Lee winced as Carley finished securing the bandage on his arm, her touch careful but firm. The silence in the air was thick—until Mike cleared his throat.
"Lee," he began, shifting on his feet. "We talked about the food situation. The guys and I... we think we should rob them." His voice wavered slightly, eyes flicking to the others as if gauging their reactions.
Lee didn't react at first. Then, slowly, a smirk curled at the edge of his mouth.
"Why stop at just the food?"
The air went still.
"We should take the whole damn farm."
Kenny's eyebrows shot up. Mike blinked. Lilly crossed her arms, her expression unreadable.
Lee leaned forward, his voice low but deliberate. "These people? They're predators. How many travelers have they lured in, just to butcher them? And they'll keep doing it—unless we stop them." He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. "This place is perfect. It's got electrified fences, supplies, land. It's ours for the taking."
His gaze locked onto Lilly. She didn't speak, but something flickered in her eyes—calculation, consideration.
Kenny gave a slow nod. "Goddamn right. Ain't no room for mercy with people like that."
Mike exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck. "Shit. When you put it like that..."
But Carley stepped forward, her jaw tight. "And what if you're wrong, Lee?" Her voice was steady, but there was an edge to it—doubt, fear. "We don't know they're cannibals. Suspicious? Yeah. But we don't have proof. I'm not saying we trust them—but I am saying we don't slaughter people on a hunch."
Kenny scoffed. "Come on, Carley. You've said it yourself—Lee hasn't steered us wrong yet. You really gonna second-guess him now?"
Lee watched her, waiting. HE knew that it was a hard thing to ocme to terms with, people eating people afte ronly a few months since the world eneded/ Even he didn't know why the St john's did it thye have enough food without restorting to such barbaric measures.
Carley's fingers curled into fists. "I just need to know we're not becoming the monsters we're afraid of."
Silence stretched between them—heavy, charged.
"Tell you what," Lee said, turning back toward the farmhouse, his boots crunching on the dry earth. "We'll head back. Andy's probably wondering where I am by now." He shot a glance at the group over his shoulder. "You can see for yourselves. But keep your weapons close—and your eyes open."
The others fell in step behind him as the wind hissed through the trees. They paused briefly at the bandits Lee killed earlier—Kenny slinging the crossbow over his shoulder, Mike testing the weight of the machete in his hand. Then they moved along the farm's perimeter fence until the gate came into view.
Andy and Danny stood waiting, their postures rigid.
"Lee!" Andy called, then stiffened as the rest of the group emerged behind him. His smile faltered. "The hell happened out there? One minute you're here, the next—gone. Then I hear gunfire. You alright?"
Lee touched the plaster on his cheek. "Ran into some bandits. Said you screwed 'em over on a deal. They weren't happy."
"Goddamn parasites!" Andy spat, knuckles whitening around the fence post. "They got no right stepping foot on our land!"
Danny's smile was thin, his eyes cold. "Glad you're okay." The lie dripped from his words.
Kenny stepped forward, fists clenched. "You knew about these assholes? What kinda deal were you running with 'em?"
Danny's glare sharpened, but Andy cut in, voice strained. "Protection. They were raiding us early on—killed half our workers. We started handing over food, and they backed off. Been quiet ever since."
Lee exchanged a look with the group, then feigned concern. "If bandits are hitting this close, this place isn't as safe as we thought. Can't risk bringing the rest of our people here."
Andy's composure cracked. "Wait—hold on! We're sorry. This ain't normal. They never came at us like this before!"
Danny's voice dropped, venomous. "And we ain't lettin' 'em get away with it."
Lee seized the opening. "You know where they're holed up?"
Danny nodded slowly. "Hard to pin down, but I've got a lead on one of their camps. We could scout it—settle this ourselves."
"Yeah," Lee said, his voice low. "I'll come grab you soon." As the brothers walked away, his mind flashed to what—who—they'd find at that camp. The woman who knew the truth. The one who could confirm what these men really were.
Once the St. Johns were out of earshot, the group took stock of their surroundings, eyes scanning the farm's potential.
Lilly ran a hand along the sturdy perimeter fence. "These barricades will hold up well against walkers. Though we'd need to thin any herds before they could overwhelm it." Her gaze shifted to the humming generator. "Power situation's solid too—we've got enough fuel to keep it running."
Kenny squinted at the barn, then the broken swing set. "Place has good bones. Could fix that up easy—Duck'd get a kick out of it." He nodded toward the grazing cow. "Kid's always wanted to milk one of those."
"Clem would love that cow," Lee said, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he pictured her wide-eyed wonder.
Carley crossed her arms, her boot tapping against the packed dirt. "If," she stressed, "they deserve it." Her sharp gaze swept over each of them in turn. "We don't take what isn't ours. Not unless we're damn sure about what these people have done."
Lee swallowed his frustration. Three months into hell and Carley still couldn't grasp how far people had fallen. That was the scary part - even the St. Johns with their stocked farm and sturdy fences had crossed lines no one imagined possible.
"I'm gonna talk to Danny about scouting that camp," he announced, already moving toward the farmhouse while the others dispersed to explore the property as if they owned it.
The wooden gate creaked as Lee pushed through. He'd barely raised his fist to knock when the door swung open, revealing both St. John brothers wearing identical looks of contrition.
"Fellas," Lee greeted, arms crossed.
Andy rubbed his neck like a chastised schoolboy. "How you holdin' up, Lee? I... hell, I shoulda warned you 'bout how bad them folks were." The guilt in his voice sounded genuine.
Lee let out a dry chuckle. "No shit. But I made it back in one piece, so consider it water off a duck's back." He watched Andy's shoulders loosen slightly.
Danny stepped forward, his usual easygoing demeanor replaced by grim determination. "We want your group safe here, Lee. But there ain't no safety 'til we're ready to fight for it." He met Lee's eyes squarely. "You still up for checking out that camp?"
Lee did a quick inventory—crowbow and shotgun across his back, while his fireaxe was secured to his belt. Behind him, he could feel the weight of his group's attention, their casual exploration just a pretense to eavesdrop.
"Yeah," Lee said, rolling his shoulders. "Let's get moving."
---
Danny and Lee moved cautiously through the autumn woods, their boots crunching on fallen leaves. Sunlight struggled through the dense canopy, painting the forest floor in dappled gold. Every rustle of peach-colored leaves in the breeze made Lee's grip tighten on his shotgun.
"See anything?" Lee kept his voice low, scanning the trees behind them as they advanced.
"Not yet," Danny whispered. His boot suddenly struck something metallic - an empty can that clattered ahead. He picked it up, showing Lee the faded label. "Told you we were close."
They crept forward until Danny froze mid-step. Lee followed his gaze - through the thinning trees, the outline of a makeshift camp came into view. Danny's smirk was all teeth. "Told ya."
Lee gave a curt nod as they skirted the camp's perimeter, rifles sweeping the tree line. Every shadow seemed to breathe. Every rustle of leaves could have been a cocked hammer.
"Seems clear," Lee lied through clenched teeth. Somewhere around this ghost camp, she was waiting.
Danny moved toward the half-unzipped tent, his rifle raised. "Cover me." The nylon flap peeled back with a sound like tearing skin. Empty. "Guess you were right."
"This isn't their main base," Lee said, jerking his chin toward a stack of Save-Lots crates. "Might be supplies worth taking, though."
"Our shit, more like." Danny spat as he began rifling through the boxes.
Lee turned back to the tent.
The stench hit Lee first - sweat, gunpowder and something rotting. He stepped into the cramped tent, his boots sinking into the damp earth floor. A filthy sleeping bag lay unrolled, its surface stained and worn thin. Two objects rested atop it like sacred relics: a child's pink bunny missing an eye, and a photo of a woman hugging a gap-toothed girl.
Lee's looked between the two as his throat tightened. "Yeah. It's her."
Then he saw it—a bulge under the stained fabric. He yanked the sleeping bag aside.
Clementine's hat.
The faded fabric was crumpled, the brim bent where careless fingers had gripped it. Lee smoothed the creases with trembling hands. She'd be overjoyed to get it back.
"Don't you fucking move!"
The voice cracked through the air like a gunshot. Lee turned slowly to see a wild-eyed woman emerging from the shadows, a crossbow trembling in her grip. Her greasy hair clung to her face, and the tattered remains of a Save-Lots uniform hung off her gaunt frame.
"Shit!" Danny ducked behind a desk, rifle snapping up. Lee mirrored him, finger hovering near the trigger.
"Put the guns down!" the woman—Jolene—hissed, swinging the crossbow between them. "I ain't goin' back! You tell 'em—Jolene ain't ever goin' back!" Spittle flew from her chapped lips as she spoke, her pupils blown wide with fear or fury.
Danny's voice wavered. "We had a deal! Food for no shootin'—what the hell happened?"
A jagged laugh escaped her. "No, they had a deal. I ain't them." Her gaze locked onto Danny, and her grin turned feral. "Oh, I know you. Know what you are." She leaned forward, voice dropping to a whisper. "Know what you do."
Danny's throat bobbed. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple as he flicked a glance at Lee. "You don't know me."
The words rang hollow.
Lee knew at this momnet that Danny could shoot Jolene at tany moment, and as crazed or broken as she may be - he needed her.
"We had a deal, you broke i—"
BANG!
Jolene's face twisted in shock as Lee's shotgun blast tore through Danny's chest. The force lifted him off his feet before he crumpled to the floor, gasping like a fish on dry land. Blood bloomed across his shirt, one side of his torso reduced to ragged meat.
Lee stepped forward, boots crunching on spent shell casings. Danny's trembling hand stretched toward his fallen rifle—only for Lee to kick it away with a hollow clang.
"I don't think so."
Danny's lips peeled back in a bloody snarl. "W-Why? You... goddamn..." His voice gurgled as his pupils dilated, the life leaching from his face. "M-my brother... he'll... skin you... alive..."
A final shudder. Then stillness.
[Danny St. John Killed. Reward: Crop Management (Lv.1)]
Knowledge flooded Lee's mind—soil pH, planting cycles, the best way to protect against pesticides. He flexed his fingers, tasting iron in the air.
"You..."
Jolene's crossbow wavered. For all her madness, her eyes flickered with something like disbelief. "You killed your own. Men like you... you're all monsters."
Lee didn't blink. He drove his screwdriver through Danny's temple with a wet crack.
"Don't get it twisted." He wiped his hands on the dead man's shirt. "I don't keep cannibals as company."
"Killing him changes nothing," Jolene spat, the crossbow's sight never wavering from Lee's chest. Her finger hovered over the trigger. "Just one less monster to put down."
Lee studied her—the tremor in her arms, the way her breath hitched between words. A woman clinging to rage because it was all she had left. Slowly, he tossed his shotgun aside. It landed with a heavy thud in the dirt.
"I don't think you'll shoot."
Jolene's laugh was brittle. "Oh really, mister?" She edged forward, boots kicking up dust. "What makes you so damn sure?"
As she bent to grab his weapon, Lee moved.
Three strides. A tackle that sent them both sprawling. The crossbow skittered away as they grappled, her nails raking his neck before he wrenched it free. By the time he rolled upright, the shotgun was back in his hands—barrel leveled at her chest.
Jolene didn't scramble. Didn't beg. She just lay there, staring up at the sky with hollow eyes. "Go on, then," she whispered. "You men've taken everything else. Take a can of beans, take a little girl... it's all the fucking same to you. Might as well take this too."
Lee's finger hovered on the trigger. "My group isn't like those bandits." Slowly, he pulled Clem's hat from his pocket. The yellow fabric was crumpled but clean. "How did you get this?"
Jolene's cracked lips parted. For a moment, the madness in her eyes cleared. "Oh... that darlin' baby." Her voice softened like worn leather. "Found it outside your motel a few nights ago. Almost didn't see it in the dark."
Lee exhaled through his nose. "Then you've been watching us. You know we're not like them."
Before she could protest, he knelt—deliberately placing his shotgun out of reach. The stench of Danny's corpse filled the space between them. "Jolene... I'm sorry about your daughter. The bandits took her. She's not—"
"She's coming back!" Jolene's hands fisted in the dirt, her nails black with grime. "That's why I wait! Every night, I—"
"She's gone." Lee didn't raise his voice. The quiet certainty cut deeper than any shout. "You know that. But Clem..." He turned the hat in his hands. Sunlight caught the stitching where tiny fingers had pulled at the brim. "Clementine's alive. And the St. Johns are trying to herd my group toward that farm right now. When they get them there—"
"No!" Jolene lurched forward like the words had physically struck her. "They ain't touchin' that child!" Her gaze darted to the makeshift tent behind her—to the sun-bleached photo pinned inside. A little girl with braids smiled forever at the camera.
Lee stood, extending his hand. "Just help me convince my group. After that, you can come back here. No strings." When she hesitated, he added, softer: "Not for me. Do it for Clementine."
A tear carved a clean line through the dirt on Jolene's face. Then, with a shuddering breath, she seized his hand—her grip surprisingly strong. "For the baby."