𝟷.𝟷𝟼 | Fallen Savannah

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After successfully cutting down the gas truck cargo, the train was back on the move despite the very large herd of Walkers that trailed behind them. Unfortunately, in the process of jumping from the bridge to the train, Omid had been badly injured in the fall. Hours later, the train finally reaches Savannah as Clement and Naya were fast asleep next to each other with their hands interlocked. "They're adorable," Christa spoke from where she sat next to Omid. "Yeah, they're pretty much inseparable. Have been since this first began," Lee told the woman who smiled softly. "They'll need each other," Omid expressed, the two adults agreeing silently with the mans words.

Lee noticed paper sticking out of Clement's bag, he walked over and knelt by the bag to pull them out. He frowned as he looked at the first page, a drawing of Kenny, Katjaa and Duck all alive and happy together. The second page was of Hayden and Naya along with someone that Lee assumed was Naya's mother. The final page was of Lee and Clement however, Clem had also drawn his parents onto the paper as well. The door opened and Lee put the paper back, he looked up to see Kenny standing there. "Next stop, the Alantic," Kenny informed his good friend, his eyes tired.

"We're finding Clement's parents when we get there. The boy deserves closure," Lee told Kenny who scoffed at that plan. "I thought they were dead," Kenny replied to him. "We need to be certain, Ken," Lee said as he stood up and looked at the man wearing the truckers cap. "That's not the plan," Kenny reminded Lee. "Maybe it's not your plan but... I promised the kid that we'd at least try," Lee said firmly, Kenny was clearly hesistant but he sighed and shook his head. "If that is your choice," Kenny expressed before looking towards the two kids, "They're out cold, huh?" Lee nodded when static caught their attention.

"Hell...o...oo... there?" A voice broke through the static of Clement's walkie-talkie, the same walkie that had been apparently broken. "What the...?" Lee questioned no one as the two men looked at the item, their eyes were wide as Lee took the walkie into his hand. "Can't wait for you to get to Savannah, Clement. I've got your parents right here and you be sure to find me whether Lee wants you too or not. Bring your dear friend too. Now, what I need--" The voice suddenly cut off leaving the two men in silence. "Holy shit..." Lee mutters in shock.

"I thought that fucking thing was broken..." Kenny said to Lee with a raised brow. "So did I," Lee replied to him with worried eyes. "Who the fuck was that... if he's convinced Clement that he has his parents..." Kenny trailed off and shook his head, "Y'all might want to rethink your plan." Lee turned his head to the two kids pondering whether or not Naya knew about the walkie and the man on the other side. He was sure that Naya would tell them if she knew, the girl had learnt quickly to be cautious with strangers so perhaps she didn't know about it. Either way, Lee couldn't let Clement meet up with this strange man who was possibly lying to the boy.

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With Kenny and Hayden leading the group of survivors, Ben and Chuck trailing behind them with Omid and Christa behind them leaving Lee in the back with Clement and Naya. The streets of Savannah were silent, the slight breeze picked up small pieces of trash and sent them lightly across the ground. The silence was loud, the open space felt small and the group of survivors were on edge as they held their weapons tight in their grip almost as though they were expecting the dead to jump out and attack them at any moment.

Clement looked up at Lee with a frown, his eyes had previously been focused on the walkie-talkie that Lee now carried on his waistband. "Can't I just hold it?" Clement asked Lee with a pout catching Naya's attention, she didn't understand why he needed to hold it when it was safer with Lee. "Just for a little while? We're getting real close to where my mom and dad are, maybe I can--" Clement was cut off by Lee's response, "Not now. I need you to focus, Clem. Keep your eyes on the street." Clement sighed in defeat, he turned his eyes to Naya who sent him a small smile.

"How's Omid?" Lee asked Christa. "His leg's pretty bad," Christa replied to him. "I'm fine," Omid grumbled. "You're not fine. You need to rest," Christa said to him sternly before turning back to Lee, "He needs to rest." Lee nodded his head, they couldn't fix the man's leg if they kept walking. "Yeah, you're right," Lee told her before looking towards Kenny and Hayden, "Kenny, Hayden, hold up!" Kenny went to keep moving but Hayden gripped his arm and stopped him. "Omid needs a break, let's give him a minute," Lee instructed, Hayden nodded and walked over to the man as he leaned against a wall.

"We're almost at the river, almost to the boats," Kenny spoke as Hayden had a closer look at Omid's leg. "Then it won't hurt to stop for just one damn minute," Lee replied to Kenny with a challenging look, Kenny relented deciding that arguing further wouldn't help their situation. "It's okay, Uncle Kenny. We just need a moment," Naya assured the tall man, Kenny looked down at her with a soft expression. "Well, alright," Kenny relented and the girl showed him a toothy grin. With their limited supplies, Hayden managed to bandage Omid's leg properly which would lessen the bleeding and hopefully prevent any bacteria from entering the wound further.

Suddenly, bells began ringing through the air gaining everyone's attention and Naya was quick to latch onto Clement's arm due to being startled by the loud noise. "What the hell...?" Omid asked, confused. "Maybe this city's not so dead after all," Christa added while Lee looked around in concern. Lee looked up and noticed the bell was coming from the church next to them. "Keep moving. No one's ringing that bell, it's automatic... on a timer," Kenny informed the others with certainty. "What kind of church bell goes off twenty past the hour?" Lee asked Kenny. "Someone's up there," Hayden spoke up once he spotted a figure on the roof.

"If I were you, I'd get out of the street. Now," The strangers voice came through Clement's walkie-talkie prompting Lee and Kenny to look at it with a knowing expression while the others were confused considering they were lead to believe the walkie-talkie did not work. "I thought that thing didn't work?" Christa asked in an accusatory tone while Clement lowered his head clearly understanding that he had been caught. Naya looked at him with a frown, he hadn't told her that the walkie-talkie was working again. "Who is this? Is that you up in the bell tower?" Lee asked into the walkie-talkie, however, he received no response.

"What the hell was that? Is someone trying to fuck with us?" Omid questioned them with wide eyes. "Sounded more like a warning," Ben replied to Omid. Chuck turned his eyes away from the group, they widen as he spotted what was coming towards them. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls..." Chuck muttered gaining Kenny's attention who turned to the man and asked, "What're you yammerin' on about?" The group followed the old man's eyes, they were stunned to see a huge herd of Walkers coming towards them. "It tolls for thee..." Chuck finished as the bells stop ringing.

"Everybody, run!!" Lee shouts and everyone began to run, the adults taking out any Walkers that got too close while Clement and Naya tried to stay close to Ben. During the commotion, the two kids and Ben were cornered by Walkers. Naya pulled her pocket knife out and held it tight in one hand while Clement held her free hand tight in his own. "No! Ben, help them!" Lee called out to the teenager, Ben looked down at the two kids before looking to the side where a small gap formed allowing him to slip away leaving the two kids to die. "Dammit Ben!" Hayden growled before he raised his gun and fired off perfect shots.

One of the Walkers approaches Naya who twists around and kicks the back of its leg before driving her pocket knife into its head, she pulled it loose and felt Clement pull her towards him without further hesitation. Another Walker came towards them but Chuck was quick to knock it down with his trusty shovel. Lee and Hayden rush up to the two kids, Lee pulls Clement into his arms as Hayden picks Naya up into his own arms. "Get them the hell out of here!" Chuck shouted as he knocked another Walker aside with his shovel, "I'll catch up with ya!" Lee stares at Chuck with uncertainty, the man nods back and that gives Lee and Hayden all they needed to run.

"Move your asses! River streets right up ahead!" Kenny shouts as the group manages to meet together minus Chuck. "That's not all..." Ben said as more Walkers came towards them from the direction they needed to go. "Oh, gimme a fucking break!" Kenny growled out. "Wait, where's Chuck?" Christa asked them, they all turned to see the man cornered by Walkers. "Shit! He's in trouble, we gotta help him!" Omid exclaims to the others. "There's no time! We gotta go!" Kenny shouts as the Walkers continued to get closer to them. "I'll be fine, just go!" Chuck shouted at the group, the others hesitated for a moment before leaving the man to his battle.

The group of survivors turn a corner and found a gate, Kenny quickly opens it and rushes everyone into the yard before closing the gate. Kenny and Ben ran to the back door hoping to open it while Omid fell to the ground, his injured leg laying across the dirt before him. "You okay?" Lee asked Omid with a worried expression. "Ugh... yeah," Omid replied to him. "You've opened up your wound, you're already bleeding!" Chirsta exclaimed to him with worry, she turned to Lee, "Shit, it's gonna get infected. We've got to get him inside, clean him up!" Lee nods before rushing over to Kenny, "Kenny, how's that door coming?"

"I'm working on it, I'm working on it!" Kenny shouts back at him as he and Ben try to pry the wood panels off of the panel. "Well, work faster, would you!?" Christa growled at the men, "It won't be long til those things outside will figure out where we are!" Naya frowned as she looked at the doggy dog, she glanced around the yard before walking over to the door ignoring Ben, she was angry with the teen for leaving them behind. "Don't get in our way, sweetheart," Kenny said softly to the girl who smiled up at him. "Dad and I had a door like this! When we had my dog Jessie who passed away, she had chip in her collar so the doggy dog only opened for her," Naya expressed loudly catching everyone's attention.

"My little genius," Hayden said with a proud smile on his face. Lee spotted the dirt mound in the back of the yard, he picked up the shovel and made his way over. Naya frowned and turned away, that was a sight she didn't wish to see but it seems that Clement's own curiosity pulled his attention over to where Lee and Hayden were digging up the body of the dog where they found the collar. Lee walked over to the door with the collar, they all listened as the doggy door clicked alerting them that it had been unlocked. "Yes!" Kenny cheers as Lee drops down and peeks in through the small door. "You see anything in there?" Ben asked him.

"No. Looks like it's been empty a while," Lee replied to the teen as he pulled his head out of the small gap. "Whatever you're going to do, do it fast..." Christa said frantically as the sound of Walkers came closer. Before they could test theories further, Naya crawled in through the doggy dog and stepped into the house, she was silent as she peeked the nearby space to be sure it was safe to turn her back to it. "Dammit! Naya!!" Lee called out but Hayden rested his hand on Lee's shoulder, "Hey man, it's alright. Moo knows what she's doing." They all stayed silent, Clement chewing on his bottom lip as they waited when the door finally swung open.

"Sorry, it took so long. Had to make sure nothing would sneak up on me," Naya told them, Hayden high-fived her. "That's my ninja," Hayden replied making the girl beam back a smile they all were happy to see. "I did good, right?" Naya asked Lee and Clement, her eyes moving between the two of them. "You did great, Moo," Lee told her while Clem hugged her. "Don't scare me like that again though," Clement whispered to her, she hugged him back as she whispered, "I make no promises." Once the adults were in the home, they settled in the bottom floors living room. Christa had set Omid down on the couch and propped his leg up on the coffee table allowing some relief.

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"So when were you going to tell us about the radio?" Christa asked Lee and Kenny with her arms crossed. "Tell you what?" Kenny asked her defensively. "That it's working! That there's someone on the other end of that thing! You didn't think to tell the rest of us?" Christa replied with a glare. "I was going to tell you. Kenny and I only found out yesterday," Lee replied to her, "It wasn't top priority as we were heading into Savannah." Christa scoffed at his words, "So both of you were keeping it from the rest of us? Great." Hayden rolled his eyes at Christa's attitude, "Respectfully, Christa, but you and Omid are a little new to our group so sorry we didn't get the memo that you had to know everything."

Before Christa could snap back at Hayden, Kenny cut the both of them off, "Who gives a shit about the damn radio? I'm more worried about whoever it was out there ringing that bell and bringing the dead down on top of us! It's like they didn't want us to make it to the river!" Christa turned her head from glaring at Hayden to raising a brow at Kenny as she spoke, "What makes you think it's not the same person? Whoever was on the radio was close enough to see us in the street. And we didn't see anyone else other than the guy in the bell tower." Kenny shook his head, "Because it doesn't make a lick of damn sense. Why would they bring out the dead like that and try to warn us about it?"

Naya moved to sit next to Clement, she noticed the sad expression on his face so she grasped his hand in her own. "Hey, it's okay, Clem," Naya assured the boy. "It's not okay, Naya," Clement whispered harshly, he pulled his hand out of Naya's before moving away from her, she frowned at the action but did not follow him. "How much sense does anything make anymore? In case you haven't noticed, there's a lot of twisted folks out there these days. At least the dead don't play games with you," Christa replied to Kenny. "Whoever it was, seems like they're following us. And I don't like being followed," Lee said to both of them.

"All the more reason to get on a damn boat where we can't be followed," Kenny argued. "I'm not going back out there anytime soon. Omid needs to rest," Christa said firmly. "We need to make sure Chuck is okay. Once it's quieted down outside, we'll all head towards the river and see if we can find him. Deal?" Lee offered them. "Suit yourselves. But I'm not gonna wait around too long for someone else to grab up those boats, that's our ticket out of here," Kenny replied to them. "Place seems secure," Ben commented as he looked around. "I'll feel better when we know that for sure. We need to check the whole house," Christa said and Kenny sighs, "Alright, fine. Ben and me, take the upstairs -- Lee and Hayden, you've got down here. Make sure to check every door, understand?"

The group split up to do their tasks, Hayden told Naya to stay close to Omid and Christa and so she cuddled up on an armchair facing the back of the material. Naya sniffled as she closed her eyes, she just hoped that Clement wouldn't stay mad at her for too long. Slowly, her eyes began to get heavy until she had fallen asleep in the chair. Omid smiled at the girl before nudging Christa, the woman turned from her conversation with Clement to the young blonde girl. "She's so strong," Omid commented with a proud smile. "The strongest," Clement added as he looked at his best friend, he felt bad for letting his anger snap on her; he'd make it up to her.

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Rosemary Speaks. . .

Things are getting crazy...
Will they all get by or will it fall apart?

What will happen to Naya and Clement?

Thoughts, Suggestions or Questions?

See you in the next chapter!

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