Neo Soul King Yhwach

[Third Person Pov.]

Yhwach considered the options briefly, his gaze shifting between Mark and Doug. He knew Mark could handle the gas station alone, but Doug might need a steadier hand at the convenience store. 

"I'll go with Doug to the convenience store. It's best to ensure the supplies there are secured without incident," Yhwach declared, his voice carrying no room for argument.

Doug nodded, accepting Yhwach's choice without question, though he couldn't help but feel a slight weight of responsibility knowing Yhwach would be accompanying him.

Mark, however, couldn't resist a small smirk. "You don't want to be my buddy, 'Jugo'? I thought we were getting along so well," he said, his tone light and teasing.

Yhwach's eyes narrowed slightly at the use of the nickname. "You seem more than capable of handling the gas station on your own, Mark. Consider it a test of your resourcefulness."

Mark chuckled, giving a mock salute. "Well, when you put it that way, I'll make sure not to disappoint."

Mark headed to the car and pulled out one of the gas cans from the back. The supplies were minimal—just some food, water, medicine, and an empty gas can alongside their personal weapons.

"I'll see how much gas I can siphon," Mark said, already scanning the area for any potential sources.

"Good. Doug and I will check out the convenience store. We'll regroup here once we're done. Then, we'll hit the bar before moving on. Agreed?" Yhwach's tone left little room for discussion, and none was offered.

With a nod from Mark, Yhwach turned and made his way toward the store with Doug. As they reached the parking lot, Yhwach took a moment to glance inside the abandoned cars. They were filled with the remnants of lives long gone—wallets, credit cards, and even a few stuffed animals, but nothing of value.

"Find anything?" Yhwach asked.

"No, looks like the owners took anything useful. There are some car keys in one of them. We could break the window and see if it starts?" Doug suggested.

"No. Too much noise, and we don't even know if there's gas. Leave it," Yhwach replied, his tone final.

They moved cautiously to the convenience store's entrance. Yhwach raised his pistol and tapped on the door, listening for any signs of walkers. When none came, he slowly opened the door, his gun trained on the aisles. The shelves were half-stocked with over-the-counter medications, candy bars, and other odds and ends—nothing particularly valuable, but better than nothing.

"We'll take what we can carry and leave," Yhwach ordered. "I'll clear the right side. Doug, take the left. Let's make this quick."

"Got it," Doug agreed, already moving to fill his bag.

As they worked, Yhwach took note of the supplies—painkillers, candy bars, dental floss, toothpaste. Every little bit would help.

"Found some food and water over here," Doug called out.

"Good. Take it all. I'm going to check the bathroom," Yhwach responded.

He approached the bathroom door cautiously, testing the doorknob before slowly pushing it open. The small space seemed empty at first, with a lone roll of toilet paper still hanging from the dispenser. But then, out of the corner of his eye, Yhwach caught movement.

Yhwach reacted swiftly, his years of combat experience kicking in. As the walker lunged at him, he sidestepped just enough to avoid its bite, grabbing its arm and shoving it back with force. The walker stumbled and fell to the floor, snarling and clawing at the air.

Yhwach didn't hesitate. He knew the risk of firing his weapon in such a confined space—too much noise could draw more of the undead, or worse, alert other dangers lurking nearby. Instead, he turned his pistol in his hand, gripping it tightly by the barrel. With cold precision, he began to strike the walker repeatedly, the butt of the pistol crashing down on the walker's head. Each blow was delivered with methodical, almost surgical, precision, Yhwach's expression never wavering.

The walker's skull cracked under the force, and Yhwach continued until the thing's face was nothing more than a pulp of blood and bone. With one final, brutal strike, the walker went still, its growls and movements finally ceasing.

Doug burst into the bathroom, his breath catching in his throat as he took in the scene. Yhwach stood over the now-lifeless walker, its head a gruesome mess of gore. The stoic man lowered his weapon, wiping a stray bit of blood from the grip with a detached calmness.

"Are you okay?" Doug asked, his voice shaky with concern.

Yhwach glanced up at Doug, his expression unreadable as if the violent encounter hadn't fazed him in the slightest. "I'm fine," he replied, He cast a final glance at the walker's remains, ensuring it was truly dead before stepping away. "It's taken care of. Let's finish gathering supplies and get out of here."

Doug nodded, though the sight of Yhwach's brutal efficiency left a lingering impression on him. As they moved to finish collecting what they could from the store, Doug couldn't help but feel a deeper respect—and a bit of fear—toward the man who had just single-handedly taken down the walker without even breaking a sweat.

When they returned to the car, Mark was already there, waiting.

"What did you guys find?" Mark asked his voice light, trying to cut through the tension.

"Some food, water, painkillers, and basic supplies. Should come in handy back at the motor inn," Doug responded.

"Good to hear. I managed to siphon some gas from the station, so the can's nearly full. Are we checking out that bar next?" Mark asked, eager to move on.

Yhwach and Doug put their things in the car before the 3 of them started walking down Main Street toward the bar. The town was deathly silent. It was a bit unsettling, considering it was such a stark contrast to Macon. That town looked like a gateway to hell. In contrast, this was pretty much heaven. 

"Strange that there's no one here," Doug muttered, his voice low.

"This town is small and out of the way," Yhwach explained, his eyes scanning the empty streets. "It likely escaped attention. Not the kind of place people would choose to hole up in."

"Still, it's been three months. You'd think someone would've cleared this place out by now. No walkers, but still supplies? Seems too good to be true," Doug continued, doubt creeping into his voice.

"Maybe we just got lucky," Mark chimed in, trying to inject some optimism into the situation. "Not everything has a price attached to it."

"I'll tell you what I'm optimistic about—those new people you guys found," Doug said, shifting the conversation.

"How'd you come across them?" he asked, curiosity piqued.

"Lee and I were out hunting when we heard someone screaming," Mark began, his voice tinged with disbelief as he recounted the events. "We found a guy caught in a bear trap, and two teenagers trying to free him. The trap didn't have a release latch, and time was running out. So… 'Jugram' suggested we cut the guy's leg off. And we did." explained Mark. He looked at his feet as he said the last sentence, almost as if he couldn't believe that they cut a dude's leg off for survival. 

The idea seems mad. I don't blame 'Jugram' and Lee for making such a drastic decision, but Jesus… Mark thought.

Doug nodded slowly, processing the grim reality of what survival now required. "That's... intense," he finally said, struggling to find the right words.

Yhwach, sensing the conversation dragging, decided to cut in "If you're done with the sentimentality, we're here."

They stood in front of the bar. Mark, perhaps eager to move past the heavy topic, pushed the door open a bit too quickly for Yhwach's liking.

"Mark, slow down," Yhwach cautioned, his eyes narrowing. "There could be walkers inside."

"If there were, we'd have heard them by now," Mark responded confidently. "This place is abandoned. There's no way—" replied Mark. He paused in his speech, as he saw two guys at the bar. They were both drinking some alcohol and laughing before Mark interrupted their happy hour.

One of the men stood up and looked at the trio of survivors who had just joined them. He turned to his friend and said, "Would you take a look at that, Felix? We've got some fresh meats in here!"

[Scene Break Location: The Motor Inn]

"Ken! Lee! Come here, please." requested Katjaa. Lee and Kenny walked over to where the man lay. He had a lot of bandages on his leg, but he didn't seem to be breathing anymore. Travis got up and joined them once he heard Katjaa call out to the men.

"Did Mr. Parker make it?" Travis asked.

"I'm sorry. He lost too much blood," revealed Katjaa.

Lee just sighed internally. Somehow, he knew that his actions would be all for naught, but he wanted to at least give the man a fighting chance. He wanted to prove that he had made the right decision to cut him free.

Now I'll never know, because the end result was the same.

"Goddamn it! I'm getting sick of this shit!" spat Kenny as he threw the part he was holding onto the ground, before walking away angrily.

"Ken, come back, there's nothing-"

"Let him go, Katjaa." said Lee.

"But…"

"He just needs time. It's been a rough day," explained Lee.

"That man you brought…I tried, but he was never going to survive," explained Katjaa.

"Well, at least he's not our problem anymore," said Lee.

"Lee!" chastised Katjaa. She nodded in the direction of Travis, who was still looking at Mr. Parker's dead body.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Travis. I didn't mean to be insensitive." apologized Lee.

"You know, I thought I would be sadder seeing Mr. Parker die, but after everything that's happened in the past week, I guess I'm kind of numb to it. Anyway, I'm going to go tell Ben the news. he'll be devastated to hear it." replied Travis.

Travis walked away, and Katjaa said, "Poor boy. I can't imagine what he's been through. At that young of an age, it's not right to go through the things we're all going through."

"Yeah. I heard a little bit about what happened to the teenagers' previous camps before we found them. It wasn't great." agreed Lee.

"Do you think that we can convince Lilly to keep them?" asked Katjaa.

Before Lee could respond, Katjaa screamed as she was grabbed by the corpse of Mr. Parker. Once dead to the world, he was now fully functional and started biting his jaw towards Katjaa's direction. Lee immediately rushed over and slowly pulled Katjaa from the man's prying jaws, before separating them fully. He turned to where Larry was still working on the wall.

"The axe! Hurry!" yelled Lee.

Mr. Parker was not finished. He grabbed Lee and pulled him onto the truck bed. In an effort to get the deceased man off of him, Lee grabbed Mr. Parker's head and started smashing him into the sides of the truck bed. First on the left side, then the right side, then the left side again. Alternating attacks to Mr. Parker's skull weren't working, as none of the blows were doing any damage to his brain. Thankfully, Larry, of all people, decided to run over with the axe.

"Get out of the damn way!" he bellowed. Lee shoved the walker towards the back, causing its head to hit the back windshield. Larry swung down, but Mr. Parker ducked his head at the last minute, causing Larry to miss his target and completely shatter the back windshield of Kenny's truck.

"Damn, I had it! Fuck!" complained Larry. The axe was now stuck inside the windshield. Wasting no time, Mr. Parker started crawling back on Lee to try and bite him. Lee kept him at bay with his right foot, but he was running out of time.

"I got him!" yelled Travis who charged in with a wooden plank. He smashed the board on the walker's head, buying Lee a little more time. Lee was able to kick Mr. Parker away from him, and he tried getting out of the truck bed before Parker grabbed onto his foot.

Who knew these things were so fucking tenacious?

Regardless, Lee resorted to kicking the walker in the head a few more times, before he tried crawling out of the truck. Unfortunately, he didn't exactly have a graceful landing as he fell on his side on the ground. Mr. Parker jumped on top of him and Lee held the walker up, so it wouldn't bite him. He started gouging out its eyes in an effort to get it to stop.

Just then, Carley appeared with her gun. "Everyone, stand back!"

"Shoot it!" yelled Lee. Carley finally shot the walker in the head, putting an end to Mr. Parker's short-lived reign. Lee pushed the corpse off of him with authority, and Carley crouched down next to him.

"You okay?" Carley asked.

"Yeah. Thanks," replied Lee. Once he got up, Larry decided to go off on a tangent again.

"Why'd you bring him here in the first place, asshole?!" Larry said angrily.

"Dad, calm down." pleaded Lilly.

"You're gonna get us all killed!" continued Larry. He handed the axe back to Lee grumpily, before standing at the edge of the circle that had formed along with Lilly. Kenny was hugging his wife and making sure that she was okay. 

"Why didn't you tell us he was bitten?!" roared Kenny.

"What?!" asked Travis.

"He was bitten and you didn't say a goddamn word." clarified Kenny.

"But he wasn't bitten! I swear!" defended Ben.

"Well, your "not-bitten" friend came back to life and tried to kill my wife!" seethed Kenny.

"Wait. Ben, I don't think they know," said Travis.

"Know what?" asked Kenny.

"It's not the bite that does it! You come back no matter how you die," revealed Ben.

"If you don't destroy the brain, that's what going to happen. It will happen to all of us if we die without having our brains destroyed," added Travis.

No. This…this can't be real. After how hard we've worked to make sure we don't end up like the dead, it turns out we all pretty much have one foot in the grave anyway. Lee thought.

"God help us," said Lee.

"It makes sense. In those first few days, they spread so fast," remembered Carley.

"Car accidents, suicides, everything was making more of them," added Lilly.

"The reason the school that we were at fell was because one of the girls, Jenny Pitcher, couldn't take it anymore. We were hiding out in a gym and she went to the girls' bathroom. Since she had been gone for a while, a couple of girls went to check up on her and one of them came back screaming. Apparently, Jenny had taken a bunch of pills and turned. Since nobody knew that she was a walker, she had bit the first couple of people who went in to check on her. Everyone started panicking and trying to escape, but that just let more walkers in, and…it was chaos." explained Travis.

Suddenly, the bells on Doug's alarm system started ringing. Everyone crouched down as that meant that there was another presence nearby. Whether that was a walker or a human remained to be seen.

"Shit, where did this string come from?" asked one man.

"Watch where you're walking, man." said another. Lee peeked out a little bit from his cover and saw two men. The taller man was wearing a black sweater with jeans and he was holding a gas canister. The smaller man had on a blue collared t-shirt with khaki pants. Both of them seemed to be more focused on the wire that the smaller man had stepped on rather than the motor inn.

"Who are these people?" Lilly asked the teenagers.

"How should we know?" retorted Travis.

"Are they the people that raided your camp?" inquired Lee.

"The people that raided our camp had their faces all covered up with masks. One of them had a crossbow, but I don't see one on these guys. I mean, they could be, but I'm not sure." answered Travis.

Kenny snuck back up to the fence with his hunting rifle. "There's only two of 'em. We need to make a stand."

"No. We have a routine. We don't confront them if we don't need to." argued Lilly. Carley also had her gun as backup, just in case Kenny needed any. Everyone else was still crouching down without any weapons.

"You alright?" asked the taller man.

"Yeah, just gettin' untangled…" replied the shorter man.

"I don't know how you're still alive, man." chuckled the taller man.

"What if those guys come in here because they think the motor inn's empty?" asked Travis.

"The kid's right. I'm sorry, Lilly, but we gotta do this!" stated Kenny. He stood up and raised his rifle at the two men. "That's far enough!"

Carley joined him in pointing her gun at the two, but it wasn't needed, considering they put their hands up almost immediately.

"Oh, shit! Okay, okay…No problem." said the taller man.

"We don't want any trouble," said Lee.

"Of course. Neither do we." stated the taller man. "I'm Andy St. John. This here's my brother Danny. We're just out looking for gasoline. Looks like you folks got the motel locked down, which is fine, but if you could spare any gas, we'd be much obliged."

"Why do you need gas?" demanded Carley.

"Our place is protected by an electric fence. Generators provide the electricity," explained Danny. Larry seemed impressed by that, while the rest of the group suddenly became a lot more interested in their setup.

"Our generators run on gas. Look, we own a dairy farm a few miles up the road. If y'all be willing to lower your guns, we can talk about some kinda trade." stated Andy.

"How y'all doing on food? We got plenty at the dairy." encouraged Danny. With that sentence, the St. Johns had the group in the palm of their hands. Sure, Yhwach was going to get some food from Hershel's farm, but it paled in comparison to the food that they could obtain from the dairy.

"Give us a minute to talk about it! Don't try anything. Carley, keep your gun on them." ordered Lilly.

"Sure. No problem," said Andy.

"What are you thinking?" asked Lee.

"I'm thinking we take this deal. Your pal, Hershel, is only giving us food one time. These are people that live near us. It would be good to establish a trading route with them, so we can get food quickly and easily. That would allow us to stay here for a lot longer. Also, we could get a good look at their defenses and see what that electric fence is all about. We should send a few people with one of the extra canisters of gas to scout the place out and make sure it's legit." explained Lilly.

"That's actually not a bad plan." agreed Kenny.

"So, who should go?" asked Lee.

"I'm going to their dairy. I want to check it out for myself to really see if what they're saying is true. If Doug was here I would have taken him since he could probably learn something from their electric fence. but he's gone so I'll take the tall lanky kid and his friend…what's their name again?" asked Lilly.

"Ben and Travis," replied Lee.

"Yeah, whatever. It's about time some of these guys pull their weight. You wanted me to give them a chance, and I'm giving them one, so don't give me that look." stated Lilly.

Lee didn't really seem like he agreed with sending one of the kids, but this was Lilly's decision so he decided not to argue against it.

"Alright, and who else?" asked Lee.

"The final person I'm taking is…Kenny," said Lilly. She thought that there might have been some physical pain that erupted in her chest when she said those words. Kenny was the last person she wanted to be anywhere near, but she couldn't deny his usefulness.

Considering I'm already bringing Travis and Ben, I need someone else who is actually good in combat. And there's no way in hell I'm letting Kenny run the Motor Inn while I'm gone. Lilly thought.

"You want to take me? Did you hit your head, or somethin'?" asked Kenny.

"Honestly, the thought of spending a good chunk of my time with you makes me want to smash my head until I'm unconscious. However, I feel that you would be good to have on this little scouting mission. I don't see why you're complaining." retorted Lilly. Her explanation wasn't exactly the whole truth, but she hoped Kenny would buy it.

"Well, I am interested in seeing this dairy for myself. Could be a good place to hang our hats if this trading relationship goes well," replied Kenny.

"What do you mean by that?" questioned Lilly.

"Just keeping our options open, that's all. You know this Motor Inn ain't going to last forever, Lilly," answered Kenny.

So you're already thinking of setting up base in some strangers' place? Do you think they're just going to let that happen? Lilly thought.

Lilly wasn't in the mood for an argument, so she just addressed the rest of the group. "Travis and Ben, you're coming with me and Kenny."

Travis nodded his head in recognition, while Ben just nervously muttered, "Ok."

Lilly addressed the St. Johns. "You've got a deal. We'll bring SOME gas to your dairy. In exchange, you give us some food to bring back. If you're men of your word, I think we'll get along just fine."

"Sounds fair. A couple of gallons should power one of our generators for a while," replied Andy.

Lilly noticed that her father was walking over to her. For a brief second, she saw a look of genuine concern on his face, but it was quickly replaced by a business-like face.

That's my dad, alright. He's never going to show how concerned he is about me in front of other people. He wouldn't want to look like a "pansy".

"Lilly, make sure to be on your guard. You never know what kind of surprises you could find. Even though these people seem like they have a nice setup, don't trust anything they say for a second until you see it for yourself. Do you understand me?" demanded Larry.

"Yeah, Dad, I'm well aware. I'm not too keen on going with these guys, but we need food more than ever. If this is the easiest way to get it, then we have to take our chances." responded Lilly.

I swear he still treats me like a little kid sometimes.

Larry just nodded his head, before Lilly turned to the rest of the group. Ben was busy talking to Travis, while Kenny seemed to be reassuring his family that he was going to be fine. Lilly didn't want the St. Johns to be around them any longer than they had to, so she yelled, "Alright! Everyone, we're leaving!"

With that, Lilly, Kenny, Ben, and Travis walked outside the safety of the motor inn and followed the brothers down the dirt path. All she hoped for was that this place would offer some sanctuary from the hell they had found themselves in.

"So, this dairy…you guys really have enough food to just be giving it away like this?" asked Kenny. He was currently walking alongside the St. Johns. Lilly had decided to hang further back to gather her thoughts while Ben and Travis had also decided to step away from the conversation.

"Sure do. We lost most of the cattle, but we still have lots of milk, butter, and cheese stocked up," confirmed Andy.

"And with the vegetables we grow, we've got plenty of food," added Danny.

This place sounds too good to be true. Was this the right decision to make? Going on this mission? Lilly thought.

"Lilly. kids. You three gonna keep creeping behind us or do you want to join in the conversation?" asked Kenny.

"Yeah, why don't you tell us a little about yourself, Lilly?" asked Andy.

"Where are you from?" asked Danny.

"I used to live near Macon," replied Lilly. She wasn't going to give too much personal information away to these guys. After all, she barely knew them.

"Right here in the Heart of Georgia. That's what I like to hear! …Y'all seemed pretty settled at that motor inn. Who's running things over there?" inquired Andy.

This is my chance to assert myself. Lilly thought.

"I'm the leader. If you want to do anything with our group in the future, you're going to have to run it by me first," said Lilly confidently. Kenny just scoffed at Lilly's statement, before shaking his head.

"Is something wrong, Kenny?" challenged Lilly.

"Yeah, I might have a different opinion on the leadership of our little group," stated Kenny.

"And what opinion would that be?" questioned Lilly.

"That you ain't the all-mighty leader…but it doesn't matter," replied Kenny. The St. Johns just looked at each other with a mixture of interest and confusion.

This fucking idiot. He can't keep his mouth shut about how he feels until we're done with this trading mission? Now these guys probably think our group is divided and unstable. They're TOTALLY going to want to trade more food with us now. Lilly thought.

Lilly just shook her head in frustration. At some point, she had to blame herself. After all, she was the one who brought Kenny on the mission. She should have known that his impulsive nature would rear its ugly head once again.

"So…how many people you got over there anyway?" asked Danny.

"Enough to defend ourselves," replied Lilly curtly.

Looks like they're fishing for information. They probably think our group is weak after what Kenny said. If they try to fuck with us, they'll wish they had stayed at the dairy. Lilly thought.

"That's good. It's getting dangerous out there, but you guys seem like you know that," responded Andy.

"Are you saying there's someone we should watch out for?" questioned Lilly.

"Well, it's just the dead that we were talking about. That doesn't mean people can't be dangerous, too," explained Andy.

"You got that right. People can just be a pain in your ass." agreed Kenny.

"Well, people can be a resource too, like yourselves. We'd love to get you all out to the dairy. We've got the extra food and, quite frankly, we could always use the extra helping hand." said Andy.

"In the summers, I used to help out on a goat farm," revealed Ben.

So maybe the other kid isn't so useless after all.

"Yeah, that's great. Everything helps!" encouraged Danny.

"Mama's been runnin' the dairy for as long as I can remember, but now it's getting…"

"You think you're gonna cut me out of this?!" yelled a voice. Andy stopped talking and crouched down once he was able to pinpoint the location of the voice.

"Shit! Everybody, get down!" he whispered.

The 6 of them crouched towards another trail in the woods where they saw two masked men who appeared to be arguing with each other. One of them was wearing a white shirt with some kind of writing on the front and was carrying a shotgun. The other had a brown jacket on and was carrying a crossbow.

"No one's trying to cut you out of anything!" retorted the crossbowman.

"Fuck you! You knew Gary and I did all the heavy lifting, yet you just took the food for yourself. Do you think that's how our fellow group members should treat each other?! After everything I did for you?" asked the shotgun-wielding man.

"Calm down! Your paranoia is pissing everyone off." replied the crossbowman. As they continued to argue,

"Those look like the people who raided my camp. I…recognize the guy in the white shirt," revealed Ben.

"Fuckin' bandits…" muttered Danny.

"Who?" asked Lilly.

"Bandits. They're all around these parts." clarified Andy.

"What? You said that we only had to worry about the walkers. You didn't bother telling us that there's another hostile group right next to us?" demanded Lilly.

"Calm down, Lilly. They just met us. I think we can handle a couple of punks with bows and arrows. Plus, our guns are more deadly than their guns." dismissed Kenny.

"It's a lot more than a couple. They're all over the place. Danny and I have you covered if something happens, but let's just wait this out and hope they move on." said Andy. Kenny had his hunting rifle out, and Lilly took out the pistol she always kept with her nowadays. Travis and Ben didn't have any weapons, so they just stayed put.

"FUCK YOU!" yelled the shotgun man, as he kicked the other guy in the balls before shooting him in the head. Ben gasped, as the man walked over to his friend's deceased body and repeatedly stomped his head in for good measure while continuing to curse at him.

"Jesus," whispered Travis.

"Asshole." finished the man as he walked away out of sight.

"The world out here has gone to shit. Come on. Let's get to the dairy where it's safe." said Andy. As the 6 of them walked back towards the dairy, Lilly almost groaned out of pure frustration. It was bad enough having to deal with the internal struggles of the group, but now she was dealing with complete strangers out of desperation. Combined with the fact that there seemed to be a hostile group who wasn't above murdering their own, there were definitely a lot of future problems that needed to be solved.

I'll solve them no matter what it takes. That's what a leader does.

[Scene Break Location: Back At The Motor Inn]

Lee looked around at the people still left in the motor inn. Katjaa was sitting on a couch staring off into space. Duck and Clementine had gone back to drawing while Since Lilly had gone to St. John's Dairy, Larry had decided to take over watch, Lee couldn't blame the guy, since he seemed worried over Lilly's fate.

Not like he'll ever admit it, though.

Lee had to admit that he was a little worried, too. Lilly was a pillar of this group and someone who had done a lot to keep this group afloat. The raid on the Air Force base, the constant gun training, and the ration system were all products of her mind. Sure, he disagreed with her views on rescuing others, but that was nothing compared to the good she had done.

Kenny as well. He's been really helpful in coming on hunting missions and fixing up the RV. Even if he wants to use it only to get his family away from this place, it's still better than nothing.

Lee had heard Mark was some kind of mechanic, so maybe he would know a little bit about cars, but Kenny had practically worked with them his entire life. He would often tell stories about how his father would fix up a bunch of cars, which encouraged him to start tinkering with them himself.

The good old days when the biggest thing we had to worry about was whether we'd survive long enough for the military to come. Fat chance of that happening now.

"Penny for your thoughts?" asked a voice. Lee turned to see Carley looking at him.

"I'm just worried about Lilly, Kenny, Travis, and Ben. This is the first time we've gone to another place besides the woods, since the Air Force base," replied Lee.

"Yeah, those new guys seem alright. I just hope they're telling the truth about having food. If this is some kind of trap, I don't even want to know what's going to happen to them. Hopefully, they just get the food and come back here quickly." said Carley.

"I think they're telling the truth. It's just…I wish I was there to help them. I kind of wanted to see the dairy for myself. If this is going to be a regular thing, it would be nice to know what our neighbors are like." said Lee.

"Is that why you're worried? You want to know what the place is like for yourself?" asked Carley.

"Yeah. Why?" asked Lee.

Carley just shook her head and chuckled. "Lee, we both know you have a natural instinct to help people. That's why you saved those teenagers in the woods, even though you could have left them to die. You're scared because you're not personally there to keep them safe. I mean, I'm scared for the whole group, but the truth is, I'm mostly scared about Doug. He's not built to handle combat or any kind of conflict."

"I don't think most of us are." retorted Lee.

"You know what I mean, Lee. He doesn't have the combat skills or natural instincts like a lot of us do. If they run into trouble, I'm worried he'll be out of his element." explained Carley.

"Look, Mark and 'Jugram' will protect him with their lives. They know what they're doing, and they have weapons." reassured Lee.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Still, I'm kind of glad they're away from the motel now. Their fighting is just getting ridiculous and we could use some peace and quiet." stated Carley.

"That's saying something. Maybe Lilly taking Kenny on this mission will help mend fences between them. I mean, Kenny was certainly surprised when Lilly volunteered him to go with the St. Johns." observed Lee.

"Hah. Those two fight like an old married couple. They probably found something else to argue about on the way there. I just hope that they don't make the St. Johns not want to trade with us anymore. We need all the food we can get." said Carley.

"Don't I know it?" said Lee. He had an up close and personal view of how demoralizing telling people that they couldn't eat was. Larry was already pissed at him, while the rest weren't outright mad, but they probably weren't pleased.

They just said it was okay to make me feel better. That's all it was.

"I know that we all need food. I'm just saying that you don't have to be sweet on me because we went on that one mission together." winked Carley.

"Wouldn't want to make Doug jealous, right?" joked Lee. The two of them shared a laugh at that.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that. Doug doesn't seem like he has a hateful bone in his body. I like and dislike him for that." stated Carley.

"You know, I never formally congratulated you on starting a relationship with Doug. So, congratulations…on entering a relationship," stated Lee awkwardly.

"Aww, thanks, Lee. Your praise means the world to me." laughed Carley. "But yeah, Doug and I have decided to take it a bit slow. This is something that I think is a bit scary for both of us, but I think it's worth it. There is so much that we have learned about each other, and still so much more that we CAN learn about each other. We still have a lot of time to go through that learning curve together."

"Glad to hear it. I'm happy for you, really. It's nice to see someone in a happy relationship." commented Lee. Carley just looked at Lee in pity. Her features showed signs of worry, as she was picking up what Lee was hinting at.

"Lee, you know what happened doesn't have to make you a bad man, right?"

"Tell that to the jury, the public, the country, hell, even my own family." retorted Lee.

"Look, I know what they think about you. Trust me, I paid attention to that case the whole way. Saying that you did the crime in a fit of rage, the prosecutor's statement that the real Lee Everett showed up that night, the talk of your marriage being unhappy and trying to paint you as verbally abusive and intimidating towards your wife, I heard everything. But I also sat down with you and heard things from your perspective, remember?"

Lee remembered sitting down with Carley and telling his side of the story a couple of weeks after they had set up at the Motor Inn. The process seemed to be cathartic for both of them. Lee got to explain himself to someone who didn't look at him like something they would scrape off the bottom of their shoe, and Carley was able to feel like a reporter once again, something that she had once taken for granted.

"I'm not sure everyone would see it the way you do," stated Lee.

"Does anyone else know about your past?" asked Carley. Lee just looked up at Larry, who for once, actually wasn't looking at him with disdain. Well, he wasn't looking at Lee at all. He was more focused on the woods outside the motor inn.

"Larry does," revealed Lee.

"Ugh, that can't be easy." sympathized Carley.

"Clementine asked me if I killed another human after our conversation in the drugstore. I chose to avoid the question, but…"

"That might have been for the best. I don't know how you explain to a child what happened." supported Carley.

That's not the only secret I'm hiding from her.

"Even with your past Lee, I think you should take charge more often. You're what this group needs." encouraged Carley.

"Really? You think they would want me for a leader?" asked Lee in a surprised tone.

"Sure, everyone looks up to you, including, Kenny, and Lilly. I don't know about 'Jugram' since he's hard to read anyway even if they might not admit it, they always look to you for support when they're fighting each other. Do you know why? Because they know just how much you mean to this group, and they know just how much your opinion matters." stated Carley.

"If they knew about my past, they wouldn't look to me for anything." retorted Lee.

"…You know why I look up to you despite your past? Your kind nature and willingness to help others. Kenny and Lilly are way too selfish, but you understand that people need to band together to survive. You understand that we should help other people even if we might not get something back in return. That's the kind of ideals we need in a leader." urged Carley.

Man, I never wanted to be the leader. But is she talking sense? Do I have an opportunity to make something out of this group if I take charge?

"Just promise me one thing, Lee," said Carley.

"What's that?" asked Lee.

"Always do the right thing. Even if it's the hard thing to do, always do the right thing," said Carley.

Carley walked away presumably to collect her thoughts, while Lee decided to head over to Katjaa. She wanted to see how the woman was holding up after her near-death experience.

"Hey, Katjaa. Mind if I take a seat?" asked Lee.

"No problem, Lee. You've been working hard all day today." smiled Katjaa.

"I wanted to see how you were holding up. Things got a bit…messy today," explained Lee.

"You know, when that man grabbed me, I thought that was it. My husband and son were going to watch me get eaten in front of their eyes. And there was nothing I could do about it. If you hadn't come in to save me, that is what would have happened." said Katjaa.

"I brought that man here in the first place. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been in danger in the first place. I'm to blame for you almost getting killed." mumbled Lee.

"Don't blame yourself, Lee. None of us could have known that you turn no matter how you die. Honestly, I was feeling a little guilty myself. Even if we couldn't have saved that man, something in me just wants to be able to save everyone." replied Katjaa.

"Some kind of Hippocratic Oath thing?" asked Lee.

"Something like that." chuckled Katjaa. She looked at Duck who was showing Clementine his drawing. Of course, he added his usual dramatics by pretending that the robot in his drawing was going to save the world and defeat all the bad guys. Lee found it quite adorable, even if it was annoying a lot of the time.

"You know. I don't think I ever asked, but what happened to Clementine's parents?" asked Katjaa.

Lee sighed. "Her parents were in Savannah on a trip while she was with her caretaker. Her mom left a few messages on the answering machine at her place. It sounds like her dad got bit and her mom didn't make it either." whispered Lee.

"Poor girl," whispered Katjaa.

"You know, I'm not even thinking about what happened to me, right now. Right now, all I can think about is Kenny. I know he goes hunting a lot, and he's already putting himself in danger, but it seems different somehow. What happened started making me think about our own mortality. How close we are to death every day even if we feel safe. Kenny can't die, Lee. He can't die, because it would destroy Duck. It would destroy his life, his innocence. And if his life is destroyed, my life will be destroyed. Think about all the families that have had their lives destroyed since this started. Your family, Clementine's family, countless other families. All changed. I'm lucky that my family has stayed intact through all this. I want it to stay that way. I don't want you or I to be the one to explain to Duck why his father isn't here anymore. I just…need him to come back safe." stated Katjaa. She stopped talking once she realized that she had been rambling for quite a bit. She seemed a bit flustered at the fact that she probably had let out more than she wanted, so Lee decided to save her.

"I get what you mean, Katjaa. I wish that I could have talked to my parents one last time every day. I don't want it to happen to anyone else, especially not these kids. Kenny's got a whole crew backing him up, plus the new people that we met seemed like they were willing to help. I'm sure he'll come back safe and sound." reassured Lee.

"I hope so. Did you hear that Kenny is planning on getting to the coast?" asked Katjaa.

"Yeah, I told him that leaving was a good idea, but maybe he should look somewhere else besides the coast. There's no guarantee that there's still any boats around," answered Lee.

"I don't think leaving is a good idea unless we can bring the whole group with us. In order to keep our family safe, we need to be around like-minded people who will protect us as if we were their family. I know you and Kenny have your differences Lee, but you've proven that you will look out for us when the time comes. I know I can count on other people in this group as well to protect them. I love Kenny with all my heart, but he wouldn't mind abandoning everyone here if it meant getting to the coast. That was not something I could agree on." replied Katjaa.

"You argue with him about it?" asked Lee.

"A couple of times. It didn't get very far. On our last argument, it just ended with him saying that the RV wasn't ready yet, so there was no use talking about it. Once he got it fixed up, he would have a discussion with the entire group." revealed Katjaa.

Glad to know he doesn't seem to be just packing up and leaving.

"Yeah, he practically told me the same thing. Although, he did offer me, Clementine, 'Jugram' a spot on the RV. It doesn't look like he just wants to take off on his own." stated Lee.

"I know Kenny. He might say that he'll discuss it later, but it will most likely be on who wants to join us. Once he has his mind made up about something, he doesn't veer off course for anything. Quite frankly, he can be dumber than a bag of hammers sometimes. But he's my husband, so I have to support him regardless." said Katjaa.

Lee didn't have anything to say to that, so he just shrugged his shoulders and decided to watch Clementine and Duck for a while. The long day was catching up to him and he really wanted some rest from the events that had transpired. However, he wanted to be awake when either Yhwach or Lilly's group came back.

I just hope the whole group gets a break. We deserve it at this point.

[Scene Break Location: Yhwach's Group]

"Come on in, fellas! The next drinks are on us!" exclaimed the man. Yhwach got a closer look at the man. He seemed to be stout at about 5'10" with semi-muscular arms and a defined figure. He was sporting a 5'o'clock shadow with tattoos to match. He had on a black T-shirt and brown cargo pants. The other guy was a bit bigger and looked to be slightly taller than his friend. He was also about 50 pounds heavier and had a red jacket on coupled with some jeans. He had a gold chain around his neck, so Yhwach assumed that he seemed to be a fashionable guy.

Doug was looking a bit uncomfortable at the two men. They seemed to be quite a bit younger than Mark, so Yhwach placed the smaller man as being in his mid-20s and the bigger man was a couple years younger than that.

"I'm Frank. My fatass friend over here is Felix." introduced Frank.

"Shut the fuck up, Frank," replied Felix.

"Hey, that will be the only way you ever get any." retorted Frank. The two of them laughed and started swigging their drinks while Yhwach, Mark, and Doug came further into the bar. Frank passed them a bottle, as the 3 survivors reached the countertop.

What the hell? A drink wouldn't be all bad. Although I have a bad feeling about these two for some reason. Doug thought.

At one point in time, Doug would have loved the company of strangers. But this was a different time. A different world. Doug would always make the people in his own group feel welcome, but he didn't know if he could do the same for strangers anymore. Mark didn't seem to have the same reservations.

"I'm Mark. It's always nice to meet some new people."

Mark began to speak over the pair as he started filling up their drinks, Frank looked over at Yhwach.

"Their name's 'Jugram' and Doug. We came into town looking to get some supplies, before we stumbled across this bar. We didn't expect to find anyone else here." explained Mark.

"Well, here's to finding new friends along the way. And to the old friends we lost." saluted Frank. Felix, and Mark, joined him in the salute before drinking out of their glasses. Yhwach kept his Pistol in his lap. Mark had propped his rifle up behind the counter, while Doug was just sitting there with a pensive expression.

"So what brings you guys here?" asked Doug.

"Well, it wasn't the weather, I'll tell you that much. I must have dropped 30 pounds in sweat alone over the summer." joked Frank.

"I wish," said Felix.

"Nah, I'm originally from Newark. So is my pal, Felix. We tried getting up to New York City at first thinking there was some kind of massive refugee camp, but the roads were so blocked that we couldn't even make it to the bridge. We decided to go down south and test our luck with ol' George Washington, but we ran into a similar issue. Eventually, we just decided to go into the countryside and make a go of things. That brought us to this little town here." explained Frank.

"We heard rumors about the Coast Guard sending ferries of people to the islands. That one was probably bullshit, but a lot of people are making up shit about ways to get out of this just to make themselves feel better," said Felix.

"I never heard anything about the Coast Guard doing that. Maybe they implemented it too late," said Mark.

"Oh yeah, you one of their members or something?" asked Frank.

"No, I was part of the Robbins Warner Air Force Base. That's where 'Jugram' and his group found me locked in a storage closet. In exchange for the food in the base, they let me in and here I am." explained Mark.

"My dad always wanted me to be in the Army. I think I could have done it if I wasn't such a lazy sleazeball," said Felix.

"Your ass wouldn't have passed basic training." joked Frank. The two of them laughed at that, as did Mark. Even Doug smiled, but it was short-lived as the silence started to permeate the entire bar.

I can just feel the awkwardness in this room. Maybe I'm just being paranoid for nothing, Doug thought.

"So, you mentioned you had a group?" asked Frank innocently.

"Yeah, we have a group back at our base. We were just out…to do some scouting," said Mark. He slowed down once he realized Yhwach was giving him a glare that said "Don't reveal anything".

"Scouting for what?" pressed Frank.

"Just general supplies. You know food, medicine, water, ammo. Anything we could use. You can never have too much of everything." explained Doug.

The two of them just stared each other down for a few seconds. Felix looked at Frank as if he was waiting for him to make a move. Mark was confused by the sudden tension that had manifested inside the bar, but he moved discreetly closer to his rifle in case something went down. Yhwach realized that he needed to find a way to end the conversation without looking rude or suspicious. He didn't want to entertain these guys any longer. Felix was, at the very least, a creep and Frank seemed to be fishing for information on their group.

"That's a nice gun you got there, Big guy," noted Felix.

Yhwach said nothing as he locked eyes with the both of them.

Frank took out his gun and showed it to the group. "I got this gun from a police officer. This one was already dead. It's a shame, isn't it? All those guns and yet it still couldn't protect them from the dead. Seems to me like the police were a bit overconfident in their abilities."

"Well, I think that's unfair to say. No one could have predicted that it would get as bad as it did. Even the military had trouble trying to keep the walkers under control. If they couldn't do it, it wouldn't be fair to expect the local police to have any shot." explained Mark. He was just as oblivious as ever to the true meaning behind Marco's words.

"You're right. Like I said, I assume too much. So, listen Mark…" started Frank.

"We've said enough," Yhwach interrupted firmly.

"Well hang on a minute, this base sounds sweet. Don't it sound sweet, Felix?"

"Yeah, real sweet." supported Felix. He moved to the other side of the bar.

"How about a little Southern hospitality? We got some other guys with us that are having a rough time. There's no reason we can't all pool our resources and make survival easier for everyone involved. You give us a home, we give you our skills. Everyone wins!" said Frank.

"I'm sorry. We can't. we have too many people. We can't take in anymore." replied Doug. he seemed grateful that Yhwach didn't even entertain the notion of taking these people in. 

Frank just looked down in disbelief before standing up. Both Felix and Frank were standing to Yhwach's right and left respectively. Felix kept looking at Frank and looked back at Yhwach. He was also shocked that Yhwach and his group weren't keen on letting their group in.

"You know, I thought we were getting somewhere. I thought we were becoming friends," said Frank.

"Far from it. We don't know anything about you or your friend," Yhwach replied coldly.

"You're right. You don't know anything about us." agreed Frank. "You don't know what we've had to go through out there. The kind of things we had to do just to stay alive. I bet you've had to do some of those same things yourself, right? We're all in the same boat here. So, let's just take a nice ride down to your base and we'll all have a fresh start together. Like I said, it will be easier for everyone this way."

Yhwach noted that Frank's hands were near his waistband where his pistol was located. He looked at Felix who also had his hands on his hips. They weren't very far from his pistol either. Something in the back of Yhwach's head told him that this situation was about to get very dangerous very fast.

I could very well kill one of them with my pistol before they could do anything. But can I kill the other one in time? Does Mark even have his rifle at the ready? I'm afraid that these fools will catch us in a trap if I don't react now. But maybe that isn't the way to go. Not yet. Yhwach thought, his expression grim.

_______________________________________________________________

What does [M] (Yhwach) do?

A) Shoot Frank and Felix.

B) Continue the conversation

_______________________________________________________________

Additional Choice Who goes back to the Motor Inn? (Pick 2 people)

C) Lilly

D) Kenny

E) Travis

F) Ben

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Relationships [M] (Yhwach):

Mark: 11/15

He doesn't mind that you didn't go with him. He just wants everyone to get out without any issues.

Doug: 12/15

He actually appreciated the help in getting supplies from the convenience store. He's also kind of useless in this conflict since he has nothing on him.

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Relationships [M] (Lee Everett):

Kenny: 10/15

He hopes you eventually come around to going to the coast with him. You did save his wife from danger, though.

Katjaa: 12/15

She's glad that you saved her life.

Lilly: 8/15

She appreciates you feeding her, even though she didn't show it and her dad and she's happy with who you fed.

Larry: 4/15

He's surprised you fed him, considering the way he was treating you for the past three months. He is still pissed at you for almost getting their only doctor killed by bringing that walker into the base but at least you risked your life to protect her, although that still doesn't mean he approves of your previous choice of letting strangers join.

Andy St. John: 5

You just met him.

Danny St. John: 5

Same as Andy.

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Members: 13

Remember Actions have consequences, my dear readers.