Neo Soul King Yhwach

[Third Person Pov]

Lilly checked back to make sure none of her team had gotten left behind. Besides Lee, Yhwach, Chuck, Marcus, and Clementine, everyone else was still present with her. It didn't help that the walkers were also keeping a steady pace. A group of 7 people was probably like Christmas dinner to them.

She turned a corner and saw rows of houses next to the street. It looked like they were in some kind of suburb inside the city. All they had to do was duck into one of the houses and they would be alright...hopefully.

"Get inside one of these houses!" ordered Lilly. She immediately ran up to the first house she saw and looked for some kind of entrance. Most of the windows had been boarded up, but she did see a pathway around the side that led to a white gate.

The backyard wouldn't be a bad place if we could get inside.

She tried to open the gate and, surprisingly, it worked. Lilly turned to everyone else and instructed them to get inside. Everyone followed her orders to a tee, but some were a bit more shaken up than others. Carley immediately bent over and started throwing up, and Duck's mouth was trembling a little over what had just happened.

The only silver lining was that nobody else had been killed besides Katjaa and Doug. Once the last person came into the backyard, Lilly shut the gate and looked outside to see if anything was following them. Thankfully, they seemed to be in the clear.

She looked back around at the rest of the group and could immediately see the distraught looks on their faces. Now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off, everyone was processing the fact that two of their people were killed. Not to mention, their leader had been separated from the rest of the group.

"What the fuck did you do that for, old man?!" shouted Kenny as he got in Larry's face. Her dad scowled in response and Lilly could tell that this wasn't going to end well.

"Kenny, leave it alone." pleaded Mark.

"I'm not leaving shit alone! I want to know why you decided to take a shot at a guy just for running. Do you realize my wife is dead because of this idiot's trigger finger? My son had to kill someone?! Have you all forgotten that?!" challenged Kenny.

"They were going to shoot at us anyway! They were already posted up along the wall and were just looking for a reason to be the aggressors. You don't wait for the enemy to catch you off guard!" defended Larry.

"Enemy? Fucking...ENEMY?! This ain't Vietnam, you fucking dickhead! You don't know what could have happened if you had just let them go. Now, my wife and her boyfriend are both fuckin' dead, because of you. Lee, Clem, Jugram, Marcus, and Chuck are...who the fuck knows where and now...we're in the middle of a city full of assholes who are going to go back to their community and send people out to hunt us down." explained Kenny.

"Kenny, of all people, I don't know why you're lecturing someone about being impulsive," Lilly stated. Just like before, she had to defend her dad, because no one else was going to. Just like before, it was going to land her in hot water as evidenced by Kenny's glare in her direction.

"Are you serious? You're...after everything that just happened, you're seriously defending him? You can't look at this objectively?" Kenny asked.

"I am looking at it objectively. The fact of the matter was, that those people had it out for us the minute they saw us. Their offer to join their community probably wasn't even genuine. You can't seriously think a community that treats kids like they're...burdens is full of good people?" Lilly questioned, arching an eyebrow.

"OF COURSE, I DON'T FUCKING THINK THAT! YOUR DAD GOT PEOPLE KILLED! WHAT IS IT WITH YOU THAT YOU CAN'T SEE THAT?!!" bellowed Kenny. Lilly looked towards the gate quickly. The noise was starting to increase along with the tension and she knew that things were about to get ugly unless she defused the situation.

Why aren't you being charitable? You know your dad jumped the gun even if he had good intentions. If Lee had been here, he would have already gotten the group focused on its next task by now.

Larry fumed in anger seeing Kenny behave in such a way towards his daughter. His voice spiking up he directly looked at Kenny and shouted

"Don't talk to my daughter like she is a CHILD! She is more qualified to know what's best for this group than anyone else!" Kenny was about to refute but Larry didn't let him. Instead, he continued with anger "And if it wasn't for Lee dragging us away from the Motor Inn, we could've dealt with those bandits already!"

"Guys, keep the noise down. We're going to attract someone!" whispered Ben. Mark tried to join in the defusing efforts.

"Yeah, can't you guys—"

"Are you out of your damn mind, That—" Kenny shouted back in an equal amount of anger. but his eyes quickly widened when he saw Larry grunting out a low moan and clutching his heart. Immediately Lilly who was having a headache because of their shouting went into protective daughter mode

"Dad, your heart. You have to stop yelling. Let me handle this." urged Lilly. She turned to Ben who still had one of the supply bags draped over his shoulder.

"Give me a bottle of water, now."

"Bottle of water?! Okay!" said Ben. While he looked through his bag, Larry took out the nitroglycerin pills in his back pocket and put a couple in his hand. Ben handed her the bottle of water which Larry greedily accepted, downing the pills instantly. While he focused on calming himself down, Lilly turned back to Kenny with a scowl on her face.

"Don't get him into an argument like that! You know his heart issues haven't just gone away. Were you trying to get him killed?" spat Lilly. Kenny, with a scowl of his own, was about to say something very unpleasant before Mark grabbed his shoulders.

"Kenny, man, this isn't the time! We need to get inside this house and then we can come up with a plan of maybe searching for the rest of our group. I really think both of you guys have valid points, but what's done is done. We can't change the past no matter how much we want to yell or scream or assign blame to each other. The only people that should be blamed are the people who killed Katjaa and Doug. That's it. Look at your son, Kenny. He looks awful." urged Mark.

Kenny did look at his son who was currently fighting a losing battle with his tear ducts. He kneeled down and hugged him.

"Oh, Duck, I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"Dad, why did they have to kill Mom like that?!" cried Duck as he buried his face into Kenny's shoulder.

"They were bad people. Your mom..."

Kenny couldn't finish the rest of the sentence before choking on his words and beginning to cry as well. They weren't the only ones. Carley looked like she was about to be in tears with Ben attempting to comfort her. Lilly looked around in dismay.

This is a broken group right now. I have to keep it together or else this group is going to break apart.

"Dad, can you take watch by the gate and make sure nothing finds us?" whispered Lilly. Larry nodded and went to his assignment. Lilly looked back at Carley and Mark. While she appreciated their help, there was also...some type of childish resentment that she couldn't do what they had done.

"Alright, so most of the windows are boarded up along with the back door. It's completely locked and I don't have the key," said Mark. Lilly gave him a nod of approval, appreciative that someone was actually doing something.

"We have tools. Why don't we just bust the door down?" asked Ben.

"Well, we could, but these defenses aren't half-bad. If we can get inside without...well destroying them, we could use it to our advantage," explained Mark. Lilly took a look at the house itself. Like the front, the windows were all boarded up and the back door was boarded up as well.

"Well, is there a way to do that?" asked Carley.

"I think so. There's a dog door underneath the back door. That door is also locked." Mark revealed.

"You can lock a doggie door?" wondered Carley.

"Yeah, I've heard of that. The door is radio-controlled. The dog wears a collar with a chip in it, so the door only opens when the dog gets close to it." explained Mark.

"Well, shit. You can always learn something new." Larry replied.

"Alright, so...where's the dog? It could be long gone by now," said Lilly.

Mark pointed towards a grave that was on the far side of the backyard. The grave was next to a doghouse, so Lilly immediately understood the implication of what he was saying.

"Dude, you think there's a dog buried in that?" asked Ben.

"Well, there's only one way to find out. And luckily, the owners of this place left us behind a shovel. So, we're going to have to be grave robbers for a day." joked Mark. There was a shovel leaning against a shed in the far-right corner of the backyard. He took it and headed over to the grave. Lilly followed him along with Carley and Ben.

"Be careful, man. Digging up dead things isn't what it used to be." cautioned Ben.

Mark gave him a reassuring smile. "Relax, Ben, I got this. Once there was this time—"

"Mark," Lilly cut him off, her voice flat. "Just dig up the damn grave already."

"Sorry, boss. Just trying to...never mind."

Mark shoved the shovel into the piece of dirt, using his foot to get in it deep before shoveling a pile of dirt aside. After a couple more digs, Lilly could see the outline of a carcass in the dirt.

"Looks like your hunch was correct," observed Lilly.

"Yeah, but the smell fucking sucks," said Mark. Ben caught a whiff of it and immediately scooted over away from the grave while Mark kept digging. More parts of the dead dog were unearthed and Lilly was relieved to see that the dog still had its collar. Maybe their luck was turning around a little bit?

Still, the dog, even though it was gray and brown color-wise, seemed like it hadn't been dead for that long. It wasn't just a skeleton like she would have expected. Did this dog survive the first few days of the apocalypse? Why did it get put down?

These were questions that would probably never be answered. Mark finished and put the shovel aside. Everyone near the gravesite looked at each other awkwardly. Someone had to go in and remove the collar from the corpse, but...no one was exactly jumping at the opportunity to do that.

"You want to do it, Mark?" asked Ben with a pointed look.

"Uh, shouldn't our dear uh...leader do it?" smiled Mark nervously. Everyone looked towards Lilly while Kenny scowled.

"Ugh, fine," grunted Lilly. She got on her knees and reached into the grave. The collar was sticking up, so she grabbed it and tried pulling it off, but the corpse wouldn't budge easily. She fumbled around a bit more, but, as it turned out, the dog's head decided to completely detach from its torso.

"Okay, that is not cool." expressed Ben. Carley gagged and ran away from the crime scene while Mark shuddered in disgust.

"No one look at the grave," Lilly instructed. She took the collar to the door and the light on the doggie door switched from red to green.

"We got it to open!" exclaimed Mark.

Lilly tried to stick her hand through the door and reach the door handle on the other side, but her arm wasn't long enough to grab onto it. Her shoulder banging on the door let her know that she had reached her limit.

"I can't reach it." Lilly groaned.

"Do you want me to try? Or you can ask Ben. He's got long arms." volunteered Mark. Lilly looked around at the group and set her eyes on Duck. The boy seemed to have stopped crying, but he didn't look much better.

"I have another idea. It involves Duck," said Lilly.

"What does my son have to do with this?" questioned Kenny.

"Easy, Kenny. I'm saying that he's the only one small enough to crawl through the doggie door. If he could open the handle from the other side, the rest of us could get in easily. With all the noise we've been making, anyone still in this house would have heard us by now. As long as he does it quickly, there should be no accidents." explained Lilly.

Kenny kneeled down and looked at his son.

"Hey, are you sure you can do this? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I-I can do it. I can do it." Duck stated. He slowly walked up to the doggie door and crouched down, peering through the opening to see if there was anything there. Lilly watched him take a couple of deep breaths before he crawled through. He just barely fit and Lilly had to thank her lucky stars he wasn't any older or bigger.

The door quickly opened and Duck appeared at the other end. He gave everyone a small smile, but it seemed more forced than anything.

When someone like Duck is forcing himself to be happy, that's a problem.

"Good job, son." praised Kenny with a sad smile. The entire group walked inside and Lilly took a look around the house. First impressions-wise, it didn't seem to be anything more than a regular 2-story building that once belonged to a somewhat respectable family. Lilly gravitated towards the living room where a few people decided to sit down, obviously weary both physically and mentally.

"If someone was still living here, they would have heard us breaking in by now. Before we can relax, we have to search this place top to bottom and make sure no one's hiding." Lilly stated.

"Lilly's right. I think some of us should search this place while the rest take a break." agreed Carley. Lilly was about to argue against the idea of taking a break, but she took a look at Duck. Maybe it was smarter to just have people who were up to the task do it.

"That's a good idea, Carley." agreed Ben. Lilly scowled and looked in another direction, so nobody could see her face.

Why the fuck does Carley always know how to navigate this kind of stuff? She's making me look worse.

"Mark and I can take the first floor." volunteered Carley.

"Dad, do you want to search the first floor too? It's a big area and you can just search in a different direction from these two." Lilly stated.

"If it means I don't have to be bothered by these guys while searching, then I'm all for it," grunted Larry.

"I'll take the upstairs with Ben," Kenny said, pointing to Ben.

"Dad..." Duck whimpered. He clutched his father's hand and the man immediately sighed. Lilly guessed that he wanted his dad to stay close and comfort him instead of running off.

"On second thought, I think I'll stay," muttered Kenny.

Duck, and Kenny all stayed in the living room. As Larry, Carley, and Mark went to search the first floor, Lilly thought about what she should do. The smart play would probably be to go back up Ben could go on the second floor but she didn't trust Ben to properly do his job for a second.

"Ben, wait up. I'm going upstairs with you to check the place out." Lilly stated. Ben looked back at Lilly with a neutral expression although she couldn't miss Ben slightly jumping at her voice.

I don't think the kid will ever grow up to be a survivor. Not on my level, at least.

The two of them walked up the stairs to the upper floor which seemed just as spacious as the lower level. There was a lone room at the top of the stairs to their right which warranted searching, but the left side kept going until it reached a big glass window and a room just to the side of it.

Lilly walked down the path to get a lay of the land and observed a small hallway to her right that had a couple of rooms and a string hanging from the ceiling at the end of the hallway. It looked like this place had an attic as well. She turned back to Ben.

"Okay, listen up. I'm going to take this hallway and search everything in it. You on the other hand are going to start with that first room near the stairs and then search any other rooms that aren't in this hallway. It should only be that room at the very end, but you never know. Actually, before you do that, do you have any melee weapons on you?" asked Lilly.

"Uhh, No, I just have my gun," Ben replied.

"Go down to the living room and borrow some melee weapons from the people sitting down. If you run into something, we don't want to let anyone know we're here. If you find something urgent, whether it's people or a ton of supplies, let me know immediately." instructed Lilly.

"Got it." said Ben.

Ben went down to borrow a melee weapon. Lilly didn't waste any more time herself and took out her knife before slowly opening the first door. Her eyes darted around the room, carefully scrutinizing anything that could tip her off to any unwanted presence inside the house.

There was nothing special inside the room. A small, dingy sink, somewhat red with rust, greeted her vision as soon as she entered and there wasn't much more besides a table and a picture of a tree above it. This was probably some kind of small bathroom, but Lilly was surprised that there was another door connected to it at the other end.

A bedroom, perhaps? If anyone's hiding up here…I should be ready.

She put her left hand on the door and slowly opened it. Her hunch was correct as the room was indeed a bedroom. Before walking in, she tried to listen for any signs of movement that would clue her in on whether or not there was someone else in the room with her. It was kind of hard to do that, however, when there were 6 other people searching various rooms of the house and she could hear every time they moved or opened something.

She closed the door and called out, "If anyone is in here, come out with your hands up. My group just needed a place to stay for a little bit. If you come out now, I promise that I won't hurt you."

No one answered, so Lilly crept further into the room. The walls on either side of her stopped near the bed and she quickly aimed her knife in both directions.

Nobody appeared.

She went to the right and looked inside what appeared to be a closet. A couple of old shirts were hanging on the clothesline. They were adult-sized, but they were creased neatly and showed no signs of usage. The only thing that tipped Lilly off to the fact that they had been there for a while was the dust on the hangar and the collar of each shirt.

f someone was still living here, would they just not use perfectly good shirts?

She walked over to the other end of the bedroom and was greeted with another door. After opening it, she entered the same hallway that she had just come from. Seeing as both doors were connected, she went back inside the bedroom and looked through some of the old cabinets and boxes littered across the floor. There wasn't much besides some half-full tubes of toothpaste, but it was better than nothing.

Maybe the owners cleared the place out before they left? Just because we had to leave in a hurry doesn't mean that everyone else did.

She even looked under the bed to see if anything was stashed in there, but there was nothing. Everything just looked...normal. The bed looked normal. The closet looked normal. The room looked normal. The house just looked fucking normal like the owners were off on a trip and would be back any minute. The only thing that looked out of place were the fortifications on the windows and back door.

Honestly, Lilly didn't know why she was so infuriated. Shouldn't she be happy that they didn't have to deal with any more obstacles? Shouldn't she be happy that, for the time being, they had found a safe place to regroup?

No, I can't be happy, because this place is a mirage. Nothing about this world is fucking normal. Our group isn't functioning normally. Our journey is delayed, because there's another group of hostile people here. That's not normal. We have to scavenge for supplies like vultures. That's not normal. Our lives aren't normal, but this place wants to act like it is??

Lilly stomped out of the bedroom and found the string to the attic door. She yanked on it, hard, and barely managed to step out of the way before the ladder came down. Not even bothering to be subtle, she climbed up the steps quickly and took a look around the attic, not expecting to see anything. 

The cautious woman inside of her was chastising her actions, pointing out that the attic would be the best place for someone to hide. The angry part of her was just telling her to clear the rest of this house and get back to her people as quickly as possible.

Surely, there was no one in this house besides them, right?

The attic was lit by natural light, so Lilly could see everything that was inside. Immediately, a foul smell invaded her nostrils and she reflexively put a hand to her nose. There were also a few flies buzzing around the roof.

What the hell is up here?

Her question was soon answered.

She stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes laid upon the emaciated walker at the very end of the attic. He looked like a young boy. He was so thin that Lilly could see the bones plastered to his skin. There was barely any flesh left, but, somehow, the walker was still able to get up once he saw her and slowly walked over toward her. 

Luckily, he didn't get very far as his legs gave from under him. Lilly could hear his bones snap like twigs as he fell down. The walker tried reaching out for her in a desperate attempt to capture the juicy meal he was looking at, but it was futile.

For a brief moment, Lilly felt...sad at the boy's fate. It was never right to see a dead kid. She remembered that she had seen a picture of the family that owned this place on the first floor, so she assumed that he was the boy in the photo. 

She walked closer to him and picked up a water bottle that was lying on the ground. It was completely empty, so he must have died of dehydration...or starvation maybe even both but seeing as how he had lost all his body fat. There was an empty plate on the floor next to a bed where the boy had slept.

Lilly looked at him again wondering how he managed to survive for that long. Was he scared in his final moments or had he come to terms with it? Unlike Katjaa or Doug, he presumably had a lot of time to think about his fate.

This isn't the time to be sentimental. Just take care of him, so you don't have to be anymore. Your group deserves your attention, not some dead stowaway.

She took out her knife and walked over to the boy. As she got closer, he reached out even more desperately trying to get a taste of flesh. She plunged the knife into his head and he lay still. The only sound now came from the flies who were still buzzing around his corpse.

Out of pure instinct, she took the boy in her arms and went back to the ladder. At that moment, Ben peeked his head in.

"Hey, Lilly. We checked the rest of the rooms and found nothing. There were some bedrooms if anyone wanted to take a nap...there..."

Ben registered the body in Lilly's hand. His brows shot up in alarm and he looked to the woman to explain herself. Lilly huffed impatiently.

"I searched this attic and found him inside. He must have starved to death or been too dehydrated. I'm going to go bury him with that dog, so we don't have to deal with the corpse anymore. Maybe the flies will go away too." noted Lilly.

One of the flies in question made a buzzing noise near Ben's head and he quickly slapped at it before falling down on his ass. She rolled her eyes at his antics. The kid was as dumb as ever.

"Okay, I'll go tell everyone else what we found," Ben said, walking away. Once again, Lilly was left alone with the boy. She looked at him, lying peacefully in her arms. His milky-white eyes were still open, so she closed them. He wasn't a walker anymore. He was at peace.

She went down the attic ladder and then went down the stairs where everyone had regrouped. Everyone looked at her in surprise, even Duck who had decided to look up when he saw everyone staring at something. Lilly sighed and held up the boy's corpse slightly.

"I found him in the attic. He didn't have anything on him, so he probably just...died here," she explained.

"We looked through the kitchen and found a pack of dog food that had been opened. This kid was..."

Mark trailed off and looked at the boy sadly. Everyone understood what he was trying to say, but nobody wanted to finish his thought as if saying it out loud would shatter any idealistic views of the world they still had. A kid was so desperate to survive that he had eaten food meant for animals.

Most of us are no better than animals.

"I'm going to go bury him with the dog. The flies inside the house will disappear and...we don't have to deal with him anymore." Lilly stated.

Yeah, it's because of the flies. How hard is it to admit you just feel sorry for him? Nobody's going to think any less of you if you show that you have compassion for strangers.

Lilly gritted her teeth and didn't bother looking at anyone else as she made her way out to the backyard. The shovel and pile of dirt were still right where the group left them. Before she got very far, the back door opened behind her, and...her father, of all people, stepped out.

"Let me help you. We'll get the job done quicker." Larry pointed out.

Lilly didn't have any objections to that, so she headed to the grave with her father in tow. His face didn't give anything away, but he looked like he had some stuff on his mind. Whatever it was, she would just wait for him to start the conversation.

She lowered the boy into the grave and took a brief second to look at him and his dog while Larry grabbed the shovel. For some reason, she kept thinking about the fact that they couldn't bury Katjaa and Doug. They had to just leave them in the streets and let the walkers have their way with them.

At least they won't be coming back.

Come to think of it, a burial was pretty rare in this day and age. Glenn had been torn apart, Travis was left behind in the dairy, and Katjaa and Doug had been shot and left behind.

How will I die? Will I get a funeral? Will I be remembered?

"Lilly, we need to talk about your leadership," grunted Larry. He started shoveling the dirt back onto the grave.

"Maybe you should focus on the grave first. Doing too much at one time wouldn't be good for..."

"Goddamnit, Lilly! I might be at least 20 years older than everyone else here, bar Chuck and maybe Jugram, but I'm not senile. I could still run circles around most of the people in this group. You're not going to get away from this, young lady." chastised Larry.

Lilly pressed her lips together and avoided his gaze. She ran a hand over her head while Larry continued to speak.

"You've done alright so far. Keeping your squad together after something like that isn't easy. People get emotional and they always do something stupid, but you helped us regroup and clear this house as quickly and efficiently as possible. No matter what, you always kept your mind focused on the task and didn't allow your emotions to overwhelm you. I taught you well." Larry praised.

"But?"

"But I can tell that you're not taking this well inside. You may be able to fool other people into thinking you're okay, but you can't fool your own father. What's the problem?" confronted Larry.

"Nothing, it's just...this group is broken right now and the last thing we need is internal conflict. If I can't keep this group together, what does that say about me as a leader? I didn't even go talk to them, because I'm so concerned with getting shit done. Plus, I'm not good at the emotional stuff. I wouldn't even know what to say to get people to calm down. Carley and Mark hell even Ben did a way better job than me. I just sat there and did nothing. What kind of leadership is that?" lamented Lilly.

"You did the right thing. We can't sit around and succumb to our feelings. We need to be people of action. We need to be people with a plan. In the event something happens to Lee, you're the leader this group needs. If you're not committed to being a leader, nobody will respect you as one." Larry said.

"Respect me? It would be easier to respect me if I wasn't constantly having to defend your actions." huffed Lilly.

Larry stopped shoveling and looked at Lilly with a pointed expression. The look on his face unnerved Lilly, but she thought it was a look that would always make her nervous. The look of a father who was about to give his daughter a good hiding.

"My actions? Are you saying that I am a burden to you?!" demanded Larry.

"No, I'm not saying that. I was just frustrated. I didn't mean to put it like that." apologized Lilly.

"Don't play dumb with me." Larry bellowed, pointing a stern finger at Lilly. "If you have something to say, then say it. A 31-year-old woman should be able to hold her own opinions without fear of retribution."

"Fine. I don't understand why you shot at that guy while he was running. As much as I hate to admit it, Kenny might have had a valid point. Maybe those guys don't feel pressed to shoot if they weren't attacked first." said Lilly.

You don't believe that shit for a second. Who are you lying to?

"So, why didn't you say that, then? Do you think I can't handle my own daughter disagreeing with me?" Larry questioned.

"I think it would have been bad for your heart if the only person who has constantly defended everything about you time and time again stood against you in that argument. Fuck, you're right. I don't believe that they would have just let us go, but why...Why do you put me in these situations where I have to take your side?" asked Lilly.

"I don't put you in any of these situations. The fact of the matter was, that we were in the crossfire of a hostile group that would have shot us whether we shot at them first or bowed down and kissed their asses. If you have the chance to be proactive, you should take it. That kind of attitude served me well in Vietnam." Larry proudly declared.

"Here we go about Vietnam. Dad, you don't bother telling me anything about what happened there yet you constantly bring up everything you learned as if I'm supposed to somehow understand the context behind your lessons. What was so bad over there that you can't talk about, but you'll turn around and teach me stuff from there?" asked Lilly.

"Lilly, I had two deployments to Vietnam. The first deployment, I was a very naïve and foolish young man who thought too much of the world. It cost me a lot. In the second deployment, I was intelligent, resourceful, and responsible. My mindset made me a hero on the battlefield, so I can't just switch it off. Not when we're in another warzone." Larry ominously pointed out.

"Warzone? This isn't a warzone yet. We just need to find the others and get out of here as soon as possible. Even if we find a boat, I don't think it's worth it to stick around." Lilly opined.

Larry said nothing more and finished burying the boy. The grave was just as they had found it now. Lilly thought that their conversation was over, so she turned to go back to the house, but Larry spoke once more.

"Lilly, one day, I'm not gonna be here anymore. That day might come sooner than I would like to admit. I know that I'm...not the greatest human being out there, but I just want to see you make it. I don't want to be too soft and get someone killed again. I can't act...nice...and...humble like Lee or any of those other bastards can. That's just not how dear ol' Larry does things." Larry said.

Still, the thought of her dad not being here scared her now just as much as it did in the past. She was a strong woman, but her strength was largely predicated on the support of her family. Family had always been a constant and Lilly didn't want to lose the only family she had left.

That's not your choice. You'll lose him soon enough even if you both make it out of here and find someplace safe. All it takes is one bad day.

The two of them walked back inside the house where everyone else was waiting for them. Kenny got up impatiently.

"Alright, now that you two are here, we should think about continuing our mission to the riverfront. We've rested up plenty and it's only a few blocks away from here."

"Kenny, you want to go out there, now? We just cleared the place out and the first thing on your mind is to leave and go look for a boat. We don't even know where the others ended up after we got separated." reminded Lilly.

"Then, we'll look for them on the way. The boat's always been the plan and now that we have a buncha murdering assholes located here, that just means we gotta find a boat quicker and get moving." Kenny said.

"What if we don't find them before we find a boat?" asked Lilly. Kenny heaved and looked directly at Lilly.

"I wouldn't leave Lee, Jugram behind, or Clementine, but Chuck and Marcus...I'm not going to go on a manhunt for them. You catch my drift?"

"You think a boat is more important to this group than the people that make it up?" challenged Lilly.

"My wife died for this boat. My son just stopped crying. Carley's boyfriend died for this boat. Do you want their sacrifices to be in vain? Cause I sure don't." Kenny replied.

Lilly turned to the rest of the group who had been suspiciously silent during this debate.

"All of you agree with this?"

"We don't. That's why we waited until you came back, so we could have a proper discussion." Carley quietly revealed.

"Look, I know it's...kind of an unpopular opinion, but I've always believed in the boat plan. We've always run into trouble on land, so we might as well try our luck on the water if we can find something that will take all of us. I just don't think we have to look for one right now." Mark stated.

"Yeah, we should go look for Lee and the others before we do anything else. Who knows if they're in trouble right now and need our help?" added Carley.

"We can't go running off on a wild goose chase. We know where the boats are and we just gotta go down and get one." retorted Kenny.

"No, Kenny. We don't know if there are any boats there. This whole plan of yours is also just as much of a wild goose chase as looking for the others." Lilly pointed out.

"Hey, we came this far. Lee promised that we would at least see the plan through before we made any judgements. You can't just back out now, not when we're so close to the finish line." Kenny stated.

"Can't we just like...wait here for Lee to get back first? Or maybe we could have some people go look for him and others stay here...or something?" Ben asked.

"No, we can't wait for him to show up. He doesn't even know where we are. How is he going to know to come here if we just sit here and twiddle our thumbs?" questioned Kenny.

Carley put a reassuring hand on Ben's shoulder before he started to stutter out a panicked reply. She turned to Kenny.

"I think Ben's idea of splitting up the tasks is smart. There are a lot of people still reeling over what happened, including you and your son, Kenny. It wouldn't be a bad thing to just take a breath for a second while other people go out and look for Lee's group."

"You stay here if you wanna. I'm done with this house. We came to this city to find a boat and that's just what I'm gonna do." declared Kenny.

"Hey, we're a group, man. We have to make decisions like this together. Being stubborn to prove a point isn't going to get us anywhere. Think about your kid, man. He needs you." urged Mark. Kenny shot a venomous look in Mark's direction.

"Don't tell me what my kid needs like you know him. How would you know what's best for the group? This plan was decided by Lee the moment we left that damn Motor Inn, so you have no idea what you're talking about."

Mark bit his tongue to refrain from saying anything that would escalate the discussion into an argument. Ben decided to give his two cents to the conversation.

"I think Mark was just trying to say-"

"I SAID I'M DONE WITH THIS HOUSE!!!" bellowed Kenny. Ben jumped at his tone and looked anywhere but Kenny's direction. To his credit, Kenny seemed surprised at his sudden outburst and looked back at his son who was looking at him with wide eyes. Everyone else was either shooting glares in Kenny's direction or looking away awkwardly.

I need to take control. Now.

"Fine, if you're so hellbent on this, you and I will go down to the river and look for a boat while everyone else stays here. While we're gone, search the whole house one last time just in case we missed something. We'll try to get back as quickly as possible." ordered Lilly.

"Are you sure about this, Lilly?" asked Carley. If Lilly didn't know any better, she would have thought the woman was actually concerned for her.

"My daughter is not an amateur. She'll be fine out there even if she's being dragged down." Larry boasted.

Kenny narrowed his eyes at Larry's sly insult, but he didn't say anything. He was just happy that someone was actually willing to use common sense on this matter.

"Dad, you're going out, already?" asked Duck. Kenny's face softened as he looked back at his son with a reassuring smile.

"I have to go find us a boat, Duck. That's why we came here in the first place," explained Kenny.

"Can I come with you?" asked Duck. Everyone except Carley looked at the boy in shock.

"No, Duck. It's dangerous out there. You're safer in here with the rest of the group. I promise I'll be back soon, okay?"

"What if you get separated like Lee and Clem did? I don't want to be separated from you. Take me with you, so I can watch your back. Please." pleaded Duck. Kenny was at a loss for words, and Lilly was sure another rejection was coming his way. It was stupid to bring a kid on their mission when they didn't have to. Even Kenny had to see that.

[Scene Break Location: The Rest of the Group, Savannah]

"We're heading to the sewers. Clem, you didn't have a bad idea, but I think it would be much easier to lose the walkers in there rather than wait for them to pass The Marsh House. A sewer can have multiple exits too seeing as there's multiple manholes on this map." explained Lee.

Clementine seemed like she was momentarily disappointed, but she nodded her head at Lee's explanation and followed him as he ran to the nearest manhole along with Marcus, Yhwach, and Chuck. Lee turned another corner and found it in the middle of the street. Yhwach managed to observe her reaction. Already thinking of escape routes, he mused, almost impressed. The child was thinking, and planning ahead. He found it curious—no, impressive. For a child, such foresight was rare. It was a trait he didn't expect to find in someone so young. But she wasn't like other children, was she?

"Cover me, Marcus, Jugram, Chuck," Lee called as he began prying the manhole open. Clementine waited nervously by his side, her fingers clutching her backpack straps tightly. Yhwach stepped forward, gently nudging Lee aside. With one swift movement, he forced the manhole cover open, using Lee's fire axe to leverage it. Lee nodded in gratitude, glancing down into the darkness below.

"Clem, you're up first," Lee instructed, She gripped the ladder, casting one last glance at the walkers behind them before descending. Marcus and Chuck followed, with Yhwach soon after. The faint groans and shuffles grew louder above them, spurring Lee to pull the cover back in place before descending the ladder himself.

As they reached the bottom, Lee scanned the narrow corridor, his heart pounding in his ears. "Everyone okay?" he asked.

"It's so dark," Clementine whispered, her voice a little shaky.

Marcus grumbled, wiping something off his jeans. "Think I got some sewer sludge on my pants. Fan Fucking Tastic," he muttered, the frustration clear in his tone.

Yhwach's gaze flickered to the group, a faint glint of disapproval settling in his eyes as he scanned their expressions. "We're alive, and, for now, nobody knows we're down here. Let's keep that fact in mind before we complain about inconveniences."

"Right," Lee agreed, nodding to Yhwach, grateful for the grounding reminder. "Chuck, you got a flashlight in there?"

Chuck rummaged through his bag but then shook his head. "No, I just have food, water, some ammo, and a couple of medkits. I think... Ben might have been carrying the bag with the flashlight. But I can't say for sure."

Yhwach's brow furrowed as he took in their surroundings, his keen eyes tracing the damp stones and the sewer's layout. The stone walkway curved down a narrow set of steps to where stagnant water collected, the grime thickening along the edges. His thoughts turned calculating. This sewage system, while repugnant to some, was functional. The quiet hum of drainage hinted at occasional maintenance—either from Crawford's influence or a still-operational portion of the city.

Yhwach tsked quietly, He cast a wary glance at Lee, who was scanning the same area, and both men seemed to land on the same thought. Was Crawford responsible for keeping this place running?

The idea that they could be right next to a hostile community unnerved Lee. All of their precautions hadn't been enough to prevent the deaths of two of their own.

Doug. Katjaa. I haven't even taken the time to think about their deaths or how it's affected the group. Has it even affected me?

Now that they had made their escape, Lee was starting to feel sad at the events that had transpired. Just moments ago, their entire group was making their way to the waterfront, hopeful that a boat would be waiting for them, but now, two of them would never know.

"Lee, what's gotten into you?" Chuck asked concerningly.

"I was just thinking about what just happened. We just lost two of our own, got separated from the rest of the group, and are in an unfamiliar city where both walkers and other people want our heads. I thought that leaving the Motor Inn would get us away from these types, but it seems like everywhere we go, there are going to be bad people who just want what we have. Has everyone else besides us just decided to become monsters to survive?" asked Lee.

The St. Johns. The bandits. Crawford.

Yhwach's gaze drifted downward for a moment as he felt the fragments from Katjaa and Doug settle within him, each bringing its own set of insights. Katjaa's experience as a vet, while not immediately essential, could prove valuable if he encountered animals he could use—or tame. Doug's aptitude for technology, though crude by his standards, suggested a potential for repurposing outdated equipment, a capability few possessed in these circumstances. He considered how best to employ these skills.

Interesting assets, he thought, although he didn't dwell long on the thought as he quickly moved them aside to focus on the present moment.

"Lee," Yhwach began, "Dwelling on loss only weakens your resolve. The dead cannot help us; survival lies in the living and the decisions we make. Look at this group, at Clementine, at yourself. The strength to endure comes from those who stand beside you—not the weight of those left behind. Every moment you waste here will be another inch closer to our death. You must keep your mind sharp, or we will all fall." He let the words sink in.

"Jugram's right. you're the leader! Pull it together, man! We just gotta meet up with the rest of the crew and figure out a way forward, plain and simple!" Marcus stated.

Chuck nodded, glancing at Lee. "They're right. We'll have time to mourn later, but our main focus should be getting back with the rest of the group. Assuming they found somewhere to bed down, no doubt they'll be worried about us." He looked around, before continuing. "Before we can think about the damage that's been done, we have to assess it with our own eyes."

"You're right. Let's get back to the others and we'll talk about what to do next," said Lee. He couldn't give in to his emotions now. There would be time to mourn later, but his duty as a leader transcended his own feelings at this moment in time.

Lee walked down the steps into the sewer and saw that the pathway was lit by a few light switches. To their right was a small stream of sewage water running down a slanted archway. Lee stepped to the side and peered through the archway. The only thing he saw was an entrance to another room, but there didn't seem to be any outside light present, so he assumed it wasn't a place to exit.

"Doesn't look like there's an exit up there," observed Chuck.

"I hope not. I'm not trying to climb up a sewage stream." Marcus stated.

"This place is gross," Clementine added, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"I know, Clem. We'll be out of here soon enough. Just make sure you don't get anything on your dress." warned Lee. The group evaded the sewage and turned a corner. Lee was starting to feel a bit worried since the growling of walkers was unmistakably close, yet none of them were coming from the same direction that the group had come from which meant there was an unavoidable obstacle in their paths.

"Do you hear that?" Chuck whispered, his voice barely carrying over the ambient hum of the sewers.

Lee strained his ears, catching faint growls and snarls echoing down the dimly lit tunnel. "I hear it," he replied, gripping his fire axe a bit tighter. "Keep your weapons out and stick close. We might need to fight our way out of here, depending on how many there are."

Chuck cast a glance at Clementine, scrutinizing her carefully. Then he leaned toward Lee. "Don't you think Clementine should have a weapon?" he asked, his tone serious.

Lee looked back at Chuck, confused. Yhwach, catching the exchange, glanced at Chuck with a raised brow. "Elaborate," he said.

"I don't mean a gun," Chuck clarified, looking between Lee and Yhwach. "But…something she can defend herself with, like a small knife. It doesn't sit right with me that we're putting her in danger, and she doesn't have a way to protect herself."

Yhwach gave a nod, his expression unreadable, but his mind shifted to assessing the practicality of the suggestion. A child with a weapon? Dangerous, perhaps—but considering their circumstances, it was necessary unless they wanted her to be a liability and likely die.

Lee looked back at Clementine. After everything that had happened, maybe it was a good idea to give her a weapon in case she ran into any trouble and Lee couldn't defend her. The only problem was that she was wearing a dress and there weren't really any pockets where she could store a weapon.

"Wait, where's your backpack, Clem?" asked Lee.

"I left it back at the train. I wasn't carrying anything in it besides my walkie-talkie, which needs another to work, and a couple of drawings. It was useless." Clementine answered.

"It wasn't useless, sweetpea. it's alright. I should have been paying more attention this morning. We should probably find a change of clothes for you soon. It's getting colder and wearing a dress isn't the most practical thing for survival." Lee replied.

"Do I have to?" pouted Clementine.

"Of course, you do, Clem." chuckled Chuck. He pulled out his spike remover and handed it to Clementine. The girl gingerly took it and flipped the weapon around inspecting it.

"Just in case you run into any problems, use that to get yourself out of trouble," instructed Chuck.

The group moved deeper into the sewer. After a few minutes, they reached a junction, where two paths diverged: one led to the left, and the other to the right. They all paused, uncertain of which way to go. 

The decision seemed pressing—then, from the right corridor, they heard a voice shouting, "Get the hell off me!" From the sound of it, it sounded like it belonged to a young man close to Lee's age. It was followed by snarling of one, two, maybe three walkers.

Lee, Marcus, and Chuck exchanged uncertain glances. There was no need to say it; they were all wondering the same thing: Should they risk their own safety to help whoever was in trouble?

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What does [M] (Lee Everett) do about the stranger?

A) Leave him

B) Help him

C) Let Yhwach handle it.

Additional Choice: What should [S.C] (Lilly) do?

A) Go with Kenny to the River Lane.

B) Tell Kenny to wait until Lee arrives.

C) Let Kenny go on his own.

D) A Group Vote.

Bonus: What should [S.C] (Kenny) do? ( If Lilly Went with him or Allowed him to go)

A) Let Duck Join him

B) Let Duck Stay.

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Relationships (Lilly):

Kenny: 4/15

He's not really your favorite right now considering your dad, in his eyes, started the shootout that left his wife dead.

Duck: ???/15

Who knows what his feelings are towards you or anyone?

Larry: 15/15

The two of you are mostly on the same page and he's glad to see you taking charge.

Carley: 10/15

She respects you despite your differences and doesn't have a problem with your leadership style except for the fact you can be a bit "bitchy" when trying to get people to do something. she seems calm right now about Doug's Death but internally she's likely still affected.

Mark: 11/15

He likes you, but he likes just about everyone.

Ben: 5/15

You scare him and you also don't trust him that much. Are you surprised?

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