𝟷.𝟷𝟸 | Leaving The Motel

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Naya walked up to her father as they watched Lee talk to everyone, she had noticed that her father had been tense and was worried about him regarding the entire situation they happened to be in. "Dad, are you alright?" Naya asked as she leaned against the banister, she turned to look up at him. "Yeah, Moo, I'm just worried about what we do next. Macon is... empty and this motel won't stand a chance against bandits nor the dead that will be leaving the cities in search of food," Hayden answered her honestly, he knew better than to beat around the bush with his daughter; especially considering the lives they now lived.

"Maybe you, Uncle Lee and Uncle Kenny can work out a way to help everyone together!" Naya told her father who smiled at her words. "Moo, do you see Lee and Kenny as family?" Hayden asked his little girl. "Of course, daddy!" Naya cheered, "They're all our family. A little weird, loyal and sometimes angry but that's what family is." Hayden leaned down and kissed his little girls head, "Go hang out with Clem and Ducky, they're waving you over." He noticed Lee waving him towards Lily's room with a certain look on his face. "Okay, love you!" Naya called to her father before making her way down to the boys, Duck instantly bragging about being Robin and solving a case.

"What is it?" Hayden asked Lee as he walked over to him, the former professor was clearly unhappy. "Supplies have been going missing and someone has been stashing them in a small hole outside the walls," Lee told Hayden and Lily, the woman sighed and shook her head as they stepped into the room. "We have to take this serious now because--" Lily was cut off by the sudden shout outside, "YOU DON'T FUCKING STEAL FROM US!!" Lily, Hayden and Lee turned towards the window and peeked out to see the local bandits that now stood outside their walls, a couple of them climbing over to hold the others below at gunpoint.

Lily grabbed her sniper rifle, "Keep them distracted!" Hayden and Lee rushed out of the room as Lily climbed out of a back window. "Hold it, assholes!" A bandit shouted as he and his companion pointed their guns at the two men. "Take it easy, mate," Hayden warned with his hands raised, he glanced over to see Clement and Naya huddled together, his daughter looking at Duck and Katjaa who were a distance away from them. "We have more supplies. We can keep the deal going," Lee added from Hayden's words in an attempt to keep them distracted.

"Too late shithead, we ain't giving second chances!" The bandit leader shouted at Lee, he kept his eyes on him directly. "It was a mix-up!" Lee replied to him, "We'll make it worth your while!" The bandit lowers his gun, "I'm listening..." Hayden nodded slightly to Lee who continued, "What will it take to reach a deal?" The bandit leader tilted his head, "'Bout twice as much as you been giving us!" Hayden gritted his teeth fighting the urge to pull his gun free as Lee nodded, "You got it. Done." The bandit lowers his gun completely, "Is that so? Well, I suppose we oughta hash out some terms then!"

Another bandit spoke up, "I don't like no hash." The leader turned to him, "Shut up or I'll--" A loud gunshot echoed through the air as the bandit leader was hit in the head, his body collapsed to the ground startling the other bandits. Ben and Kenny had reached out to pull Clement and Naya to safety however, the little girl rushed out of Clem's hold towards Duck in time to tackle him out of the way of a bandit. "We gotta move!" Naya told Duck who nodded, they interlaced their fingers and rushed over to Katjaa, the three hiding behind some cover from the bullets. Clement's eyes were wide, he was beyond worried for Naya and Duck as he took cover with Ben.

The adults and bandits began a shoot out that echoed so loud through the air that the dead were attracted to the sounds. "We gotta get out of here!!" Kenny shouts across to Hayden and Lee, the two men agreeing. "Oh really!? I thought we'd sit down for some tea first!" Hayden called back to Kenny, Lee would have laughed had the situation been different and less life-threatening. "Make sure everyone makes it to the RV!" Kenny called back before he rushed into the RV and started it up. Lee gave the all clear to Ben, Carley and Clement and the three rushed into the RV though Clem was quick to peek out the window watching his friends.

Lee and Hayden try to cover for Katjaa, Duck and Naya to get to the RV but the bandits begin moving in closer resulting in Lee using the RV as cover while peeking out on the left side as Hayden shoots from the right side. Finally with a moment to move, the three trapped survivors make a move towards the RV however, Naya is tackled down suddenly by Duck who had protected her from the Walker that now hovered over him. Naya was quick to pick up a gun that had fallen from a bandit, she steadied it against her shoulder and without further hesitation, she shot the Walker.

Naya and Katjaa pulled Duck up from the pavement and the mother and son duo rushed to the RV as Naya used the gun to shoot Walkers that got too close. The ten-year-old felt so much adrenaline through her veins that she hadn't noticed the pain in her shoulder from the gun's recoil, Hayden had reached her and pushed her in the direction of the RV. "Lily, get in the RV!" Lee screamed out to the woman still firing from the second floor. "Screw her! Let her stay!" Kenny shouted at the man once Naya and Hayden had gotten into the RV leaving Carley, Lee and Lily the remaining ones needed to get in.

"Lily, last chance, hurry!" Lee shouts as he and Carley make a clearing for the woman before they rushed into the RV where Naya was in Clement's arms, the boy refusing to let go after seeing her so close to danger; Katjaa holding Duck in her arms in the passenger seat of the RV. Lee rushes into the RV as Lily quickly makes her way down, she barely manages to jump into the RV as Kenny starts to drive away; Hayden quickly pulling the RV door closed as Kenny speeds out of the motel lot and onto the road leaving behind the home they had created for the past few months.

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"Kat! Are you okay?" Kenny asked once they had gotten a short distance away from the motel, his wife was currently using a cloth and water that Hayden gave her to wipe the blood from herself and Duck who was cuddled up tiredly against Katjaa's chest. "I'm fine, I'm fine," Katjaa repeated to him but it was clear that something more was wrong. "Everything's fine, Ben," Carley tried to reassure the teenage boy who was freaking the hell out. "Everything is not fine," Lily spoke up as she looked away from Hayden who was cleaning the Walker blood from his daughter's face, Clem holding her hand tight in his own.

"We need to figure out how this happened. We just lost everything," Lily continued as she looked around at Carley, Lee and Ben. "Well, we're lucky as shit to have this RV!" Kenny called back to them, a minor reminder that it had been his idea to fix up the RV in case something like this would happen. "And nobody died," Carley added. "Kat's head is split open!" Kenny remarked as he looked towards his wife. "I'm fine!" Katjaa snapped back at her husband, holding her son closer to her. "Somebody in here caused this," Lily said as she looked down angrily. "Settle down back there, the bandits have had our number for weeks!" Kenny replied to her.

"This is different. Somebody was working with them, whoever it was, was slipping them our meds. They didn't get their last package, so they attacked," Lily informed them, Hayden and Lee shared a look while Carley's eyes went wide, Ben lowered his gaze and at the steering wheel, Kenny glared harshly at the road ahead of him. "Lee found a bag of supplies hidden outside the wall," Lily revealed to everyone, Clement and Naya shared a look before the young girl moved to snuggle into his side; Hayden stepped up next to Lee. "It's true," Lee added with a frown. "So, Carley, is there something you want to say?" Lily asked the other woman with a sneer.

"Whoa! Hold on a second," Hayden interrupted, "We are not jumping to unjust accusations right now so slow down." Lily mocked a laugh, "Maybe you have something you're hiding then." Hayden stepped closer to her, "You knew my stance with the bandits, I wanted to hunt them down and kill them, Lily. I don't negotiate with terrorists." Lily shrunk under his glare before turning to the others, "I didn't come up with this. I've had my suspicions." Kenny spoke up from the front of the RV, "Probably not the best time, Lily!" Lily was quick to snap back, "If not now, then when?!"

"Look, maybe we should, uh, vote or something like that?" Ben shakily spoke up gaining Lily's attention on him. "Vote?" Lily asked in confusion. "Just--Carley's a stand up gal and maybe this was all just a misunderstanding," Ben expressed to her. "We need to look at the facts. Let's calm down, eat and we'll deal with it," Carley interrupted the two. "Yeah! Let's do that," Ben agreed with her. "Guys, we have to act now. I know it sounds nuts but we have a traitor here. Do you guys get that? Someone who puts their insidious shit above everyone else," Lily spoke up while Lee sighed, "No one will admit anything, Lily. This is just creating unneeded tension."

"Was it both of you?" Lily asked Carley and Ben ignoring Lee's words. "What!?" Ben asked, shocked. "I've seen you two together. Was it both of you?" Lily double downed on the two of them. "Look, just let me out. I didn't do it, but I don't like this; I don't like where its headed," Ben said nervously. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't have anything to do with it," Lily said as she leaned down to look Ben in the eyes though he avoided her gaze. "Leave him alone!" Naya shouted at the older woman just as the RV seemed to hit something. "Shit!" Kenny exclaimed before braking the RV to a stop.

"What's going on up there?" Hayden called to his friend driving. "I hit something, we gotta stop!" Kenny replied to him, pulling to the side as best as he can. "All right, well, we can deal with this now then," Lily spoke in a low tone. "Kenny, is it safe?" Lee asked the man. "Should be," Kenny replied before Lily ordered, "Everybody out!" Naya and Clement glanced towards the front where Katjaa stayed seated with Duck in her arms before the two followed the adults out of the RV. "The RV has some surface damage but there's a Walker trapped underneath," Hayden told Kenny before the two worked to removed the Walker.

"You know what, we shouldn't just kick you out, we should hear what everybody thinks," Lily said with her eyes on Ben and Carley directly. "I think you should chill out!" Ben exclaimed back to the woman. "I'm not gonna take this!" Carley spoke, "You can push Ben around but you can't push me around!" Naya frowned as she stood next to Clement, the two kids watching the encounter with worried gazes. "I'm sorry you feel that way, but I'm starting to think it was both of you!" Lily snapped out. "NO!" Ben shouts. "There's no way it was Carley. It was somebody else. It could've been someone sneaking into our camp," Lee spoke up on the woman's behalf.

"That's ridiculous. That's what you think?" Lily questioned Lee with a look of disbelief. "Yes," Lee answered her with a serious tone. "Okay, fine then. Kenny? Hayden?" Lily questioned the two men working to remove the Walker. "I don't know! Fuck!" Kenny exclaimed to them. "Just stop, would ya!?" Hayden added. "Well, Kenny, your vote counts for Katjaa and Duck," Lily informed the man. "We don't need these votes! What do I have to do for you to trust me? I'll do anything!" Ben exclaimed fearfully. "Stop panicking. Seriously, Ben, you need to stop and just take a breath," Lee said to the teenager.

"Do we need any more evidence than this!?" Lily snapped at Lee. "Fuck evidence! Stop treating him like this!" Carley growled out at the other woman. "Shut up, Carley! I'd heard enough out of you!" Lily shouted at the woman. "Kenny! What's it gonna be?" Lily asked again. "Just give me a damn minute!" Kenny shouts. "You're taking this too far, Lily!" Hayden snapped out. "Ben, you have until that Walker is dealt with to tell me it was her and not you," Lily warned Ben who swallowed fearfully. "Stop this! You're torturing him!" Carley told her, she was trying to protect the teenager who lost everything.

"This is about trust--" Lily spoke before looking directly at Ben, "--And I've never trusted you." Lee steps closer, "Lily, lay off!" She turned to him, "I can't, Lee, you know I can't." The two kids watched the argument like it was a tennis match. "Let's just get back into the RV," Ben expressed, he just wanted to rest. "That's not happening," Lily growled. "You think you're some tough bitch, don't you? Like nothing can hurt you, but you're just a scared little girl. Get the fuck over it," Carley snapped at Lily who didn't take the words kindly.

"Take a page from Lee's book and try helping somebody for once," Carley added. Naya tuned out of the argument as she turned her head to her father once he had managed to pull the Walker from under the car and Kenny stomped onto its head. "Now, what the fuck's the problem?" Kenny asked but before anyone could answer, a gunshot rang through the air and Carley's body flopped to the ground, dead. Naya let out a scream at the sight, Carley had been a mother figure to her in their time of the motel so seeing her dead was terrifying. Clement pulled her into his arms, hiding her face in his chest as he closed his own eyes.

Lee grabbed Lily's wrist and slammed her against the side of the RV, holding her arm against it as she registered what she had just done, letting the gun drop from her hand. "Holy fuck..." Kenny breathed out. "Kenny, what's happening!?" Katjaa called out to her husband. "Keep Duck away from the windows!" Kenny shouts as he looks toward Lee and Lily, "We're leaving this crazy bitch behind." Lily shook her head, "She couldn't be trusted, Lee. I swear. Please." Ben looked up from Carley's body, "Wha--What are we going to do with her?" Lee glared into Lily's eyes as he spoke, "You're not coming with us."

Clement led Naya into the RV as she sobbed, the young girl was beyond exhausted already as she and Clem climbed up on the seat and he held her close to him. The adults continued to argue until Ben, Kenny and Hayden walked back inside. Kenny went to the front, informing his wife of what had happened while Ben found a seat hidden in the back where he let some tears fall. Hayden sat on one side of the kids as Lee climbed in and closed the door leaving Lily behind, he took the spot on the other side of the kids. They all sat in silence as Kenny drove away, Lee was happy he took Carley's advice telling the others about his past because it had built trust in Kenny that wouldn't be broken.

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Rosemary Speaks. . .

Finally another update, sorry for the wait!

Also, it took a little longer because my computer decided to blue screen.

Thoughts on this chapter?

Duck saved Naya, but at what cost?

Thoughts, Suggestions or Questions?

See you in the next chapter!

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