This was actually a super hard choice for me

Because on one hand, Larry could have possibly been revived, and no matter how much of an ass he was he deserves a chance

But on the other, Remember at the Drugstore. Lilly says sometimes his attacks were so bad he needed to go to the hospital or would die. They didnt have that luxury in this situation.

And Kenny had a valid point

The turning could be from a few seconds to a few hours, and Larry was a beefy, huge dude. They would have an extremely difficult time holding him down to kill him once he turned.

Though when I did try the option to help, I noticed his mouth moved. Turning or gaining consciousness? We shall never know...

I think Lee would probably choose what I did, for Clementine's sake and protection

...

..

.

Lee slowly starts to wake up, groggy and the sides of his vision dark.

"Open the Goddamn door up!"

"Lee? Lee?"

The sound of Larry shouting and Lilly vomiting enter Lee's ears, his vision still a little blurry.

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

"Will you stop that banging!" Kenny shouts, "we've gotta find another way out of here!"

Lilly gags, retching before puking again in the corner.

"You sick fucking bastards!" Larry continues screaming. "Open this fucking door, God damn it! I will knock the God damn door down!"

"Dad, stop!"

Clement softly gasps when he notices Lee sitting up, his grip tight around (Y/N)'s doll.

"Lee!" he rushes over, breathing heavily. "It was a person! They tried to make us eat a person!"

"But you and (Y/N) didn't do it," Lee reassures, groaning as he props himself up on the wall.

"The rest of us did, God damn it!" Larry snarls as he turns to Lee. "If you hadn't dragged your feet--!"

"Come on, dad!" Lilly snaps as she pants lightly, holding her stomach. "Now's not the time!"

Lee ignores Larry, focusing on Clement. "You okay, Clement? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No, but Lee, they have (Y/N)! They kept her out there!" Clement's eyes water as he rises, Lee's face hardening as he pushes himself to get up.

"Don't worry, we'll get her back," Lee softly says, looking around the meat locker.

"Open up!!" Larry still screams.

"Lee!" Kenny rushes over, pacing frantically. "Those psychos have my family and (Y/N). And we're stuck in a damn meat locker! We've gotta get the fuck out of here!"

Larry huffs furiously as he walks over. "This Goddamn thumbsucker was the one who brought us here!"

Kenny steps in front of Lee, "will you just shut the fuck up?!"

He yells, turning and continuing his search for a way out as Larry continues screaming and banging on the door.

"I'm scared for her, Lee," Clement's hand tightens around her doll as he looks down at it, Lee setting his hand over his head.

"Don't be. I promise, we'll get her back. I'm gonna find us a way out of here. Don't give up, okay?"

"Can I help?"

"Sure, bud!" Lee nods. "You keep your eyes open for exposed screws or loose panels. Anything we can pry away to open a passage out of here."

"Settle down!"

"Open up! I'll knock your heads off!"

Clement nods as he starts looking around, Kenny still anxiously pacing as he tries to look for an escape.

"They got Katjaa and Duck, Lee! And your girl, (Y/N)! Those fuckers have our people!"

"I know," Lee calmly says, trying to defuse his nerves. "We're gonna get out of here and find them."

"Dad!" Lilly shouts in irritation, Larry not calming down.

"Open up! Show yourselves, and I'll fucking kill you!"

"Come on, Larry!" Lee snaps as he walks over, crossing his arms. "Do you really want to attract their attention?"

"Yeah!" Larry sneers. "I wanna attract their attention, so I can fucking kill them!" he bangs on the door roughly.

Lee lets out a scoff, "guess your new girlfriend wasn't all she was cracked up to be."

Larry slowly turns, "what the hell is your problem? You refused to give me my day's rations back at the Motor Inn, and you went out of your way to be an asshole to me tonight. You must really hate me."

He scoffs, scowling. "But guess what? You're stuck with me! I plan to be around long after you're gone. And if you turn... I'll be the one to put the axe through your skull."

"Dad!" Lilly firmly yells, appalled.

"No... You're not worth the energy to hate," Lee lowly replies, glaring at the man.

Larry snickers, smirking. "Don't forget... I know who you really are."

Lee rolls his eyes as Larry continues banging on the door, turning to Lilly.

"Your dad's not making things any easier for us!"

"Open the fucking door!!"

Lilly manages to stand fully, still holding her stomach. "Dad, stop!"

"God damn it!"

"They're not going to open the door!"

"You think the fucking apocalypse gives you the right to chop people up for meat?!" Larry ignores her.

"Dad! This isn't helping!"

Larry starts panting lightly as he hits the door, slowing. "I'll... Break the damn door down!"

"Dad," Lilly starts in concern. "You can't get--!"

Larry lets out a pained yell, gripping at his chest with wide eyes.

"Easy!"

He stumbles around, shallowly breathing. "Oh... God..."

"Dad?!"

Larry sways before collapsing to the floor, no longer breathing. Clement gasps and backs away, Lee's eyes widening as Lilly drops to her knees at his side.

"No! Dad, come on!" she pleads as she holds the sides of his face. "Dad!"

Lilly presses her ear to his chest, her eyes widening. "Oh, God. He's stopped breathing! I think he's head a heart attack!"

Kenny walks over, his face paling. "Shit. Is he dead?"

"He's not dead!" Lilly shouts as she starts chest compressions. "Somebody help me!"

"Fuck..." Kenny looks to Lee, face pale and eyes wide. "If he's dead..."

"He's not dead!"

"You know what has to happen, Lee."

Lee looks to Kenny with an unsure expression.

"Think about it!" Kenny paces side to side, holding his face. "You saw that poor bastard at the motel. How fast he turned."

Lilly glares up at Kenny, still doing compressions. "What are you saying?!"

He sighs softly, shaking his head with an expression of saddened sympathy, "Lilly, I'm sorry, I truly, truly am. But in a few minutes, we're going to be stuck in a locked room with a 6'4, 300 pound seriously pissed off dead guy!"

"Fuck you!" Lilly snarls. "We can bring him back! Lee!"

"We'll mourn him later, but right now, we have to keep him from coming back!"

"No!" Clement cries as he backs away, hugging the doll to his chest.

"God damn it, Kenny! He's not dead!"

Lee looks to Kenny with wide eyes, "we can't kill him if he's not dead, Kenny!"

"You remember how hard it was for you to get that monster off of Katjaa?" Kenny questions, jerking a hand to Larry. "And Larry's twice his size! It's him or us."

Lee closes his eyes, shaking his head as he reopens them to look at Kenny. "Look, Kenny, back at the drugstore when we all thought Duck was bitten... I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe we should do the same!"

Kenny firmly shakes his head, "that was different! Duck wasn't bitten. But come on, we know this guy's not gonna make it!" He closes his eyes. "Remember what Ben said... Gotta destroy the brain."

He looks to Lee with a pleading expression, "come on, Lee, I'm right about this! I know you've got my back! You always do!"

"God damn it, Lee, I need you! Please help me!" Lilly cries out, her chest compressions not working on Larry.

Lee looks between the two with wide eyes, not blinking as his breathing picks up. He watches Lilly, Larry not stirring or breathing at all even with all the chest compressions she's given him.

He looks back to Clement, who was watching him with wide, fearful eyes as he held (Y/N)'s doll.

Lee squeezes his eyes shut, turning to Kenny.

(?) Lee chose to help Kenny keep Larry from turning

"You're right, Kenny," Lee heavily sighs, his expression pained. "Let's get this over with."

"You fucking monsters!! Both of you!" Lilly screams with horror, eyes filled with panic as she hugs her dad tightly.

"I don't want to see!" Clement cries as he runs to the corner, covering his ears as he faces away.

"I'm sorry, Lilly," Lee softly apologizes, knowing his words couldn't change things. "This is the only way."

"No, no, no!" Lilly sobs as she hugs her dad's body, Lee trying to pull her off. "Get off me! Don't do this!"

Lee grunts as he starts pulling Lilly back from Larry, Kenny grabbing a large salt lick from the table in the corner.

"No, no, no no! Let go of me!" she screams, getting herself free and dropping herself back on Larry.

Lee grabs her arms again, pulling her back as Kenny approaches.

"No, please! No!!"

Lee yanks her backwards, the two falling back as Kenny yells and throws the salt lick on Larry's face.

His head practically explodes, blood gushes out and chunks of his brain and flesh scattering around.

Kenny pants heavily with wide eyes as he backs away, wiping blood off his face with his sleeve.

Lilly sobs as she runs to her father, throwing herself over him.

"God help us," Kenny breathes out as he looks at the sight, kneeling to Lilly's side. "I'm sorry. I know it--"

"Don't you fucking touch me!" Lilly snarls as she glares up at him.

Clement lets out a loud cry, sobbing lightly in the corner as he hugs (Y/N)'s doll to his cheek, nuzzling into the fabric. It smelled like (Y/N), which helped to bring some to comfort himself.

"Clement..." Lee softly says as he looks back, his brows furrowed sadly as he walks over and squats to his height. "Clem... You okay?"

Clement hiccups as he wipes away at his tears, turning to Lee. "W-Why Lee? Lilly said he wasn't dead!"

Lee looks back to Larry's body, sighing. "I'm sorry. We couldn't take that chance. You understand why we had to do this, Clem?"

He sniffles, nodding. "So he wouldn't turn into one of those monsters?"

"That's right," Lee replies, Clement still tearing up. He pulls him into a hug, gently shushing him. "I know. I know. But you gotta be strong right now. I need you to be strong. Think about something else, something hopeful."

He pulls away from Clement, who sniffs and sighs shakily. "Like what?"

Lee looks down at (Y/N)'s doll in his hand, sadly smiling. "How about getting (Y/N) back and going home?"

Clement slowly nods, taking deep breaths to stop his crying. "We're gonna get out, right? You found a way out?"

"I'm working on it," he promises as he rises, looking around the locker.

Lee approaches Kenny, sighing softly. "You... Think maybe we were too hasty?"

"Only one important thing right now... Getting the fuck out of here to our people," Kenny reassures, patting Lee's shoulder. "We did what we had to."

Lee nods, "it's just you and me. Lilly's in no condition to help us rescue our people."

Kenny scoffs, nodding. "Considering what just happened, she'd probably side with the St. Johns against us."

Lee turns away, glancing up at the roof and around the room. His eyes move back to the air conditioner as he approaches, humming.

"There ought to be an air duct behind this unit," he calls to no one in particular. "Maybe big enough for one of us to fit through."

"I dunno, Lee," Kenny seems unsure. "Seems like a long shot."

"Does the air conditioner come off?" Clement anxiously questions, wanting to get out to (Y/N).

"I think I could take it off. If I had something to remove the screws..." Lee lights up. "The multi-tool!"

He reaches into his pocket, his eyes raising to the ceiling as they close. "

"Of course they took it. Shit."

Clement walks over, "maybe there's something else we could use. I've got a rock."

"A rock won't help..." Lee groans, pinching the bridge of his nose as he realizes. "But a coin might do the trick."

He reluctantly looks over to Larry's body and Lilly, recalling what he had said to Mark at the motor inn that morning. He couldn't believe they were both dead.

Lee slowly approaches, as if walking up to a lion, "Lilly I... I'm so sorry--"

"Don't talk to me, Lee. Don't fucking talk to me," Lilly weakly whispers, not looking at him.

Lee inhales deeply, closing his eyes. "Larry would have wanted--"

"Fuck you!" she screams. "You think he wanted this?!"

"Of course not! But--"

"You don't know what he wanted," Lilly scowled, her nose scrunching up. "You never knew him. You never gave him a chance!"

"Maybe not!" Lee snaps, sighing and closing his eyes to relax. "Maybe-- maybe I should've tried harder. But I know he loved you."

Lilly breathes heavily as she sobs quietly, Lee frowning.

"He'd want you to get out of here." He finishes, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "I... Think I may have found a way out of here. But I need something to remove the screws on the air conditioner. If you had something I could use--"

"No."

"What about him?" Lee carefully asks, Lilly looking up at him with hatred. "Look, I know this is a terrible time for it, but... Back at the Motor Inn, Larry mentioned something about keeping coins in his pockets..."

Lilly scoffs as she angrily wipes away at her tears, "in other words, my father's more useful to you dead than alive."

"If he was alive and had the key to getting us out of here, do you think he'd keep it to himself?"

"What do you want?" she demands, "my blessing to loot his corpse?!"

Lee looks down, "your... Permission."

Lilly's face falls to saddness as she looks away, "do what you have to."

Lee rises, his eyes lingering on Clement sitting in the corner in a ball hugging (Y/N)'s doll close to his chest.

He sighs softly, wishing he didn't have to witness Larry's death.

"Hoo boy," Lee looks down at Larry's body with a wince. "Any idea which pocket he keeps his change in?"

"Fucking vulture," Lilly hisses, not looking at the man.

Lee closes his eyes and shakes his head slowly as he kneels down, reluctantly reaching into Larry's front pocket.

"There we go," he sighs in relief when he feels the coins, gathering them and rising. "Two quarters and a dime."

He walks back to the air conditioner, and uses a quarter to unscrew one screw underneath it.

"It working?" Kenny calls as he walks over.

"Yeah, one more should do," Lee nods, Kenny readying himself to catch it with Lee when it falls.

He unscrews the last screw, him and Kenny grunting as they lower the heavy air conditioner to the ground.

A small vent was behind it, too small for any of the adults.

"There's our way out, Lee!" Kenny dusts off his hands, adjusting his hat as he looks up at the hole. "Looks like it leads right into that back room."

"It's too small for us to fit through," Lee sighs, setting his hands on his hips.

"I can do it," Clement quietly says, making the two look over.

Lee approaches, squatting to his height with concern on his face. "You know you don't have to, right?"

Clement nods, sighing shakily as he hands Lee the doll. "I know. I just want to find (Y/N) and go home."

"This'll help us get her back," Kenny softly speaks up, nodding to Clement.

"Okay," Clement shakes his hands out, wiping the nervous sweat from his palms on his pants.

Lee grabs Clement's waist and lifts him up, Clement small enough to fit through just barely.

"You're gonna be fine," Lee reassures, giving a small smile.

"What do I do when I'm out?"

"See if you can get to the other side of that door and open it."

Clement nods to Lee before slowly crawling through the vents.

...

Shorter chapter ;-;

Next one should be up in the next few hours ❤❤