Chapter 3: In Your Charge

Lee Everett limped away from the rotting creatures that rapidly surrounded him as fast as he could manage, his injured leg slowing him down. They emerged from the trees, growling and reaching out to him as he hastened past. He stumbled on the incline, but managed to crawl his way up until he spotted a wooden fence. He pushed himself up and stole one last glance at the approaching walkers. For a group of shuffling, slow-moving corpses, they seemed to be moving faster and faster to him.

Lee reached the fence, pulled himself up, threw his good leg over, and let his weight carry him across. He fell to the ground with a thump, but quickly recovered and shuffled away from the fence until his back hit a platform of a house. He watched breathlessly through the gaps of the fence as the walkers moved dazedly, their hands clawing and slamming against the wood.

BANG

Suddenly, a distant gunshot rang out, its muffled sound echoing through the woods and causing birds to scatter from the treetops. Multiple shots followed, at least three more, and pulled the dead's attention from Lee and towards the source of the noise. Lee waited as the banging on the fence stopped, and the horde shuffled in another direction. As soon as it sounded clear, he took that moment to finally catch his breath.

Using the foundation, Lee pushed himself up and walked to the center of the backyard he'd stumbled into. He looked around at his surroundings: a red wagon, a lawn chair, and a swing set tied to a sturdy looking treehouse. But no one in sight.

"Hello?" he called out. "Anybody?"

No response. Only the sounds of insects buzzing, birds chirping, and a distant wind chime.

Lee glanced over to the large tree. The treehouse looked sturdy enough, but there was no easy way up there due to his injury.

"No ladder..." Lee muttered. "I'm not getting up there anyways, this leg the way it is."

He went over to the tree and spotted a set of tea cups resting underneath. Lee joked to himself that he'd fill one of them up with some good old bourbon if he had any, since damn if he wasn't thirsty. Lee turned to try the door but stopped himself. He looked back around and at the tea cups again.

They were small, pink, and looked like they belonged to a child. He vaguely remembered seeing two of them at the top of the hill back in the woods. Lee looked back up to the treehouse.

"Anybody up there?" he called. "Hello? Anybody in there?"

Again, no response.

"I thought I saw a couple of girls in the forest... Are you up there? I'm not one of those things...!"

Silence .

"I guess it's empty," he concluded, disappointed.

Lee limped across the grass, his injured leg aching with every step. As he approached the patio, he noticed the sliding glass door. The blinds were partially open, and he couldn't help but wonder if someone was inside. With a sense of desperation, he pounded on the glass, his eyes darting around the room for any signs of movement.

"Hello? Anybody home? I need a little help," he called out, hoping for a response. But once again, there was only silence.

It was starting to feel like a cruel joke.

Lee hesitated for a moment before reaching for the handle of the glass door. His heart was racing as he considered the risks. But he knew that standing outside and yelling could probably attract unwanted attention, and that was the last thing he needed.

With a deep breath, he slid the door open slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements. "Coming in. Don't shoot, okay?" he announced, his voice wavering slightly. He stepped inside cautiously, his eyes scanning the room for any signs of danger. It was a gamble, but he had to take it.

**********************************

Lee gingerly stepped over the fallen shelf and continued his exploration of the dark, wrecked house. He winced as a fresh wave of pain shot through his injured leg, reminding him of the awful situation he was in. Despite his discomfort, he kept moving forward, cautiously calling out to anyone who might be listening.

"Ah, shit ." Lee hissed through his teeth. "Hello? I'm not an intruder... or one of them ," he announced, hoping to avoid any potential misunderstandings. As he scanned the room, his heart sank at the sight of the chaos around him. Chairs overturned, blood smeared on the walls, and a trail leading to the door he had just entered through.

"There people might need more help than I do."

Desperate for some sustenance, Lee began searching for food. His eyes landed on an abandoned coloring book and a dinosaur toy, which suggested that a child did live in the house. His gaze then landed on a bowl of fruit on the dining table. He rushed over, only to discover that the bananas were plastic. " Damn ."

Determined to find something , Lee pressed on, stopping at the staircase which was blocked by a fallen shelf. He noticed the blood trail leading from the front door to various areas around the house, and his stomach turned. The scene was a horrifying mess.

"Furniture overturned... blood everywhere... Jesus ..."

He approached the window next to the TV and saw a framed drawing of a sunrise over mountains, with a painted handprint underneath that read 'Clementine' . He shook his head, hoping that the child who lived here was alright, and her absence had nothing to do with them . Lee pulled the blinds down and looked through them. The street was a mess, wrecked cars everywhere and no signs of life.

"This whole neighborhood is deserted... what the hell..."

He turned his attention back to his first mission. Finding some sort of food, hoping to find more than plastic fruit. Lee made his way back towards the kitchen, stopping when he noticed a puddle of dried, black blood and what looked to be hand and shoe prints mixed in and around it.

"Jesus..." he muttered to himself, feeling a creeping sense of unease. Lee decided to shuffle around the dried mess.

BEEEEP

Lee spun around; his attention drawn to the sound of a beeping answering machine. His mind raced as he realized that there could be a phone somewhere in this deserted house, and he could finally call for help. He made his way back out of the wrecked kitchen and spotted a table with a blinking red light. The number '5' flashed on the screen, indicating five unheard messages.

Lee eagerly pressed the button underneath, waiting anxiously for the messages to play.

Five new messages.

Message one. Left at: Five-forty-three P.M

"Hey, Sandra, this is Diana. We're still in Savannah. Ed had a little 'incident' with some crazy guy near the hotel, so we had to get in back to the ER and have it checked out. Anyway, he's not feeling well enough to drive back tonight, so we're staying an extra day. Before I forget— Emily just paged and told me that she'll be staying an extra three days here in Savannah, so Rachel's welcomed to sleepover if she wants. Thanks so much for looking after them, and I promise we'll be back in time before the end of summer break!

Message two. Left at: Five-fifty-five P.M

"Hiii, it's Emily. I'm so sorry for leaving Rachel with you on such short notice, but if she behaves herself she can spend the night since my eldest said he won't be home until late tonight. Oh, I ran into Diana and Ed here at the hospital. Poor Eddie had to get check into the ER. Apparently, it's not anything too serious, thank God. Anyways, I know Rachel can be a handful but I promise I'll pay you extra for your troubles when I get back. Goodnight!

Message three. Left at: Eleven-nine-teen P.M

"Oh my god, finally! I don't know if you've tried to reach us; all the calls are getting dropped. They're not letting us leave and aren't telling us anything about Atlanta. Please, please, just leave the city and take the girls back with you to Marietta. I've- I've gotta get back to the hospital. Please let me know that you're safe."

Message four. Left at: Six-fifty-one A.M

"Sandra?! Sandra, mierda... Sandra, listen to me. Do not take the girls to Marietta, if you haven't left already. Rachel, sweetheart, listen to Sandra, okay? Don't be scared, alright? Momma loves you. H-Here, Diana, talk." The phone sounds like it was given to someone. Another voice, presumably Diana's, sniffled into the receiver. "Clementine? Baby, if you can hear this, call the police. That's nine... one...one. We love you... we love you... we love y—"

Message five. Left at: Seven-fiftteen A.M

The only sound emitting from the answering machine is muffled, choppy static. The message ends with a click.

BEEEEP

...

God .

Lee picked up the family portrait that had been knocked over. The picture showed a man, his wife, and their daughter. Lee assumed that the daughter was Clementine, and judging by the voice messages he had heard, it sounded like the things had got them, all of them. Lee placed the picture back in its proper position.

" Daddy?" Lee was startled, but he knew he wasn't imagining it. He went into the kitchen and saw that it was a mess. Dishes were left haphazardly across the area, and most of the cabinets were hanging open. Lee spotted a cup of water by the sink and drank it all before looking for the source of the voice.

"Helloooo?" said another voice, and Lee realized it was coming from a phone or radio. He searched through the cabinets and drawers until he found a two-way radio. Lee picked it up and walked toward the glass door. Clicking the button on the side, he spoke into the radio, "...Hello?"

"You need to be quiet," the voice said.

Lee looked around but didn't see anybody inside the house. "Who is this?" he asked.

"I'm Clementine. This is my house."

Lee remembered the family portrait he had seen earlier and realized that Clementine was the girl in the picture. "Hi, Clementine. I'm Lee."

"Hi, Lee! I'm Rachel! Are you nice?"

"Shh! Get over, you're crushing her!"

"H-Hey...!" Clementine groaned.

Lee frowned. "How many people are with you?"

"Me, and my friends Rachel and Travis."

Lee continued to wander around the house and asked, "Hi kids. Where are your parents?"

"My momma and Clem's parents went out of town. To Savannah, where the boats and stuff are?" Rachel added.

"Where are you kids?" asked Lee.

"We're outside in my treehouse. They can't get in."

"That's smart," said Lee.

As he looked out the kitchen window, Lee saw two girls waving from the entrance. "See? Can you see us? We can see you through the window." He waved back.

Suddenly, the girls yelped and ducked back into the treehouse. Lee turned around only to be lunged at by a woman, snarling and covered head to toe in blood and grime. Her body leaned towards him, and Lee immediately put his hands up defensively, struggling to keep her at bay as her limbs flailed and swiped at his face. Finally with one strong move he pushed the undead woman away, her body slamming against the oven. It clicked then and there to Lee that she was just like one of those things that chased him through the forest. He turned and ran from her, but slipped in the puddle of blood he'd seen before.

His head collided with the edge of the counter as he fell to the tiled floor. Lee tried to see through his blurred, dazed vision and through the haze he made out the figure of the undead woman clawing her way towards him from the opposite side of the kitchen. On instinct, Lee's foot shot out and slammed against her rotted visage, sending her flying backwards and giving him more time to gather his bearings and stand up. He moved to run again but the corpse grabbed hold of his leg, sending him crashing back down to the floor.

Lee crawled backwards toward the sliding backdoor as the monster drug itself closer and closer after him. The rotting woman grabbed hold of his foot, dragging him closer toward her as she crawled her rotted body atop of him, snapping her jaws at his face. Lee grabbed hold of the dead girl and kept her at bay before mustering the strength to kick her, sending her away as his back collided with the glass door. The door slid open and a small girl clutching a hammer for dear life stood by.

"Here...!" She extended the tool out to Lee who immediately grabbed the hammer and swung it into the corpse's skull. With the woman finally off him, Lee quickly rose to his feet and pinned the corpse down with his foot before striking its rotted head with the hammer once again. It still gurgled, prompting him to hit the monster again.

And again.

And again.

And one more time for good measure.

Until its face was caved in, and no noise or movement escaped it.

"Man ... Hi there," Lee greeted them, catching his breath as his injured leg was still aching. He had forgotten to check for a first aid kit, but if the blood on the floor and the wall was anything to go by, then he doubted there was one nearby.

The three children slowly stepped away from the body, now oozing black blood on the rug.

"Did you kill it?" The girl with the hat asked.

"Yes..."

"It's okay," The girl responded. "I think she was a m-monster..."

"I think so too..." Lee replied.

"Are you kids okay?" asked Lee.

The trio nodded collectively. The oldest of the group stiffly stuck his hand out, introducing himself. "I'm... uh ... Travis... hi."

Lee shook his hand, eyeing him a bit before saying, "It's Lee." He could tell that the kid was nervous, just like the younger ones.

The girl with the rabbit waved slightly. "I-I'm Rachel, pleased to meet you...!"

Lee knelt down to the height of the girl with the baseball cap and smiled. "And you must be Clementine?"

Clementine nodded, swaying her arms about. Lee stood up and looked over the kids. There were two girls and one boy, and he was going to assume the corpse he had just maimed was Sandra, the babysitter their mothers had mentioned over the answering machine.

"Sandra got attacked by one of the monsters two nights ago. We've been hiding in the treehouse since..." Clementine revealed.

Lee shook his head somberly. "Two nights ago? You've all been by yourselves through this?"

"Yeah, Travis came a little while ago... I just want our parents to come home now..." Clementine said.

As Lee reflected on the messages he heard on the answering machine, his face contorted with pity. He wanted to tell them the truth, yet the words stung like a wasp in his throat.

"I think that might be a little while, you know?" he said, the words heavy on his tongue.

"Oh..." Clementine's face fell, and Lee motioned for the trio to come closer.

"Look, I don't know what happened. But I'll watch over you kids until then." he said with unwavering determination. Lee was just as confused and unsure as these kids, but he wasn't about to leave them to fend for themselves any longer.

"W-What do we do now? Should we go find someone? I'm not really sure if anyone's... you know... left ." Travis asked with uncertainty. He was used to the treehouse, even if he'd only been inside for about a day and a half. It kept them all safe so far (well, when they weren't sneaking out to go investigate car crashes like the Mystery Gang) . The treehouse had been their sanctuary for a while, but without food or water, he knew they couldn't survive there for very long.

"We need to get out of this neighborhood; it's not safe. We're less likely to be seen if we move at night." Lee strategized. The two girls nodded in agreement.

"My parents might come home." Clementine said hopefully.

"Yeah, maybe my momma will, too." Rachel added.

Lee stood up, determined. "We won't go far. We'll try to find shelter and come back here with others."

"That sounds good. We can hide in my treehouse until then."

Lee shook his head, remembering his bad leg. "It'll be a tough climb with this leg. How about we stay indoors for a bit. That okay?" Lee suggested. The kids looked at each other and nodded, now grateful for Lee's new presence.

**********************************

9:30 P.M

Lee took a seat on the worn sofa, sinking into its faded cushions. Clementine sat beside him, her small frame barely making a dent in the old cushions. Across from them, Travis perched on a striped chair, while Rachel pulled a stool from the floor to join the makeshift circle.

Lee turned to Travis, hoping to distract the kids from their dire circumstances. "So, you came down from Stone Mountain?"

Travis nodded; his face etched with exhaustion. "Yeah, my school was coming down for the playoffs but I overslept and missed the bus here. I was just gonna wait until it was over then drive into the city and hang with my friends, but... yeah ."

Lee leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "What made you come out here?"

Travis hesitated before finally speaking up. "R-Rachel? Her brother's my best friend. He called me around three in the morning yesterday and told me the school was on lockdown. He asked me to go check on her but the phone disconnected, and then I didn't know where she was. I probably wouldn't have found these two if they didn't use that walkie-talkie."

Rachel piped up, voice quiet. "I wanted to go find him but... Travis doesn't have a car. Do you?"

Lee shook his head. "No, I don't."

Clementine, who had been listening intently to the conversation, spoke up. "Oh, your car is broken. In the woods behind my house, right?"

Lee sighed, running a hand through over his hair. Clementine had no idea that the car he had crashed in was a police car. "No," he admitted. "It wasn't my car. It belonged to a police officer."

Travis' eyes widened. "Police...? Were you arrested...?"

Lee gave a solemn nod. "Yes."

Travis nodded and decided not to push it, falling back into silence, while Rachel asked the next question, swinging her legs back and forth. "Do you know where we're going?" she asked, with trepidation.

Lee shook his head. "Not yet, but there has to be some sort of safe area nearby. That probably explains why the neighborhood is abandoned." He hoped, trying to keep up the morale.

Travis looked out the blinds, considering their next move. "It's dark. You think we should go now?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Lee looked over to Clementine, and she nodded. Then he turned to Rachel, who also nodded.

"Let's go."

**********************************

Lee slowly slid open the glass door, allowing the three kids to tiptoe out into the inky darkness. The only sources of illumination were the pale glow of the moon and a few flickering street lights scattered throughout the neighborhood. They were all on edge, but the youngest members of the group was trembling with fear. Neither of them had ever been out so late, and they had never been without their parents for this long. The chorus of cicadas and crickets seemed to almost make it feel like a typical summer night, even though it was far from it.

Lee dropped down to their level and spoke in a hushed tone. "Now let's stay quiet; we'll head out to the front yard and follow the road out of the neighborhood."

"Okay." Clementine whispered, gripping Rachel's hand tightly.

"It'll be okay," assured Lee. "Stay near me and we'll move as fast as we can."

Rachel and Clementine dashed towards the gate while Travis hung back, offering to help Lee walk. However, Lee politely declined.

"I'm good, thanks."

"Okay, just... let me know and I'll try, okay?" Travis replied.

Lee gave him a curt nod. "It's nice of you, you know, to offer."

"It was nicer when you chose to help us. Uh , thanks for that, by the way."

Lee led the three to the iron side gate, and pushed it open, revealing the dimly lit street ahead. As they walked down the driveway, a sudden gunshot shattered the quiet night air, and Lee instinctively hit the ground, pulling the kids down with him. Heart racing, he motioned for them to crawl to safety behind a nearby car. They huddled together, their bodies tense with fear as they heard a voice shouting out in the darkness.

"I found the bastard!"

Lee's mind raced as he tried to make sense of the situation. He peered through the car window, but could see nothing in the darkness. The only sounds were the rapid breaths of the children, and the pounding of his own heart. Rachel buried her face in her toy, while Travis covered his ears to block out the noise. Clementine looked up at Lee, her eyes wide with terror.

"Are we going to die?"

Lee tried to remain calm, for their sake. "No, I'm sure we're fine," he lied, hoping to quell their fears, including his own.

As he peeked out from behind the car, Lee saw the unmistakable silhouette of a police cruiser, its lights off. Damn , he thought to himself, they'd come for him. On top of the previous crime he'd committed, now he's going to be accused of killing that cop in the woods.

"Stay down! Georgia State Patrol!"

"Dude, he won't listen to that."

Lee slowly, slowly stood up and held his hands up in surrender. He might be a bit more reckless on his own, but he couldn't risk the lives of the kids under his care, not for something he was already in trouble for.

"I'll come quietly! There's kids here!" Lee called out to the officer with his arms raised in surrender. The kids followed his lead. The officer cautiously approached them with his weapon drawn, followed by another man who didn't look like law enforcement. As they neared the group, their expressions shifted from authoritative to surprise.

"Oh shit! You're not one of those things!" the officer realized.

"Neither of us are."

Lee and the kids lowered their arms, and the officer holstered his weapon. He studied them for a moment before asking. "Wait; why'd you say you'd come quietly?"

Lee quickly thought up a reason for his surrender since the cop didn't recognize him. "You're the law, you know? You don't mess with that," he explained.

"Aw , man, no shit. I'm sorry about that." The cop felt guilty for aiming his weapon at the group and apologized. His partner gave him a disapproving look for aiming at a bunch of survivors.

"Sorry about that. Well, Andre's sorry about that."

Andre's sheepish look quickly returned to a more formal expression as he corrected him. "It's Officer Mitchell," he corrected.

His friend shot a glare at him before approaching the group. "My name's Shawn, Shawn Greene. This is Andre—"

"Officer Mitchell."

"Did you see any of those things? One of them just got our buddy, Chet."

"I saw a lot of them in the forest, but that was a while ago," Lee replied, pointing to Clementine's house. "And we saw a girl inside that house earlier."

Shawn and Officer Mitchell exchanged a look, their expressions filled with disappointment. "Nah, wasn't them," Officer Mitchell said, his tone heavy with regret. Shawn noticed Lee's leg, which was visibly injured and clearly a recent wound.

"Oh shit, you hurt your leg pretty bad," Shawn exclaimed, noticing the injury. "Look, help us find the thing that got our buddy and we'll take you and your kids down to my dad's farm to safety. He should be able to fix your leg up too."

Lee hesitated, "I'm not their dad. I'm... just some guy," he confessed.

"Some guy?" Shawn asked in disbelief.

Lee nodded. "Yeah."

"They're alone?" The realization hit Shawn like a brick when he noticed the kids collectively nodding in agreement.

Officer Mitchell interrupted, "Whoever you are, let's get a move on."

Before they could even take a step, a guttural noise made them all freeze. Turning around, they saw a figure rounding the corner, clothes stained in blood and a face that could only belong to one of the dead.

Chet, their missing friend now turned undead. The group slowly backed away as Officer Mitchell aimed his pistol at Chet.

"LET'S GO! GET TO MY CAR, GO!" he ordered, as the remaining members rushed to the cruiser for safety. Officer Mitchell kept his aim on Chet, but he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. He holstered his pistol and ran to the driver's side, sliding in next to Shawn. The survivors squeezed together in the back of the car as Officer Mitchell started the ignition and drove through the street blockade. Looking out of the rear window, Clementine watched as her house got smaller and smaller until it was no longer visible.