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After burying the body of a boy who had starved to death in the household's attic, Lee had informed the others that someone had been watching him as he laid the boy to rest with his former dog. "Kenny?" Lee questioned unsure of where the man stood after finding him frozen in sorrow in the attic. "I'm fine. Just... I'm fine. What's all this ruckus?" Kenny assured him. "Lee saw someone watching us from outside the gate," Ben informed him. "What? Who?" Kenny questioned Lee. "I can't be sure, they ran off before I could get a good look," Lee answered him with a sigh.

"Maybe it's that god damn bell ringer," Kenny suggested to the group. "God, remember when Walkers were the ones we were afraid of? They seem like the good old days," Ben spoke up with sigh. "It don't matter, someone is watching us and I ain't letting them endanger our group," Hayden snapped out from where he stood by Kenny, both men were adamant on finding a boat now; though Lee wanted to help Clement find his parents. Naya stood by her father while Clement watched from the doorway, he and Naya hadn't spoken since he had snapped at her.

"I don't like this. Not one bit," Ben said with a frown as he crossed his arms. "Me either. Walkers are one thing but the thought of someone out there actually stalking us...?" Christa said as she folds her arms across her chest. "All right, that's it!" Kenny exclaimed, "We've stuck around here long enough. It's time to get back on track, time to get down to the river and find ourselves a boat." Hayden sighed as Christa spoke, "I don't know if Omid's well enough to move yet." Kenny scoffed, "Well, he'd better get ready. Because I'm going down to River Street right now to find a boat! And as soon as she's ready to go, we're moving on!" Naya frowned at the man's wide eyed anger, she missed the man she knew before he lost it all.

"Okay. Kenny and I will head down to look for a boat while the rest of you will search the house for any supplies," Lee told the group, he had stepped up as a leader being the only one with a perfectly clear head in the moment. "Wait, can't I come? My mom and dad can't be far now, maybe we can look for them on the way to the river," Clement said to Lee with hopeful eyes. "We can't right now, Clem," Lee replied to the boy. "But you promised we'd go find them when we got here. On the train, you promised," Clement pleaded. "I know I did, buddy. I haven't forgotten. But Savannah's more dangerous than I thought it would be. We all need to stick together as a group," Lee expressed to the boy.

"Okay," Clement relented though it was clear he didn't like it. "Daylight's burning. Gonna grab my gear, then we'll head out," Kenny said as Christa turned to Clement and Naya, "Come on, kids. Let's go see if Omid needs anything." Naya looked at Clement with her hand out for him to grab, he looked at Lee before walking past Naya into the house. Lee frowned as Naya's face dropped, she wrapped her arms around herself and slowly trudged her way into the house feeling disheartened by her best friends' actions. Lee talks directly to Ben, warning him to watch over Clement and Naya while he was gone as Hayden worked to search the house alongside Christa for anything.

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While no one was looking, Naya slipped out of the house and into the yard with a determined expression. She was going to earn Clement's forgiveness by finding his parents and bringing them back to the group. Cautiously holding her pocket knife tight in her grip, Naya padded her way down the street staying as silent as she could so she wouldn't alert any Walkers that were possibly nearby. A short time later, Naya was following a cobbled path when she spotted the river front and she knew that if Lee or Kenny spotted her, she'd be in deep trouble before she got the chance to find Clement's parents.

However, Naya heard a commotion and ran towards the noise worried that Lee or Kenny may be in some trouble. She turned the corner and spotted a hooded figure hovering over Lee, raising a climbing pick up with the intent to strike Lee. "NO!" Naya shouted as she stepped forward with her knife raised in a threatening manner. The hooded figure stopped and turned their gaze to the little girl along with Lee who was clearly shocked to see the blonde. "Naya?" Lee asked, confused. "Please... don't hurt him!" Naya begged the hooded figure who lowered their weapon and stepped away from Lee allowing him to stand up.

Lee hugged Naya who smiled slightly, she definitely considered Lee and Kenny as family. "You're not from Crawford," The stranger said as Lee turns to them and takes notice that the stranger was a woman with short blonde hair. "Have you been following us?" Lee asked the stranger. "Following you?" The stranger asked in a tone that suggested she thought the idea was completely absurd. Naya noticed Kenny sneaking up on the woman aiming his gun and the stranger seemed to pick up on his presence, sneering as Lee called out, "Kenny, no! It's not our guy!" But before Kenny could get closer, the woman lowered herself and swiped Kenny's legs from under him.

After some high tension within the small group, the stranger introduced herself as Molly and so Lee returned the courtesy by introducing himself, Kenny and Naya to the woman. "You guys really aren't from Crawford, are you?" Molly questioned once Kenny was done scolding Naya for sneaking out and following them ─ She didn't tell them what she was actually doing out there. "I don't even know what that is," Lee replied to her with furrowed brows. "Everything beyond that barricade," Molly told him bringing the large pile of bodies to Naya's attention, she gasped at the sight and frowned deeply; Kenny rested his hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

"What the hell happened here?" Lee questioned Molly who seemed to be more informed than they were. "You sure you wanna know," Molly asked, though there was this look in her eyes that uneased the young girl. Lee nods, though hesitantly. "When everything started going to shit, some people got together and sealed off that whole neighbourhood. Folks willing to do anything to stay alive, stop the dead getting in. I try to avoid 'em," Molly explained to the three. "Why?" Kenny asked. Molly looked over her shoulder at him, "Let's just say, they have a zero tolerance policy for anyone who won't ─ or can't ─ live by their rules."

"So how'd you know we weren't them?" Kenny questioned her. Molly lowers her gaze and looks directly at Naya, "Because there are no children in Crawford. Not anymore." Naya furrowed her brows at that, she crossed her arms against her chest and leaned towards Kenny who stood beside her. "What do you mean no children? Why not?" Lee asked though he wasn't sure he wanted the answer. "No children, no elderly, no one with an advanced medical condition. Basically no one who might be a burden on the community. Crawford's all about the survival of the fittest. That's how they survived, while the rest of the world went to shit around them," Molly explained as she paced the road, glancing at the barricade.

"Jesus..." Kenny muttered. "Well, just the opposite when you think about it," Molly remarked. "What exactly did Crawford do with all these burdens? What happened to them?" Lee asked the stranger. "Well, you met some of them already," Molly said as she motioned to the wall of Walkers. "Fuck me," Kenny exclaimed. "Yeah. Anyone who got sick, anyone too old, anyone they figured wasn't strong enough to survive. To them, those people were just mouths to feed... a drain on their precious resources," Molly added as she looked between the three. "How do you know all of this?" Lee asked her with a raised brow. "Everyone in Savannah knew. What was going on inside Crawford got passed around like a ghost story. Except this one was true," Molly replied.

They were all silent until Lee turned to Naya with his arms crossed and an unhappy look on his face. "What the hell are you doing out here? How'd you get out of the house?" Lee asked the young girl. "Omid was feeling really sick so Dad and Christa had to take him upstairs leaving Ben with Clement. I just... wanted to help!" Naya explained avoiding the real reason she had been wandering around. "I told you that we didn't need any help," Lee replied to her with a sigh. "Really?" Molly interrupted, "Because if it wasn't for her showing up when she did, I would've beaten your brains out." Naya nodded in agreement while Molly smirked, Lee scoffed at her words. "That's debatable," Lee remarked. "Uh huh," Molly replied with a smile.

After some heated discussion about Molly being the one responsible for ringing the bells around town ─ which she had been using to get around town to scavenge without the interruption of 'Geeks' as she called them. Molly then informed them that there were no boats left as they had been claimed when it all began or stripped for parts by the people of Crawford. Kenny was distraught by the news, the boat was the only thing he had left to hold onto but now it was gone, out of reach. Unfortunately, the four were cornered by Walkers who had been attracted by the gun that had fired during Lee and Molly's initial scuffle. Molly rushed off into an alleyway saving herself and leaving the others behind.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lee asked as he, Kenny and Naya followed the woman who had climbed up onto a fire escape using her climbing pick. "I'll tell you what I'm not doing, I'm not getting eaten," Molly replied to Lee. "And what about us?" Kenny asked her. "What about you?" Molly asked incredulously. "Please! You can't leave us!" Naya exclaimed fearfully. Molly locked gazes with Naya, her blue doe eyes looking up at the woman with fear as she pleaded for her help. Molly closed her eyes and sighed before she squatted down and reached her hand out, "Come on! Make it fast!" Lee helped Naya up allowing Molly to pull her to safety.

Lee helped Kenny up however, when Lee jumped up to grab Kenny's hand, he lost his grip and fell back into the alleyway. "Lee! No!" Naya exclaimed, she couldn't go back without Lee ─ not only was he family but Clement would never forgive her. Naya looked around before she snatched Molly's climbing pick and used it to drop down next to Lee, ignoring the pain in her ankles from the sudden pressure. "Naya!" Kenny shouted out. "What are you doing!?" Lee exclaimed to the young girl. "Helping you! The sewer!" Naya replied as she handed over the pick, Lee took it quickly and pulled the sewer lid free. He and Naya quickly climbed down into the sewer, a Walker soon fell in behind them but hit the ground splitting its head.

"Guess it's just us," Naya sheepishly said to Lee who glared at her, he wasn't happy with her impulsive actions but he was impressed with her quick response. "Head back to the house! We'll meet up with you later!" Lee called up hoping Kenny heard him. "Let's find a way out," Lee told Naya, "And when we get back, you and I are having a serious conversation about your actions today." Naya frowned and nodded her head, she sighed and stayed close to Lee as they walked through the sewer. The smell didn't bother Naya after so much time near the dead, but she did frown seeing her shoes now covered in God knows what.

Ahead of them were a fair few Walkers surrounding something and a few feet from them was another Walker reaching down a drain for something. "Okay, we need to find a way to lure them away... too many to fight through," Lee told Naya who hummed before noticing small little sections. "Check this out!" Naya softly spoke as she cautiously crept over to the small space, she looked inside before walking in and finding a valve. "Nice work. And good cautious movements," Lee praised making Naya smile, she hadn't really had a chance to work one on one with Lee. "Alright, let's see what this does," Lee said as he twisted it causing water to their left to spill out distracting a couple of the Walkers but not all of them.

"It's loose. I saw another one by where we came in," Lee told Naya who nodded, she took in the underlying advice of being extra observant. Lee took the valve and they headed over to the other one, he slipped it on and twisted it causing water to spill out next to them. Lee took Naya's hand and pulled her back to the small walkway space, they crept through it and walked by the distracted dead only to find the body of Chuck. "Oh no..." Naya whimpered, she sniffled and wiped the tear that fell. "Poor Chuck. He must've found his way in here to escape the street," Lee expressed. He collected the gun before pulling Naya along not wanting to stay for too long.

"Why were you really out?" Lee asked Naya softly causing her to sigh. "I thought if I found Clem's parents, he wouldn't be angry with me anymore," Naya told Lee who frowned. Once the furthest Walker had been dealt with silently, Lee noticed another opening and walked over to look up. "I'll wait here quietly while you check it," Naya assured Lee who frowned, he was hesitant but accepted her words. He made an attempt to run and jump up onto to fall due to it being too high, he knocked a sign that revealed a hole in the wall. Naya and Lee shared a surprised look before he walked inside, helping Naya in as well.

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The hole lead to a small space which had a door into a morgue where a group of older people were seeking shelter. Lee was almost killed a second time only to be saved by Naya's presence, a sight that had shocked the people especially the man Vernon and a woman named Brie. A short conversation about them being former residents of Crawford and cancer survivers ─ though Vernon was also a doctor. Naya had pleaded with Vernon to help them return home, the man had accepted the girls pleas and said his goodbyes to the others before leading Lee and Naya through the sewers back to the house where everyone was awaiting their return.

Hayden pulled his daughter into his arms, holding her tight as every drop of anger towards her sneaking out faded into relief knowing that she was okay. "Thank you," Hayden told Vernon who smiled and bowed his head respectfully, he was happy to see a father and daughter reunite. Upon learning that Vernon was a doctor, Christa had him take a look at Omid's leg while Lee searched for Clement who hadn't been seen in a while. When Kenny returned, he had found some alcohol and decided to indulge in it to escape his drowning thoughts; Ben had decided to keep him company due to that which distracted him from Clement's whereabouts.

Lee and Naya headed outside on Ben's advice and began looking around for Clement only to notice a noise coming from the shed. Lee reached the doors and began pulling on them until they opened revealing Clement who had knocked Lee back by accident. "Lee!" Clement exclaimed seeing him, he ran to him and embraced him while Naya stood to the side watching with a small smile. "Hey buddy," Lee greeted as they break the hug. "Naya!" Clement rushed over to her and hugged her, "Don't disappear like that again, you hear me!" Naya hugged him back tight, "I'll try not too." Lee smiled, "She went looking for your parents to earn your forgiveness, found and looked out for me instead."

Clement pulled back and looked at Naya with wide eyes, "You did that for me?" Naya shyly nodded her head, she accepted another hug from Clement who apologised for being mean to her. "Oh! Come look!" Clement exclaimed remembering what he had found, "Look what I found!" Lee grabs the doors and forced them open wider revealing a boat inside. "Holy shit!" Lee exclaimed. "Swear," Naya and Clement said in unison. At that moment, Kenny walked outside and looked in the shed, his eyes wide and a smile appearing on his face as he dropped the bottle in his hands. They had a chance to get out to sea, after all.

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Rosemary Speaks. . .

Sorry for the wait on this chapter.
Peep the new gif that I made for the end gif.

I finally have a ps4 and I bought The Walking Dead game soooo... I'm inspired to work on this book a little more.

The next few chapters should be long ones as we come to the end of the first season.

Let me know what y'all think!

Thoughts, Suggestions or Questions?

See you in the next chapter!