for being such a good patient." smiled Brenda.

"That's…awful nice of you," said Carley.

"Of course. We want to make sure your stay here is as comfortable as possible," replied Brenda.

Brenda has been nothing but welcoming to us. However, I just can't shake this feeling that something's wrong after what I saw in the barn. Lee thought.

No one else seemed particularly concerned about Travis's absence.

"Biscuits, wow!" yelled Duck.

"Brenda, you're an angel!" laughed Larry. He was looking at his meal with delight.

Larry complimented someone. Has Hell frozen over?

"Excuse the mess. We had to block the back door after a walker got upstairs. Don't worry, that was a while ago and they ain't been back inside since." explained Andy.

"Mind if I wash my hands first?" asked Lee.

"Bathroom's right outside in the hall. And be sure to get under your nails. You don't want dirt on your meal." stated Brenda.

Lee nodded and entered the hallway. He saw family portraits of the brothers as well as awards from past conquests that the family had undertaken. That didn't matter to him. He had to go see what Travis was up to. Quietly, he snuck upstairs and looked around.

There were some medical supplies that Lee assumed were used to treat Travis's injury. Something that struck him as odd was the amount of morphine in the room.

That wound didn't seem particularly painful.

There was also a power cord that seemed to light a switch, so Lee turned it on. The room he was in didn't light up, however.

Strange. Could just be an old light switch that doesn't work anymore.

Lee entered the bedroom…to find no one resting there. His eyes may have been deceiving him, but there was no one resting on the bed. Travis should have been resting in bed, right?

Where the hell is he?

Suddenly, Lee heard a faint groaning coming from one of the walls.

"Help…" moaned a voice.

Lee turned towards the sound of the voice and saw a bookshelf with a bunch of old cookbooks. Something else caught his eye. There was a light coming from underneath the bookshelf. That seemed weird.

Why would there be light behind a bookshelf? Is there a hidden room or something back there?

There was only one way to find out. Lee pushed the bookshelf until he fully uncovered a door that seemed to house the light that he was looking for. The groaning came back but with a louder volume. Lee was certain that the source of the noise was in this room. He opened the door and his heart stopped.

Laying on the floor was Travis. He seemed to be delirious and going in and out of consciousness. What made Lee almost throw up on the spot was the fact that both of his legs were chopped off below the knee. He was practically a cripple.

What the FUCK? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?

"Travis?!!! What the hell happened?!!" asked Lee.

He knelt down as Travis just looked up at him.

"Brothers…" muttered Travis.

"What the hell happened to your legs, man?"

"Don't. Eat. Dinner." stated Travis. Suddenly, it all made sense. The blood in the room in the barn. The sharp objects. The fact that the St. Johns traded meat when they didn't have any animals to trade with. The excuse of hunting. The bear traps, which Lee had just realized were the same as the one that Mr. Parker was caught in.

Oh my god. These people are fucking hunting humans.

"Lee, did ya fall in?! Dinner's on the table and everyone's havin' at!" yelled Brenda.

Oh god. My group is going to eat human meat. CLEMENTINE IS GOING TO EAT HUMAN MEAT!!!!!

Wasting no time, Lee sprinted out of the room and down the stairs. He couldn't let a child eat another person. That would mess her up to where Lee didn't know how he could fix it. He ran to the doorway of the dining room and saw Clementine about to put a bite in her mouth.

"Don't eat that!" yelled Lee. He was just in time. Clementine jumped in shock and put her fork down. She was very confused along with most of the group. Carley and Kenny had knowing looks on their faces. They knew that he had found something bad.

"Jesus, Lee. Did ya find something?" asked Kenny slyly.

"Sit your ass down, Lee! This lady has made you a meal," stated Larry.

"Lee, is everything okay?" asked Carley.

"Travis is upstairs with BOTH of his legs cut off! You're eating him!" yelled Lee.

"WHAT?!!!!" exclaimed Carley.

"Lee, are you sure?" asked Kenny.

"Don't indulge him. It's always something with this guy," said Larry sarcastically.

Lee had half a mind to tell Larry to keep eating if he wanted to be such an asshole, but he had bigger things to worry about. Duck, completely oblivious as usual, kept eating before his plate was snatched away by Katjaa.

"Mom, I was eating that!" complained Duck.

"Quiet, honey," Katjaa replied.

"Go upstairs and look! You'll find a guy with both of his legs hacked off! This is a dairy, not a ranch. Think about it!" pleaded Lee.

Everyone exchanged shocked glances with each other. Even Larry turned to look at Brenda who seemed oddly calm throughout the whole situation. Danny had been eating the entire time and Andy just looked at Lee in pure anger.

"You sick fucks! Lee and Kenny knew there was something off about you! And now you've hurt a kid for your sick game?!" yelled Carley. Lee had never seen her that pissed off. She went for the gun in her back pocket, but Andy beat her to the punch.

"Don't you even think about it, Unless you want a bullet in your head," warned Andy.

Danny joined him by taking his rifle out from under the table and aiming it at the group.

"We got lots of use for y'all right here."

"Settle down, boys. Now Lee, growin' up in rural Georgia, you're taught not to waste. It's how I was raised and how I raised my boys. Now, you got monsters roamin' around that do nothin' but eat people. And for what? To continue to rot 'til they eat some more. We think we can put that meat to better use." explained Brenda.

"You're all sick…sick in the head!" declared Lee.

"Whatever. He was goin' to die anyway. We gotta think about livin'." Andy said.

"Andy's right. We go after folks who were going to die anyways, one way or another," said Brenda.

"Like y'all," added Danny.

"What the…what…the…fucking...what…fuck!" cried Larry.

"You don't go near my fucking family!" declared Kenny.

"I don't wanna die. Mommy, what did I eat?" moaned Duck.

Shit, everyone's panicking. I have to get this situation under control.

"Everyone, everything will be okay!" said Lee.

Do you really believe that? We're all being held at gunpoint. They already got Travis and we're next.

"Lee! Lee…" cried Clementine. Andy grabbed her by the hair while continuing to point his gun at Carley in case she made a move. Lee felt a fury that he had not felt in a long time. The red mist was starting to cloud his vision once again.

"Let go of her, you son of a bitch!" yelled Lee.

He tried to charge forward, but Danny pointed the gun at his neck prompting him to stand down. A noise was heard from the hallway. Lee turned around as something fell down the stairs. It then regained movement and came into view of the doorway. It was Travis who had crawled all the way down.

"Anyone... Heeeelp...!"

Everyone gasped in horror after seeing the state Travis was in. Even after Lee told them about it, nothing could have prepared them to see this with their very own eyes. Travis didn't get to finish his sentence as his arms and head fell to the floor. Lee looked around at the group and saw the look Clementine had on her face. Lee felt horrible for having her see this and moved towards her.

"Clementi-"

Lee didn't say anymore as Danny whacked him in the forehead with the butt of the rifle sending him into a deep slumber.

[Scene Break Location: Lee's Nightmare]

Groaning, Lee opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. It wasn't reminiscent of the St. Johns' house, so Lee looked around at his surroundings. He was lying in a bed, but there was no blanket covering him. There were a few shelves with specific books about American History and National Geography, but what caught Lee's eye was the door leading to his bathroom.

My bathroom. My bedroom. I'm in my house again.

Lee hadn't been here since that night in Hershel's barn. The confrontation of what he had done by the members of his family. His father. His mother. His brother. His ex-wife.

"Did you miss me?" said a voice. Lee turned to see his ex-wife curled up in a chair on the opposite side of the bed. Like before, his confusion gave way to anger and frustration. He tried getting up but found that he was powerless to move. He could only turn and look at her from his prone position.

"What's wrong? Having trouble getting away from me?" said his ex-wife. She seemed amused at Lee's predicament.

"What the hell do you want?" demanded Lee.

"What? You didn't like our last conservation together? I couldn't stay away forever."

"Why did you come back? Huh? To taunt me? Tell me how much of a piece of shit I am?"

"Well, it's not my fault if you want to bury your head in the sand and pretend like what just happened didn't happen."

"Oh, so you're here to tell me how much of a fuck up I am? How could I have known that the St. Johns were cannibals?" asked Lee.

"You should have known something was up the minute Andy was starting to act nervous. You should have gotten that little girl that you care about so much out of danger's way. But you didn't. You allowed her to be put in danger because of your own lack of perception." taunted the woman.

"I stopped her from eating human meat." retorted Lee.

"She wouldn't have been in that position in the first place if you pushed to leave once you realized there was something going on. And you thought you were a good family man." scoffed his ex-wife.

"So that's it, then? You've taken this opportunity to berate me for wanting a family." Lee said.

"I'm reminding you of how short-sighted and foolish you were. You thought that we could raise a family together when you don't know the first thing about taking care of a child. Yet, I'm the one in the wrong for pushing back against your foolish ideals."

"Foolish? Is it foolish to want to settle down and have a family? You could have told me clearly that you weren't interested in that instead of going behind my back."

"I DID TELL YOU. I told you many times, but you just wouldn't listen. Oh, why am I wasting my breath? Lee Everett can never be in the wrong. No, he's always the victim who should never suffer any consequences for his own poor behavior."

"Never suffer any consequences?! I couldn't even see my family one last time before they died. My reputation was destroyed. Even now, I have to hide my secret, because I'm afraid that I'll lose EVERYTHING that I've worked towards to redeem myself."

"Is Clementine one of those things? Are you trying to make her the daughter you never had? Are you forcing her into your perfect ideal life? You really haven't learned anything."

Lee was starting to accumulate a headache. This reminded him of the marital spats that he had endured with his ex-wife in the months before the apocalypse started. There was really no winning. Anything he said was easily retorted by her.

"Look, I'm only trying to protect her. If you insist on not seeing it that way, then we're done here."

Lee laid back down and closed his eyes as his former spouse laughed cruelly at his words.

"Sure. Protect her. You're doing a great job so far. I'll let you go now, but you'll probably come back here in the future. I have faith that you'll find a way to fuck things up."

Lee chose not to respond to her condescending remark and let darkness overtake him once more.

[End of Lee's Nightmare]

Lee blinked his eyes open. He felt a slight pain on his forehead, but he was otherwise fine. Thankfully, Danny's attack didn't seem to have any lasting impact on his physical health. Mentally, Lee had seen better days.

As he woke up a bit more, he realized that Carley was throwing up in the corner of the room. Kenny and Larry were both at the doors of the room that the group was in. Larry was pounding away while making threatening remarks.

"Open the goddamned door! You can't keep us in here! Open up! I will tear you fuckers apart with my bare hands!"

"Larry, they're not going to open the door for us. Can you chill out with that banging?" asked Kenny.

Larry paid him no attention and continued his assault.

"You sick fucking bastards! Open this door, goddamn it! I will knock the goddamn door down!" yelled Larry.

"Lee!" said Clementine. She immediately ran over to him. Lee was glad that the brothers didn't do anything untoward toward her.

"It...it was a person! They tried to make us eat a person!"

"But you didn't do it, remember? I stopped you from eating the meat."

"Yeah..."

"The rest of us did, goddamn it! If you hadn't dragged your feet…!" exclaimed Larry.

"Hey, you can't blame Lee for this. He came down as quickly as he could." defended Kenny.

"You okay, Clementine? They didn't hurt you, did they?" asked Lee.

"Mm-mm" replied Clementine shaking her head.

"Lee, those psychos have my family, and we're stuck in a damn meat locker! We gotta get the fuck outta here!" explained Kenny.

"What happened after I was knocked out?" asked Lee.

"They demanded us to hand our weapons over or else they would kill you. They took your gun along with the screwdriver in your pocket as well as my gun, Kenny's gun, and Larry's gun. We have nothing to defend ourselves with." whispered Carley. She was leaning against the wall, but she didn't seem to be all there.

"Carley-"

"Let's just focus on getting out of here first before we start mourning." stated Carley. A resolute look was on her face.

She's not someone who likes to show emotion. I should probably have a private talk with her later on. If we get the chance to.

"I'm scared!" exclaimed Clementine.

"Don't be. It's gonna be okay…I'm gonna find us a way outta here…" replied Lee as he got to his feet. Looking around, he saw boxes of what was presumably human meat as well as a bunch of pallets. He tried moving some of the pallets to see if there was a hidden opening behind them. He had no such luck.

There are some shelves, but there's no way out through the ceiling.

"What about these salt licks?" asked Kenny. Lee saw that there were piles of them just stacked up in the corner. He picked one up and instantly felt the heaviness, but it didn't really work like a battering ram should.

"Nice idea, but the door's too solid to try and ram a salt lick through it. Keep looking, though," replied Lee.

"Larry, are you trying to attract their attention?" asked Carley.

"Yeah, I wanna attract their attention so I can fucking kill them!" replied Larry.

"Give it a rest already. They're not going to let us out." pleaded Carley.

The group was about to have bigger problems. Larry started to clutch his chest and quietly grunted something that Lee couldn't exactly decipher. Before he knew it, Larry fell down to the ground. However, he was completely unresponsive.

Oh no...

"Oh, god! Did he have a heart attack?" asked Carley. She immediately ran over and put her head down on his chest.

"Fuck, he's not breathing!"

"Shit. Does that mean he's dead?" asked Kenny.

"He's not dead yet! I'm going to try and restart his heart!" said Carley. She immediately started performing chest compressions. Everyone else just stood around unsure of what to do.

"If he's dead, you're just wasting your time and putting yourself in danger," Kenny said.

"Dude, do you not know how CPR works? It restarts the hearts of people who aren't dead. Larry has heart problems, right?" asked Carley.

"What are you trying to say, Kenny?" confronted Lee.

"You know what has to happen, Lee. Think about it. You saw that poor bastard at the motel. How fast he turned." reminded Kenny.

"What does Travis's Teacher have to do with all this?" asked Lee.

"We could barely handle that guy without half the group coming to kill him. I don't know if you noticed, but Larry is about 6 foot 4 and 300 pounds. Do you think we can handle him as easily if he turns and we don't have any weapons?" asked Kenny.

"So, what then? You're saying we don't even TRY?!" questioned Carley.

"I'm saying that you're doing something stupid, Carley. Something that has a low chance of working out and a high chance of getting more of us killed." Kenny replied.

"If this was your family, would you accept defeat so easily?"

Kenny's eyes narrowed. "Whoa there, Carley. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

"And you didn't answer my question. Are we really going to let Larry die because you don't like him? That's petty as fuck." said Carley.

"Am I really the only one who feels this way?" asked Kenny. He looked around at everyone, but no one was willing to speak up for Kenny until someone stepped forward.

"Carley, I think Kenny's right," said Lee. Carley looked in shock that her friend wasn't even defending her.

"We can't kill a man without even trying to save his life Lee. I don't like Larry as much as everyone else here, but his biggest crime is being rude and an asshole to everyone that isn't Lilly. That's not something that he should be put to death for. if only we had…WAIT!" Said Carley.

Carley dug into Larry's pockets before she pulled out what she was looking for. It was a bottle of nitroglycerin pills.

"Thank god they didn't take these! We could use these to save him," said Carley.

"There's no guarantee of that. The fucker's been unresponsive for at least a minute. We're just trying to delude ourselves into thinking he has a chance." said Kenny.

"Lee, you've always done what's best. Help me save him!" pleaded Carley.

"Look, Kenny, back at the drugstore when we all thought Duck was bitten, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe we should do the same now!" reminded Lee.

"That was different. Duck wasn't bitten. But, come on, we know this guy's not gonna make it, You can't be in the middle on this one. You've gotta have my back this time!" pleaded Kenny.

Lee's heart raced, anxiety tightening its grip. He didn't know what the right choice was, or how wrong the wrong one could be. But he knew this decision would bring irreversible change to the group, shaping their future in a way that couldn't be undone.

What he did know was that this would be a decision that would impact the strength of his role in the group along with the overall health of the group itself. The weight of it made him understand, for a moment, why Lilly had acted the way she did.

The consequences that came from this decision would make or break him and his relationships with others.

But he still had to be the one to make it... The one who should bear this burden. Not because he has to but because he needs to.

_______________________________________________________________

What does [M] (Lee Everett) do?

A) Kill him

B) Try and resuscitate him without the pills

C) Use nitroglycerin pills

D) Do nothing

_______________________________________________________________

Relationships [M] (Lee Everett):

Clementine: 13/15

She's glad that you stopped her from eating. She just wants to go back to the Motor Inn.

Kenny: 10/15

He really needs you to back him up here.

Carley: 10/15

She really wants you to help save him. It might be naïve, but she thinks everyone deserves a chance at life no matter whether she likes them or not.

Andy St. John: 1/15

He can't wait to get rid of you.

Danny St. John: 1/15

Same, although he's crueler about it than his brother.

Brenda St. John: 3/15

It's quite a shame that it came to this because she liked your group.