"Lee!" Clementine rushed over, her small face lighting up with relief. "You're back!"
Lee chuckled, ruffling her cap. "Told you I would be, didn't I?" She nodded vigorously, her grip tightening on his sleeve as Glenn shuffled past, his usual energy dampened by the weight of what they'd left behind at the motel.
Kenny approached, his eyes flicking between them. "Hey, everything go okay out there?" There was an soft edge to his voice—less alarm, more curiosity.
"Ran into a few walkers, but we handled it," Lee said, patting his trusty new axe. "Got enough gas to keep us moving for a while."
Glenn kept his gaze lowered as he added, "There's more in my trunk for your truck, Kenny."
"Well, ain't that a damn miracle," Kenny muttered, though some of the tension left his shoulders. Then his expression darkened as he jerked his chin toward the pharmacy counter. "What about our 'friend' over there?"
Larry wheezed against the wall, his face the color of spoiled meat. Every breath sounded like it might be his last.
"He won't make it much longer without those pills," Kenny said. "But—"
"Problem is," Lee cut in, jangling the keys, "soon as I open that door, an alarm's gonna scream loud enough to bring every walker in Georgia down on us."
The group stiffened. Even Glenn looked up, eyes wide.
"You're shittin' me," Kenny breathed.
Carley stepped forward, arms crossed. "There's got to be a way to disable it. Where's the control panel?"
Lee's memory flashed to the white box in the office. "Right. Yeah. It's in there." He dug out his screwdriver, turning it over in his hand. "Could probably pop the cover off with this."
"Then what're you waiting for?" Carley glanced back at Lilly hovering over her father. "He's not got time for us to stand around debating."
Lee hesitated. "I can get the panel open, but after that? I might as well be reading Sanskrit. One wrong wire, and we're all dead."
Carley's mouth twisted. Then she turned, spotting Doug still posted at the boarded-up windows, peering through the cracks like a man waiting for the apocalypse to knock. "Doug!" she called. "Get over here. We need your nerd skills."
Lee blinked. "Nerd skills?"
"What?" Carley shot him a smirk. "I think it's cute."
"To each their own," Lee muttered, already moving toward the office.
Inside, he forced his eyes away from the bloodstained mattress—not now, don't think about it—and focused on the alarm panel. The screwdriver made quick work of the bolts, but what lay beneath might as well have been a bomb. Wires coiled and tangled like a nest of snakes, colors bleeding together under the dim light.
Lee exhaled, tilting his head at the tangled mess of wires. "What in the actual fuck am I looking at?"
"You need to disconnect the terminal wires from the battery," came a voice right beside his ear. Lee nearly jumped - Doug had somehow materialized next to him without a sound. "I'm Doug," he added dryly. "The 'nerd'." The air quotes were practically audible.
"Lee," he replied, shaking off the surprise. "So which ones are the terminal wires in this rainbow spaghetti?"
Doug leaned in, his finger steady as he traced two red wires among the colorful tangle. "These. Cut the power, cut the alarm. Simple as that."
Lee worked carefully, his fingers deft despite the nerves humming under his skin. The wires came free, then the battery itself. A quiet click sounded from the panel as it died.
"No power, no alarm," Doug confirmed, stepping back. He paused at the door, his hand on the frame. "If you need anything else... well, i'm not exactly going anywhere." There was a touch of bitterness in his voice.
Lee gave him a grateful nod. "You're a lifesaver, Doug. Literally."
Keys in hand, Lee approached the pharmacy door. His palm was slick against the metal as he inserted the key. This was it - either Doug's fix worked, or they'd have seconds before the dead came knocking. The turn of the lock echoed like a gunshot in the tense silence.
The door swung open.
No blaring alarm. No flashing lights. Just the faint sting of antiseptic in the air and the quiet hum of a refrigerator struggling to keep running. Rows upon rows of shelves stretched before them, packed tight with bottles, boxes, and blister packs - a treasure trove of modern medicine slowly turning priceless in their new world.
Lee let out a breath that had been trapped in his chest since they'd left the motel. "We're in."
"Thank God." Lilly's voice at his shoulder made him jump - again. She moved like a ghost when she wanted to. Her eyes swept over the bounty before settling on him. "No," she corrected quietly, "thank you, Lee."
"Don't mention it," he said, already grabbing plastic bags from behind the counter. His hands moved automatically, sweeping entire shelves into the bags with practiced efficiency. "We're taking everything. No telling if this place will still be standing next week."
Lilly didn't need convincing. She was already halfway down the aisle, snatching the heart medication with trembling hands. "I'll get the others," she called over her shoulder, sprinting past him with the pills clutched to her chest.
Kenny's whistle echoed through the pharmacy as he took in the haul. "Holy mother of mercy," he breathed, eyes wide. "This is an addicts wet dream."
"Grab a bag," Lee ordered, tying off his third full sack. "We're clearing every shelf."
"Like taking candy from a baby," Kenny grinned, already elbow-deep in the painkillers section. "Got the truck backed up to the loading door out back. We'll fill her till she bursts."
For the next thirty minutes, they worked like a well-oiled machine - Lee and Kenny hauling armfuls of medicine while Glenn and Doug organized the haul in the vehicles. Even Clementine helped, carefully carrying lighter boxes under Carley's watchful eye.
When the last bottle was loaded and the shelves stood bare, Lee leaned against the truck's tailgate, wiping sweat from his brow. The vehicles sagged under their new weight - Kenny's truck in particular looking like it might lose its suspension at any moment.
"Think we got enough?" Kenny asked, slamming the trunk shut with a satisfied thud.
Lee wiped sweat from his brow, surveying their haul - antibiotics, painkillers, enough supplies to keep the group stocked for months. The pharmacy shelves stood bare behind them. "Yeah," he said, tapping the trunk. "We got everything."
"YOU!"
The roar made them spin. Larry stormed from the pharmacy, his face purple with rage. "Couldn't have taken your sweet fucking time, could you?" Spittle flew from his lips. "While my daughter's out here risking her neck—"
Lee's patience snapped like a dry twig. "There no pleasing you, is there?" He stepped forward, fists clenched. "We got your damn pills."
"What'll please me is when you—" Larry jabbed a meaty finger at Lee's chest.
SMACK. Lee batted the hand away. "Say the word," he growled, "and we leave you here with your precious pills. See how long they last when the dead come knocking."
"Dad, shut the hell up!" Lilly's sharp command cut through the tension—then her eyes widened. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me..."
Shambling figures emerged from around the corner, their guttural moans cutting through the humid air.
"Move your asses!" Kenny bellowed, no longer bothering with stealth. The group scattered toward the vehicles.
Doug came sprinting from the pharmacy, a box in his hands. "Wait for—"
A rotting hand clamped around his ankle like a bear trap. He hit the pavement with a scream as a walker lunged, its reeking maw gaping wide. "GET IT OFF!"
BANG!
The walker's head exploded in a shower of black gore as Lee's shotgun roared. He hauled Doug up by his collar and shoved him toward Glenn's waiting car. "Move!"
Lee spun just in time—a skeletal figure grabbed at his shoulder. With a grunt, he brought his axe down in a savage arc. The walker's head tumbled to the asphalt, body crumpling like a puppet with cut strings.
Tires screeched as Lee vaulted into Kenny's truck. The door slammed shut seconds before grasping hands could find purchase. As the vehicles peeled away, Lee watched in the side mirror as the growing horde dwindled to nothing more than a bad memory in their wake.
---
The motel's flickering neon sign cast an eerie glow as the vehicles pulled in an hour later. Lee watched the familiar scene unfold—the scattered walker corpses, the abandoned cars, the boarded-up office—like it was when he left.
"You sure about this place?" Kenny asked, kicking at a decayed walker with his boot. The body slumped with a wet thud.
Lee stepped out, rolling his stiff shoulders. "Best short-term option we got. Close enough to the city for supply runs," he nodded toward the distant skyline, "but far enough that the herd won't follow us this way." Kenny gave a grunt of approval before heading off to check on Katjaa and Duck.
"Lee?"
He turned to find Clementine approaching, her small hands clutching something behind her back. With solemn ceremony, she presented her treasure—the polished wooden cane that had once belonged to his father.
"You... brought this with you?" Lee's throat tightened as his fingers closed around the familiar grain. The weight felt right in his palm, like shaking hands with an old friend.
Clem nodded, her eyes bright. "You seemed to like it."
Lee swallowed hard before reaching into his pack. "Guess that means we're trading gifts today." He pressed the cold metal into her small palm.
"A screwdriver?" Her nose wrinkled in confusion.
"Yep. Standard Phillips head," he said, fighting a smile at her bewildered expression. Then his voice softened. "I will protect you but we need to take some precautions. I need you to be able to protect yourself if those things get too close."
Clem's fingers trembled around the tool. "Guess that makes sense... but they're scary."
Lee plucked an apple from Hershel's crate—its skin shone like rubies in the neon light. "Know what's scarier? How dumb they are." He tossed the fruit up; Clem caught it on reflex. "You're quick. You're smart." He tapped her cap gently. "And now? You're armed."
Clem studied the screwdriver, then the apple, before taking a decisive bite. Juice dripped down her chin as she gave a tiny, determined nod. "I'll try."
"Good," Lee said, gently tugging one of Clem's frizzy curls. It sprang back stubbornly. "We should do something about this though. Don't want anything grabbing hold."
Clem's hands flew protectively to her hair. "You mean... cut it off?" Her voice wavered like he'd suggested cutting off a limb.
Lee bit back a smile at her horrified expression. "Not today. First we'll see if we can find you some hair ties..." He leaned in with mock seriousness. "But if we can't you're going bald-"
"You wouldn't!" Clem's eyes went wide, shimmering with sudden tears. Her small hands clutched her curls like they were already under threat.
Lee burst out laughing, ruffling her baseball cap instead. "Got you, didn't I?"
"That wasn't funny!" Clem huffed, shoving the screwdriver into her backpack with more force than necessary. The colorful characters on the fabric seemed to pout along with her.
Lee left Clementine with the others and made his way across the dimly lit parking lot. The moonlight painted the asphalt in shades of blue and gray, casting long shadows from the scattered corpses. He found Lilly heaving another walker onto a growing pile of bodies, her boots leaving dark streaks in the bloodstained pavement.
"Looks like you and Glenn done a good job cleaning them out." Lilly remarked, grabbing the ankles of a another walker with a caved-in skull. The body left a slick trail as he dragged it toward the pile. "Give me a hand."
"Sure thing." Lee tossed the corpse onto the mound with a wet thud. "How's your old man?"
Lilly glanced toward the motel steps, where Larry sat hunched like a brooding sentinel. "Stable. Should stay that way, with the mountain of pills we grabbed."
"That's good."
For a moment, the only sounds were their labored breathing and the distant murmur of the group. Then Lilly hesitated, her usual hardened expression softening.
"I know I thanked you before," she said quietly, "but it wasn't enough." She looked away, jaw tight. "He's been a real bastard to you guys. You could've left him there, and no one would've blamed you. But you didn't." Her voice dropped. "I won't forget that."
Lee exhaled, watching as Clementine struggled to lift a box before Katjaa took the other end. "I don't like your dad," he admitted. "And yeah, he's a bastard. But..." His gaze lingered on Clem. "I get why he does what he does."
Lilly followed his eyes and nodded. "Maybe, given time, you two could—"
"Not a fucking chance."
She actually smirked at that—just a flicker, but it was there.
Lee found Glenn leaning against his car, the door hanging open as static-laced emergency broadcasts crackled from the radio. The young man's knuckles were white where they gripped the steering wheel.
"You doing okay, Glenn?" Lee asked.
Glenn held up a hand, listening intently as the dispatcher's urgent voice repeated: "All remaining citizens—evacuate Atlanta immediately—" Finally, he turned, his expression resolved. "I think I need to go."
Lee's stomach dropped. He knew this moment—had seen it on the screen. "That's suicide, man. The city's crawling with walkers. You'd be driving straight into hell."
Glenn shook his head, jaw set. "My people are still in there. I can't just... sit here." His voice cracked slightly on the last words.
Lee wanted to argue. Glenn had proven himself —quick, resourceful, the kind of person you wanted at your back when the world ended. And if the tv series was true, he'd become even more vital in the months ahead. But the determination in Glenn's eyes was unmistakable.
"You gotta do what you gotta do," Lee said finally, clasping his shoulder. "But know this group's stronger with you in it."
Glenn exhaled, conflicted, before offering a rueful smile. "Sorry, man. This is something I've got to do." He began unloading supplies—medical kits, canned goods—piling them at Lee's feet. When he pressed the walkie into Lee's hands, their grip lingered for a moment. "You all stay safe."
"You too." Lee watched the taillights disappear down the road, the weight of finality heavy in his chest.
"Where'd he run off to?" Kenny asked, kicking one of the abandoned supply boxes.
"Atlanta. Went back for his friends."
Kenny whistled low. "Damn. Must be some friends." He surveyed the motel's perimeter. "You were right about this place, though. Running water, working lights—hell, with some cars blocking the entrance, we might actually get a decent night's sleep."
Lee's gaze drifted to where Clementine sat with Duck, the two children passing a bottle of water between them. "They could use the rest."
Kenny followed his look, then clapped him on the back. "That girl's lucky to have you watching her back. You treat her like she's your own."
Lee rubbed his neck. "Just hope it's enough."
"Hey." Kenny's voice was uncharacteristically gentle. "You're not in this alone. Katjaa and me—we've got your back too. That's how this works now."
Lee met his eyes and saw no hesitation there. "Thanks, Kenny. Means a lot."
The fisherman grinned, his usual bravado returning. "Ah hell, don't go getting sentimental on me." As he walked away, he called over his shoulder, "Those cars ain't gonna move themselves!"
Lee was halfway to helping with the cars when hushed, urgent whispers caught his attention. Doug and Carley stood in the shadowed corner of the parking lot, their bodies tense, their voices barely audible but frantic. Carley kept glancing over her shoulder while Doug sat slumped against the wall, his face ashen.
Curious—and remembering how Carley had sneaked up on him at the pharmacy—Lee moved quietly toward them, his boots making no sound on the asphalt. When he was just inches behind Carley, he leaned in.
"Hey, what's—"
Then he saw it.
Doug's pant leg was rolled up, revealing a ragged, bloody bite mark. The flesh around it was already an angry red.
Lee's breath caught.
"You're bitten?" The words came out hollow. His grip tightened on the axe in his hand without thinking.
Doug looked up, eyes wide with terror. "Lee, please—" His voice cracked. "Don't tell anyone. I-I can't—"
Carley stepped between them, her expression torn between grief and resolve. "We were just... figuring out what to do. You know Lilly won't let him stay if she finds out."
Lee's mind raced. Doug wasn't just a friend—he was a liability now. A ticking bomb. The image of him turning, lunging at Clem or Duck, flashed in Lee's mind.
His fingers flexed around the axe.
"I'm sorry," Lee said, voice low. "But we gotta—"
Then, without warning, the motel's lights flickered and died. Darkness swallowed them whole.
Somewhere in the black, Kenny's voice rang out:
"Oh, fuck me."