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Hayden was cautious making his way through the sewers as the streets had been filled by the large herd of Walkers that followed the survivors into the city using the freight train. But it wasn't long until Hayden reached a point where the streets were his only way to the river front where he knew that Vernon and his group would have gone. Uncaring of the dead wondering the streets, Hayden begins killing his way through the Walkers without a flinch and a set glare on his face. By the time he reached the river front, Hayden was covered in Walkers blocking his scent from them and allowing him to blend in naturally with the dead; this made him smirk, he had a way to get through the dead.

He managed to spot Vernon and his group on the docks shouting at one another while one of the men held Naya close to him refusing to let her go no matter how much she tried to pull her arm free. Without an ounce of morality, Hayden raised his gun and fired a single shot into Vernon's head causing the man to fall back into the water. The others shrieked or screamed at the sight before turning to see Naya's father standing there, he glared harshly at them before making his way towards the terrified group; the man holding Naya began pulling her back with him. "Give me back my daughter," Hayden demanded. "Murderer!" One of the women accused fearfully. "You wanna be next?" Hayden growled at her.

"Let her go, Boyd!" Another pleaded with tears falling their face, "We've lost so many already!" Boyd was hesitant but then he smirked. "BEHIND YOU!" Naya screamed out but she watched the Walker stumble by him and towards the others, more Walkers following it towards the group. Boyd let go of Naya to defend himself allowing the girl to grab her backpack and escape their clutches, she dodged through the Walkers, just barely out of reach. Hayden rushed to grab his daughter, he pulled her aside and killed a Walker; cutting it open before covering her with Walker blood and guts. "Move slow and stay quiet," Hayden instructed Naya, she sniffled and agreed.

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Meanwhile, Lee and the others had managed to escape the home after breaking through the attic wall into the home next door. Unfortunately, Ben had fallen with the balcony they used to leap across to the roof which resulted in the teenager being stabbed through the stomach with no chance of the boy surviving. And so, Kenny being Kenny, shoved Lee to safety before firing his last bullet into Ben's head to put the boy out of his misery. Kenny's fate was left unknown to Lee, Omid and Christa who were left to find and save Clement. But when reaching a sign that hung above the street, Lee volunteered to go across first but the sign crumbled and broke leaving Lee hanging on for his life.

With new instructions for Omid and Christa to meet Lee and Clement outside the city ─ and hopefully, Hayden and Naya too ─ the couple left Lee. A man on a mission, Lee moves through the herd of dead in a similar manner as Hayden; unknowingly, the two were doing so at the exact same time on opposing sides of the city. It wasn't long until Lee reached The Marsh House where Clement had been taken, he looked up at the building before heading inside. Finally reaching the door, he took a deep breath as he listened for a moment before opening the door to reveal a standard hotel room. However, one of the doors had a rope tied from the bedroom door knob to the closet.

A noise startled Lee, he turned to see a man standing behind him holding a gun. "I got us adjoining rooms," The man mocked. "Hello..." Lee greeted cautiously as he sized the man up. "Okay. This is civil," The man replied as he had expected an angry man to show up demanding Clement back. "You look horrible," The man added as he noticed that Lee was pale, appearing tired and also covered in Walker blood and guts. After placing his weapons down as instructed, the two sat down opposite each other in the armchairs; Lee had to play civil in hopes to save Clem without risking his own life so he can help his boy get out of the city before he turned.

"Let me out! I want Naya! Who's out there!?" Clement's voice came through the blocked door along with the banging of his fists. The boy wanted to be back with the others, he wanted to be back with Lee and he wanted his best friend by his side again; he felt so lost and unbalanced without Naya beside him. The two men sat for a civil conversation while Clem managed to remove the rope from the door, he quietly stepped out and made eye contact with Lee. Lee's eyes widened slightly seeing Clem, Lee focused his eyes on the lamp sitting on the desk for a moment before looking back at the stranger as to not cause any suspicion though the man's focus was on the bag at his feet where soft groans were coming from.

"I miss you so much, Tess. You're going to like Clement, I know you wanted a daughter but he's a good kid. He wouldn't hurt a fly," The stranger spoke just as Clem raised the lamp and whacked him over the head with it. Lee took his opportunity and launched himself at the man causing them both to topple over, Clem backed away and watched fearfully as the two men fought against each other. Lee rolls to the side and the man launches himself on top of Lee while Lee reaches for his gun. The two struggled for a bit until Lee kicks the man away from him, the gun flies out of his hand over to the other side of the room. Clement watches it before sneaking his way over to the weapon, the two men continued to tussle.

Unfortunately, the man was able to get the upper hand and begins to choke him. "You son of a bitch..." The man growled, "Just go away... die!" Suddenly, a gunshot sounded out and a bullet struck the man in the head causing his body to slump forward on Lee. Lee rolls the body off of him and turns to see Clement holding the gun, shock adorning his face. "I...I...I..." Clement gasped out but Lee pulled his son into his arms. "It's okay, it's okay," Lee assured the boy. "You look horrible," Clement told Lee after pulling out of the much needed hug. "That's what he said," Lee replied. "Let's just get somewhere safe," Clement said before frowning, "Is Naya okay?" Lee looked down for a moment, "She was taken by Vernon..."

Clement's eyes widened hearing that while Lee continued, "Hayden went after her. Hopefully, they met up with Christa and Omid outside the city. That's where we are heading now." After making sure that Clement was okay, Lee collected his things and headed towards the door. A Walker stood in his way but the smell of dead on him seemed to turn the Walker docile. Lee killed the Walker and cut it open, covering Clement in Walker blood to help them blend in with the dead wandering the streets of Savannah. "So... gross," Clement whined as Lee finished up. "There, that should do it," Lee assured the boy before smiling slightly, "And you're missing something."

Lee pulled out Clement's hat bringing a smile to his face, "I thought it was gone!" Clement placed the hat back on his head, he double checked his pocket for the keychain bear that Naya gave him and relaxed knowing it was still there. "I thought you were gone," Lee replied with a slight frown though he was happy to know that Clement was okay ─ He just prayed to whatever Gods were out there that Naya was okay too. "Stay right next to me and walk very slowly. Don't look around and don't panic," Lee instructed Clement, "I'll keep you safe." The two made their way out of the Marsh House and into the streets of dead.

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Hayden and Naya slowly paced through the streets of Savannah towards the outskirts, the dead moved around them but the camouflage of guts helped them walk with the herd. Naya fought back the urge to cry, it was only a week ago when everyone was okay and alive; they were all together. "Keep moving, Moo," Hayden whispered softly to his daughter, she nodded slowly before keeping pace with him avoiding the dead moving towards her. The familiar ringing of a bell alerted the dead and they began moving towards it, the two glanced over to see the familiar jacket that belonged to Molly.

With less Walkers in the street, Hayden and Naya picked up their pace until they reached Molly who had spotted them. "Are you two okay? What happened?" Molly asked the two of them with concern in her eyes. "The group was all separated, we're heading out of the city. You wanna join us?" Hayden offered the blonde, she smiled slightly and looked down at Naya before nodding her head. The three of them made their way out of the streets and away from the herd, Naya kept glancing behind her hoping to see Lee or Clement trailing behind them. "Come on, Naya," Hayden encouraged solemnly, he and Molly shared a sad look before they continued their walk.

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Clement and Lee walk slowly through the herd of dead, they heard the bell in distance at one point but hadn't heard anything since then. Clement was terrified walking through the dead and Lee was growing more and more tired as time went by, a fever beginning to burn in his system as he fought hard against the bite on his wrist. Suddenly, Clement stopped and froze in place staring at something in shock and horror. "Clem?" Lee called before following his gaze to see a man and woman, it didn't take him long to realise who they were. "Clem, don't..." Lee trailed off as he fell over, his eyes falling shut leaving Clement calling for his name.

"Lee, wake up! Please don't be dead, please no!" Clement pleaded after he had dragged him into safety from the street. Lee opened his eyes and groaned quietly from the pain pulsing through his body. "Lee! I was so scared... I─I thought you left me... I...I..." Clement whimpered as he knelt in front of Lee, "I saw my parents." Lee frowned as he sat up, "I know. They didn't get to you, right?" Lee's skin had become an ashy grey colour, his eyes were becoming almost lifeless and his face seemed sunken in and hollow. "No. I got away," Clem replied with a sniffle, "They're dead for sure." He carried so much guilt for chasing after ghosts endangering everyone.

Lee starts to sit up, "Clem, we have got to get out of here as fast as we can." Clement shook his head at those words, "We can't! There's thousands of them outside!" Lee sighed, "We have to. I'll protect you; we'll get through them." The two argued about staying or leaving until Lee started coughing and groaning, his body was becoming too weak and he knew his time was coming to a sad end. "Clement... son," Lee spoke softly before revealing his wrist where he had been bitten. "What... what... wh─what happened? No. No, that's not... No. No. No!" Clement asked tearfully, he couldn't believe it ─ he didn't want to believe that the one person he's had since the beginning was... bitten.

"Yes, Clem. It is," Lee confirmed it, "It's going to be okay. You are gonna be okay. We just have to think and work together." Lee struggled to walk and Clement moved to help after Clem had found another way out of the building he had trapped them in. Lee collapsed to the ground, he couldn't move anymore nor could he feel his legs anymore. "Get up, Lee. The doors right here," Clem pleaded but his attempt was futile. "Clem, I can't move. This is it for me here," Lee replied to him, the two distraught with the knowledge that Lee's time was up. With Lee's steady instructions, Clem managed to get into the back room where the Walker was; despite it's attack attempt, Clem got through it.

Don't be afraid of him, Clem. You are smart, he isn't. You are smarter than all of them. Clem had handcuffed Lee to the radiator per Lee's request, the boy was hesitant but understood the importance of doing so. With the gun in hand along with the keys needed to get out, Clem turned to Lee who smiled fondly; at least he'd die seeing his boy one last time. "Hey. You are so strong. You can do anything," Lee reassured the crying eleven year old. "But I'm little," Clem replied to him. "Doesn't mean nothing. You are going to see bad stuff but it's okay," Lee informed him, there was no point in sugarcoating anything. "My parents. It's so horrible," Clem cried. "I can't imagine, son," Lee responded to him. "And now you?" Clem asked, his heart breaking more hearing Lee call him son.

"Please... please don't be one of them. Please don't become a Walker," Clem pleaded with Lee, tears streaming down his face. "There's only one thing you can do. You know that," Lee reminded the eleven year old. "I don't know if I can," Clem informed him, he sniffled burning Lee's face into his memories. "You have to shoot me, Clem," Lee asked the boy. "Lee, no..." Clem cried. "It's okay. It's okay. Clem... when I was standing over Duck, holding the gun... it was so hard. I'm sorry that you are in that position now. I'd give anything for you not to be. But you just have to point it at me, close your eyes, and be thankful you never have to see me as one of them. You can do it. I know you can," Lee encouraged the boy, tearducts too dry to cry.

Clem takes a deep breath before nodding, "Okay, Lee... I can do it. I can." Lee smiled at the boy's bravery before replying, "Find Omid and Christa. They're probably lookin' for us right now. Stay on high ground. Don't go too far. You will find them. They'll take good care of you." Lee coughed before adding, "Keep an eye out for Naya, Clem. Protect her, don't let each other down. You two... in the end, you'll only have each other." Clem nodded quickly at that, "I promise, Lee. I'll find her, I'll protect her. I promise!" Lee grinned at that, he let out a breath of relief before saying one last bit of advice, "And Clem... Stay away from cities. They're not worth the risk." Clem nodded, accepting his advice.

"I'll miss you," Lee whispered to the boy who was once just a stranger and now, he was Lee's life ─ the son he always wanted to have. "Me too, dad," Clem replied through a sob, he stood up and raised the gun, aiming it at Lee's head. "My son..." Lee whispered before Clement pulled the trigger, shooting Lee in the head. Eventually, Clem made it out of Savannah and was now in a random field, his backpack on his back. He found a large log and sat down for a moment, resting after the sorrow he felt overwhelmed him to numbness. He looked down to see bullet shells on the ground, he looked up spotting two silhouettes off in the distance. The figures stopped and looked at him, there was hope after all.

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Rosemary Speaks. . .

And that concludes Act One...

Lee's death breaks me every damn time!

When do you think Naya and Clem will reunite? What do you think will happen?

Heads up, next Act may have a few time jumps and will definitely bounce between Clem's life and Naya's life separated.

Thoughts, Suggestions or Questions

What do you think of the book so far?

See you in the next act!