· · ─────── ·✞· ─────── · ·

Carley was dead, Lily had been left behind and Duck was bitten. After leaving Lily behind with the now rotting but not alive corpse of Carley, Kenny had called Hayden and Lee to the front where they informed them that the young boy had been bitten during the attack at the motel. Lee had been the one to tell Naya and Clement, both were heartbroken about the news but Naya felt immense guilt as the boy had saved her and now... he was dying. Naya and Clement were a mess and Hayden was doing his best to look out for them while Lee tried to keep the group alive and sane.

"It's my fault," Naya spoke as she stood between Kenny and Katjaa, her blue eyes watching Duck who was breathing deep and appeared pale. "Oh, honey, no," Katjaa replied to her, reaching out with her free hand to brush the girls blonde hair out of her face. "He pushed me out of the way, he saved me and now..." Naya's voice cracked as she fought back tears, she didn't believe she had the right to hurt when it was her fault. "Naya, sweetie, it's not your fault," Kenny assured the little girl, he was proud of his son for saving her and no matter how much his son's fate hurt, he wouldn't blame the little girl.

"Not... your... fault..." Duck's raspy voice spoke as he opened his eyes and looked directly at the blonde who sniffled and stepped closer, she grabbed his cold hand and interlaced their fingers. "No... regrets..." Duck added as tears fell down Naya's face, she moved close enough to rest their foreheads together as Kenny glanced over, he locked eyes with Katjaa before focusing on the road ahead of him. "I don't wanna lose you, Duckie," Naya told him in a whisper. "Always... be... with... you..." Duck whispered back before he yawned slightly, closing his eyes. "Let him rest, honey," Katjaa told Naya who nodded, she kissed Duck's forehead before heading back to sit with Clem, the two silent.

· · ─────── ·✞· ─────── · ·

The next day, Naya was asleep with her head resting in Hayden's lap while Clement was asleep leaning against Lee. Lee had been startled awake by a frightful nightmare of Clement becoming a Walker and ripping into Naya's neck, he looked towards the two sleeping children before adjusting Clement in a position that was both comfortable and protective over Naya as Hayden snored softly to the side. "We got something up ahead," Kenny called back to the others, Lee moved towards the front of the RV as Kenny continued, "Dammit. Road's blocked. Now we gotta deal with this."

Ahead of them were train cars blocking the side of the road, Lee jumps out of the RV after Kenny stopped the RV. The two men head out with Ben trailing behind them, they all focused in on the train. "Is there any way around it?" Ben questioned the two as Hayden silently approached them, he had been woken by the vehicle stopping. "Doesn't look like it," Hayden spoke, his sudden interruption startled the teen while Lee and Kenny sent him a small smile. "On foot, maybe. Can't really afford to do that now," Kenny added with a tired sigh.

Lee looked around the woods before saying, "This seems like a safe area. All this brush will stop anything from creeping up on us." Hayden nodded in agreement with his good friends words, Kenny humming in agreement with him too. Inside the RV, Clement rubbed his eyes as he yawned before looking over to see Naya shivering and whimpering fearfully in her sleep. He was quick to move closer and pull the girl gently into his arms, brushing his fingers through her hair to move it away from her eyes for her to see better should she startle awake from the touch. "Naya, it's okay," Clement tried to assure the girl.

She gasped as her eyes opened frantically, she turned and made eye contact with Clement feeling safe instantly. Her bright blue eyes stared into his dark brown ones, she was taking steady breaths before she wrapped her arms around him. "Please don't leave me," Naya whispered to her best friend, she was already losing Duckie, she wouldn't survive losing Clement too. "I won't, Nala... and if we were ever apart, I'd search the world for you," Clement promised her with no hesitation. "Come on, let's get some fresh air," Clement added before the two, holding hands, exited the RV.

Katjaa followed behind the two kids with a limp Duck still in her arms, the boy had gone from pale to an ash grey colour, he could barely keep his eyes open and his breathing was heavily ragged with a slight dusty wheeze. Naya frowned deeply at the sight of her formally hyperactive friend, she sniffled before turning her eyes away as she couldn't stand to stare at his state any longer. "Why don't you and I go look around?" Ben suggested to Lee, his eyes looking around cautiously. "Yeah. Everyone else, just relax," Lee instructed the others, Katjaa moving to sit on a fallen log.

Lee knelt down to Clem and Naya, "I need you two to stay close to Kenny and Katjaa, okay?" Clement nodded his head while Naya sniffled, her hand tight in Clement's who knew she was still stunned by everything. "Lee, if you come across anything to drink, if there's a dining car or something. I think Duck's a bit dehydrated," Katjaa asked the man. "It's a freighter, hun," Kenny corrected softly before turning to Lee sternly, "Be careful in there." Lee chuckled before sarcastically saying, "What? You think there might be something dangerous inside of an abandoned locomotive?"

Lee walked up on the Boxcar and opened the door, the first thing he had noticed was that someone had clearly living inside of it. There were paper and boxes scattered about along with a singular mattress by a chair. Lee and Ben began to look around the space for anything they could deem useful, Lee managed to find a map before spotting a water bottle and grabbing it for Duck. He walked out of the Boxcar and towards the front of the Freighter where there were engine compartments on the side. He approached the cab door spotting a Walker in the seat, he pulled a knife free and opened the door but the dead person didn't move.

Once Lee was certain that the person was completely dead, he had removed the body from the cab. He was looking down at the control board for the train when Ben stepped up and the two noticed one of the buttons flashing. "Push it," Ben encouraged Lee who turned to him instantly. "Are you fucking serious?" Lee asked him. "Here," Ben smiled as he pushed the button, the train made a hissing sound that caught the others attention. "It fucking works," Kenny muttered with wide eyes, Hayden smirked before the two men made their way towards the train. "It's just the brakes," Ben assured Lee who hummed in approval.

"This fucker works?" Kenny spoke up from behind the two. "Seems like it," Lee replied to him, stepping aside to allow Kenny to sit in the seat himself. "I'll be damned," Hayden commented impressed. "How the Hell do we get it movin'?" Kenny questioned them. "I don't know, ask Mister Amtrak over here," Lee said motioning towards Ben. "No clue," Ben replied with a shrug before he made his way out of the cab and towards the others. "We found this in the Boxcar back there," Lee told Kenny as he held out the map, Kenny took the map from his hand with a wide smile on his face.

"This hoss will take us right to Savannah. A hundred tons of steel. Put a thousand Walkers between us and the ocean and we don't to give a shit. I can't believe it!" Kenny exclaimed in pure excitement. "What about Duck?" Lee asked the man, Hayden lowered his eyes before looking out the window where Naya was next to Katjaa who was sitting on the fallen log, her height being perfect for Duck to lean his head on the girl's shoulder while she ran her fingers through his short hair as Clement stood watch protectively. "What about him?" Kenny replied absent-mindedly, his eyes focused on trying to piece the controls together.

"We can't act like nothin' happened to him," Lee told him. "We can't act like he's dead either," Kenny remarked back to him. "Okay. Fair enough," Lee mutters after sharing a look with Hayden who subtly shook his head, it was a fragile topic they would have to discuss but for now, they should focus on the getting the train running. The three men worked together to find a manual to start up the train, thankfully, Lee had managed to find a notepad that he had shaded the indentations showing the writing from the torn sheet of paper that gave them the very information they needed for the train.

Leaving Kenny with the manual, Lee headed over to the others with the water bottle he found for Duck. His eyes softened at the sight of Naya hugging Duck, the boy managing enough energy to hold her back and talk to her despite his wheezy tone. "I found this on the train," Lee told Katjaa, he held the bottle out to her. "Thank you," Katjaa replied with a very small smile before she sighed, "You know, Ducky's allergic to bees... I don't know why that's all I can think about but... maybe if I--" She was cut off by Duck coughing, Clement pulled Naya towards him as Katjaa tended to her son, helping him with the water.

Naya rested her head in the nook of Clement's neck as he rubbed her back up and down, a frown resting on his face. While he was close with Duck, he knew that Naya and Duck were closer friends and often the two were be talking or playing while Clement observed and looked out for them; he knew this would affect her badly but he'd do his best to help her. Lee sent the boy a proud smile before he stepped away to see what else he could find until the train engine started up, Lee looked towards the cab where Hayden spoke with Kenny before making his way out and towards Lee. "The trains hooked on something," Hayden informed him.

The two men made their way through the Boxcar and found the issue that held the train in place, Hayden was quick to locate a spike remover in the side engine compartments. Hayden was efficient to remove the pin freeing the train from its trapped position, Lee called out to inform Kenny who waved back to him. The two headed back into the Boxcar where a deep voice spoke up, "You touch any of my stuff?" Both were quick to turn to the man, startled by his unknown presence, the man was ragged and dirty with a white beard and tired eyes. "I took the map of the train routes," Lee informed him.

"That's fine, you can have that," The man replied to him. "Really?" Lee questioned him once he and Hayden relaxed. "Yeah. I got 'em all up here," The man informed them as he pointed to his head before saying, "I guess it's not worse for wear. Name's Chuck. Charles if you're fancy." The two men introduced themselves to Chuck, informing him that the others he had meet outside were apart of the misfit group along with Kenny in the cab. "I saw you walking through here and thought about scaring the pants off of you. But I couldn't force myself to do it," Chuck told the two. "Probably smart choice. Times are unpredictable now," Hayden forewarned, Chuck nodding.

Chuck, Hayden and Lee headed towards Katjaa, Duck, Ben, Clement and Naya who were all still sitting around waiting for their next move. "You met Chuck," Clement said to Lee. "Yeah, we did," Hayden spoke up as he watched Naya, the girl was silent as she kept her eyes on Duck. "It's so nice to meet someone normal for a change," Katjaa spoke up with a kind smile. "He gave us candy," Clement said with a smile though it fell slightly seeing that Naya hadn't touched her own. "Ben too!" Clement added, the teenager looked at them wide eyed with candy filling his mouth. "What's your game, man?" Lee asked Chuck curiously.

"Keepin' alive," Chuck answered him. "That's not bad," Hayden spoke up. "I like it," Chuck told him. "You met Kenny?" Lee asked the man. "Sure did. Man shares my love of the road," Chuck answered with a chuckle as Duck coughed again gaining the new person's attention, "I'm awfully sorry your son's not feeling good." Katjaa nodded as she spoke, "I appreciate your concern." Chuck smiled at her, "Well, with a little TLC, I'm sure he'll be as a fiddle in no time. And I can offer y'all whatever I got, although it ain't much." Katjaa expressed her gratitude, inviting him to join them despite Kenny's attempt to stop her.

With the train running, the group all grabbed their things from the RV and headed onto the Boxcar. Clement sat down against the wall opposite to Katjaa who still held Duck against her. Naya yawned as she walked towards them, Clement half expected her to sit next to Katjaa but the blonde trudged over to him and sat down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Clement interlaced their fingers and rested their hands on his leg, he closed his eyes and used his free hand to push his cap down slightly to block the sunlight before resting his head against Naya's accepting the moment of peace for both of them. The calm before the storm.

· · ─────── ·✞· ─────── · ·

· · ─────── ·✞· ─────── · ·

Rosemary Speaks. . .

I'm not ready for the next chapter...
It's gonna be a sad one...

Actually, the reason of this season is gonna be extremely sad. . . So sorry for that. . .

Thoughts on the story so far?
Anything specific you wish to see?

See you in the next chapter!