𝟷.𝟷𝟾 | Crawford
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With a new plan set, they needed medical supplies for Omid and the boat needed fuel and a battery. The adults had come to a hesitant agreement that Crawford was the place they needed to go in order to get what they needed, it was a risky move but it was their best choice. Vernon had initially warned them against the plan but ultimately, he agreed to show them the way into Crawford through the sewer system; as long as he got some of the medical supplies as his group needed them too. Vernon left after stating they should go after dark, he would return at midnight to lead them through the sewer tunnels into Crawford.
Clement had kept Naya close to him after her little disappearing act had frightened him. The eleven year old hadn't realised how dependent he had become on Naya, he couldn't see his life without the ten year old by his side every step of the way. Naya Ashanti was his best friend and the last thing Clement wanted was to be parted from her, he would do everything he could to keep them together. Lee approached the end of the stairs spotting the two kids, their hands interlocked as they made eye contact with him. "I told you two to stay in your room. How long have you two been there?" Lee asked the two as Hayden walked over, he raised a brow waiting for an answer.
"Is it going to be dangerous?" Clement asked Lee. "Is what going to be dangerous?" Lee questioned the boy he viewed as his own. "Crawford," Both kids answered the man in unison, they both were worried for them. "I can't lie to you guys," Lee began as he shared a look with Hayden who had nodded, "Yeah, it's gonna be dangerous. But it's the only way to get the things we need to make Omid better and get the boat working. That's why we have to do this. Do you two understand?" Naya and Clement shared a look, they frowned before nodding and looking back at the two men. "I don't want anyone else to die," Clement told them. "Neither do we," Hayden replied gently.
"I guess we should go get ready then," Clem expressed to the two fathers. "Say what now?" Lee asked confused. "I'm sorry what?" Hayden added as well with his own expression of confusion staring his daughter down. "You said you'd need all of us to do this," Clem replied before Naya added, "And you said we're a big help, remember? You saw how efficient I am!" Lee sighed as he looked at Hayden, he had told the man how well the girl had been out there. "Molly also said that the only place in Savannah that still has people, so that means that Clem's parents could be there!" Naya said, hopeful making Clem smile at her.
"Where we're going, it's just too dangerous. For children especially," Hayden reminded the two children. "You said that we're always supposed to stay close to either of you. Can't we come with you?" Naya asked using their words against them. The two men shared a look with a sigh before Lee spoke, "Okay, you two can come. But you two have to promise to stay quiet and do exactly what you're told the whole time we're there." Both kids jumped up at those words with wide smiles on their faces. "Okay. We're gonna go get ready," Clem told them before grabbing Naya's hand and leading her off into their shared room to grab their stuff.
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Lee climbs up the ladder and removes the manhole before climbing out, he searched for any threats before assisting everyone else out of the sewer. Lee lead Hayden, Kenny, Christa, Ben, Vernon, Brie, Molly, Clem and Naya behind a building where they could hide in the shadows of the night. "Where is everybody? There should be guards patrolling," Vernon remarks, confused. "What? Are you disappointed?" Kenny asked him in disbelief. "It's just strange, is all," Vernon replied to him while Lee shared a look with Hayden and Kenny. "I think I see one. Over there, by the door," Christa said as she pointed towards a figure that was strolling down the street.
"Okay, me and Kenny'll sneak up, try to take him out quiet. The rest of you stay with Hayden and wait for our signal then follow us over. Everybody got it?" Lee instructed everyone, they all nodded in agreement with his plan. "Okay Kenny, let's do this quiet. No shooting unless there's no other choice," Lee said to his best friend. "Right behind you," Kenny reassured him as he held up his rifle. Lee starts to sneak up to the guard, axe raised, when the guard turns around to reveal that he was no longer alive but a walker. "What the FUCK?" Lee exclaimed before he swings the axe at the head of the walker, killing it.
Hayden approached them with a face of shock while the others slowly approached the scene before them. "What the fuck is a walker doing inside here?" Lee asked shocked however, he wouldn't get an answer as he spots more Walkers coming their way. "Quick! Get inside!" Lee instructed as he points towards the school building next to them. Everyone rushed into the building, Clem grabbed Naya's hand and pulled her against the lockers with him. They watched as the adults argued with one another, all of them confused about how in the hell Crawford met the same fate as everyone else eventually did.
"What the Hell happened here?!" Christa exclaimed though no one could answer that for her. "What always happens, I guess. In the end, the dead always win," Molly replied and the words seemed to burn their way into Naya's mind as she frowned and looked down; there was no safety but momentary peace. "Oh man, we're so screwed..." Ben muttered as he paced back and forth along the hallway. "No, this is good," Vernon spoke up as he glanced at the two kids before focusing on the others. "Vernon's right. We can deal with Walkers easier than armed guards," Lee expressed in agreement with Vernon, Hayden and Kenny shared a look knowing the two had a valid point about that.
"I agree. So as long as we don't let 'em box us in, we can still do this. The plan hasn't changed," Kenny agreed. "The plan hasn't changed!?" Ben questioned confused before walking towards Kenny, "Every time Walkers show up, the plan changes! Do you even have any idea how many of them are out there?!" Christa stepped forward looking at the teenager, "No. You wanna do a headcount? Or do you want to get what we need and get the hell out of here?" Ben lowered his gaze at the woman's words, he knew there was no arguing that point. "Come on, I think I know which way to head," Brie told them before leading the way, everyone else moved to follow her.
The group walked by doors with red X markings, groaning coming from within the spaces until they reached a classroom where Brie had informed them that it was the one they needed to find. There was a door on the other side of the room that had a sign over it that said 'Armory' which had caught Hayden's attention first, he made his way over and attempted to twist the doorknob only to realise that it was locked, he sighed before working on finding another way to open it. "Looks like they were using this room as some kind of command centre," Lee stated, Kenny and Hayden nodded in agreement with him.
"Okay, so now what? Where do we start looking?" Molly asked. "Here..." Brie said as she walked up to the board that had a map of the school and Crawford's placement of everything. "Any idea where we could find a battery?" Lee asked. "Maybe at the auto shop?" Vernon suggest as he points at a section of the map, "There used to be one in the alley outside the fire escape." Lee nodded as Hayden walked over and looked for himself. "Yup, it's called Herman's, you can't miss it," Brie confirmed. "Where would be the best place to look for the medicine?" Hayden asked next. "Right here," Molly pointed to a different part of the map, "Nurse's station. They were using it as a medical facility."
"How do you know that?" Christa asked Molly, suspicion burning in her eyes. Molly's face turns to shock, like she accidentally let something she didn't want them to know slip, then she turns to Christa, "Just makes sense, doesn't it?" Ignoring the women, Kenny steps forward to ask, "What about the fuel? Where should I start looking?" Brie looked to the map before pointing out, "There's a maintenance shed across from the playground here, if they were storing fuel, that's probably where it'll be." Kenny nodded, "Okay, I'll make the run to the maintenance shed for the fuel." Brie looked at him, "It'll be faster if I go with you, I can take you right to it."
"I'll come to!" Ben announced. "No, two people's enough. You stay here with Hayden, see if you can use any of those tools we brought to get that armory door open. We might need to shoot our way out of here," Kenny instructed Ben who sighed in disappointment. "I'll go for the medicine," Christa told the others. "I'll come with you. I know what to take," Vernon informed her with a determined nod. "Okay, I guess that leaves me to go find us a battery," Lee expressed with a firm nod. "I'll go with you, watch your back," Molly offered with a smirk. "Okay, we've got a plan. Everyone be careful, stay close to one another, we'll all meet back here. Good luck," Lee said as he hands his axe over to Kenny and everyone else moved to leave for their jobs.
"What about us? What can we do?" Clem asked Lee as he motioned to himself and Naya, both of them looking at Lee awaiting orders to help. "I need both of you to stay here with Hayden and Ben, watch over our command centre," Lee replied to them, both kids frowned at that. "You're leaving us with Ben?" Clem asked as Hayden walked over and smiled. "Nah, you two are gonna be in charge of Ben and I. Make sure we're not slacking off, yeah?" Hayden corrected, he and Lee weren't risking the kids in this. "Oh, okay," Clem responded with a smile while Naya nodded in agreement. "Back before you know it," Lee assured them, nodding to Hayden before he left to join Molly.
Naya readjusted the bag on her back, she walked up to the bookshelf and read through the titles of some of the books before spotting a couple that would make good reading material. Removing her bag, she grabbed a couple of the smaller books and slipped them into her bag, she also spotted a small bear keychain and grabbed it. "Hey Clem," Naya walked over to her best friend with a smile, she grabbed his hand and opened it flat with his palm up before placing the keychain in his palm. "For you 'cause you give warm bear hugs," Naya told him with a sweet smile. Clem laughed softly before admiring the small bear keychain, "Thank you, Naya." They shared a hug before moving to sit at a desk, Naya reading while Clem was drawing.
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Lee and Molly successfully managed to get a Battery from the auto shop, though Molly had disappeared to do something leaving Lee to head back to the command centre only to run into Kenny and Brie as they rushed inside with Walkers trailing behind them. The three of them returned to the command centre classroom, Naya and Clem looked up with smiles seeing the three of them. "You're back!" Clem exclaimed looking at Lee and Kenny, while Naya hugged both of them receiving hugs back from them. "Yeah, and we made out pretty good too," Kenny informed them as he showed the fuel they successfully got. "Great work, Kenny!" Ben praised the older man.
"How're you doing with that door?" Kenny asked Ben and Hayden, both sighed in irritation as they were still struggling with getting it open without damage or noise. "Not so good," Ben replied to him. "Here... let me give you two a hand," Kenny offered with a sigh before moving to help them. "You get that battery yet?" Hayden asked Lee as he turned to him. "Yeah, Molly has it, she should be back here soon," Lee answered him. "She'd better be," Kenny mutters before Lee heads back out of the room to assist Christa and Vernon. "You two doing okay?" Hayden asked as he knelt in front of them. "Yeah," Naya replied as Clem attached the bear keychain to his bag.
"I'm proud of both of you, you know," Hayden began with a slight chuckle, "You two have been so strong and brave through all of this. You continue to fight and stay confident through this. And I know for a fact that the both of you will survive through all of this." Both kids beamed under the praise before Hayden went over to help Kenny. But as per usual, chaos broke free and Ben had accidentally taken the hatchet from the doors allowing Walkers to get inside. Clem and Naya rushed out into the hall finding Molly having trouble with a Walker, Clem raised the gun he had and fired his first shot into a Walker. "Thanks..." Molly said to Lee but he shook his head.
"It wasn't me..." Lee replied to her before turning to see Clem standing protectively in front of Naya with his gun raised. "Good going, kid. Nice shot," Molly complimented Clem who smiled. "Thanks," Clem replied to her as Lee smiled at him with pride. The group rushed back into the command centre, with nowhere else to go; they had to work harder to get the Armory door open. Brie had shut the door and was leaning against it, but Ben seemed to be having a breakdown of some sort. "This is all my fault... all my fault," Ben whimpered. "What the hell's he babbling about?" Christa asked with a scowl on her face. "Ben, we talked about this," Lee warned the teenager.
"Kenny, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry..." Ben started to say but Kenny shouts, "Kid! This isn't the best time!" Lee shakes his head, "Ben, you need to tread carefully," Hayden added with a firm tone as he stopped Lee from talking. "It's been me all along. Putting all of us in danger. Carley, Katjaa and Duck... it was all me. It was all me!" Ben exclaimed loudly just as Kenny kicked the door open, he turned to Ben. "Wait a minute... what are you saying?" Kenny asked him. "It was me who made the deal with the bandits at the motor inn, slipping them supplies. I thought maybe I could keep them off our backs. When it got discovered, that's when they attacked. That's when Duck..." Ben trailed off as Clem and Naya looked at him with wide sorrowful eyes.
All hell broke loose after that, Kenny moved to attack Ben but Hayden and Lee got between them telling Kenny that he can beat his ass later but right now, they had to get the hell out of there. "If this asshole thinks he's getting on my boat after what he did, he's out of his motherfucking mind! Do you hear me, shitbird! You can stay behind and fucking rot!" Kenny snapped out at the teenage boy who held an expression of shame and guilt. "We can deal with this shit once we're out of Crawford, for fucks sake!" Hayden snapped out with a glare. "Ain't nothing to sort out. I just told you the way it's gonna be. The boat's not big enough for all of us! Somebody's gotta get left behind, might as well be this piece of shit right here!" Kenny growled.
Votes were stated, Christa wished to leave him behind while Hayden agreed with her; he couldn't let Ben's future jeopardise his daughter's life. Clem ─ after Lee agreed the kids got to vote too ─ voted that Ben should stay while Naya abstained, she didn't want to be involved in this decision. With Naya's decision, Christa decided to abstain while Lee voted with Kenny and Hayden's side deciding to leave Ben behind. "What about the rest of us, don't we get a say in--" Brie was cut off by a Walker's head bursting through the glass of the doot, grabbing her before the door opened allowing Walkers inside; consuming Brie like string cheese. It was time to leave and the group didn't hesitate.
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Rosemary Speaks. . .
So ya gal has the game on PS4 now, so I've been playing it a bit hence why the delay in an update. Currently playing through season 3 so it's been interesting.
Getting to the end of season 1 in this one... how are you feeling about that?
Thoughts, Suggestions or Questions
See you in the next chapter!
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