Lee's face twisted with shock as he stared down at the paper with his name on it.
Everyone else watched him with quiet, sinking sadness, worry, pity, and guilt settling over the room like dust.
Kenny stood beside him, silent, staring for a long moment.
Out of all of us, those two had been together the longest surviving every nightmare since day one.
If anyone was terrified for Lee, it would be Kenny.
But Lee ignored everyone's pitiful looks.
His gaze drifted toward Clementine, still asleep on the floor, breathing shallowly.
His expression softened instantly, sorrow gathering at the corners of his eyes.
After a long breath, he faced the group again.
"When should I leave?" he asked quietly.
Christa couldn't meet his gaze. "It's… almost night you should go tomorrow morning. Prepare yourself until then."
Her voice cracked. Her hand tightened around Omid's sleeve.
"Alright," Lee murmured. "I'll get ready then."
None of us spoke.
We didn't need to.
All of us knew his chances of surviving were low.
Sure, the horde outside no longer had runners, but that didn't make the plan any less suicidal.
Christa picked up the shotgun on the ground, the old man's shotgun, and grabbed the leather jacket she'd stripped from his corpse.
"Here," she said softly. "These'll help."
Before she could hand them to Lee, Kenny stepped forward and took both items.
"No," he said firmly. "I'll go. Not Lee."
Christa froze.
Lee's eyebrows drew together.
"Kenny," Lee sighed, tugging gently at the jacket in his grip, "We already decided. My name was drawn. I go."
But Kenny didn't let go.
"Lee… you know I lost the last thing I had in this world," Kenny said quietly, voice steady but heavy. "You've been with me through the worst time of my life. You've saved me more times than I can count."
He swallowed. "You're my friend. A real friend. And… I don't have a lot left to lose. So, I should go."
He pulled the jacket closer to himself, refusing to release it.
I watched them both.
It felt unreal, just minutes ago they were screaming, fighting, nearly killing each other.
And now they were fighting again… but this time for each other.
Why are people like this?
Why do we hurt the ones we care about most?
Why do we justify so many scars just because we love the person holding the knife?
Why do we betray the people who would have died for us?
Those questions had haunted me for months—ever since my girlfriend cheated.
I still hadn't fully gotten over it.
Sometimes a good heart can't see a bad one.
Which is the saddest thing of all.
But that was the past.
Useless to think about now.
"Stop arguing with me and let go," Lee snapped, voice tightening.
Kenny still didn't let go.
"Look behind you," Kenny said softly.
Lee hesitated, then turned.
Clementine slept curled on her side; face scrunched in pain even through her dreams.
Lee's expression shattered into something helpless and heartbroken.
"There's someone who needs you more than anyone," Kenny said, placing a hand on Lee's shoulder. "If something happens to you… what happens to her?"
Lee stared at her for a long time.
Slowly, his hand loosened.
He let the jacket go.
"You better come back alive," Lee murmured, sinking down to sit. He didn't say another word.
No one had the strength to speak after that.
The room went still.
Kenny prepared himself quietly.
Christa and Omid curled together on the floor, trying to rest.
Ben sat alone in the corner, tapping his shoe, chewing his nails.
Sometimes he was so quiet I forgot he was even still with us.
But he kept glancing toward Kenny—every few minutes—fear tightening his expression.
I must've stared too long because Lee came over and sat beside me.
"How are you holding up, Max?" he asked.
I blinked. "I'm fine. Why?"
Lee's gaze drifted to the closet where we'd placed the two bodies the old man and the woman I had killed.
"Before all this," Lee said quietly, "I killed someone. And the guilt still eats at me. So I'm worried about you. Killing two people… that's a lot to carry. You don't have to hide your feelings. Bottling it up makes it worse."
I stared, confused.
Was he really worried about my guilt?
But… I didn't feel guilty.
If anything, I felt relieved, not because I killed them, but because I eliminated a threat.
I only wished I'd done it faster, so Clementine wouldn't have gotten hurt.
Just thinking about that old woman made my anger boiled.
Because of me, someone was suffering.
My hand started shaking again.
Sweat prickled across my back.
Fragments of my mother flashed across my mind sharp and suffocating.
I forced my breathing steady, fighting the rising panic.
"It's okay to let it out," Lee said gently, completely misunderstanding. "Nobody here will judge you. I'm the last person who would. You protected us. Don't carry this guilt alone, okay?"
He thought my shaking was guilt.
I almost corrected him.
But there was no benefit in telling the truth.
So, I just nodded.
Seeing that I was stable, Lee moved back to Clementine.
He gently woke her to replace her bandage; the old one was filthy.
The moment he peeled it off, a sharp, rotting smell hit us.
Her arm was swollen and angry-red; the infection spreading fast beneath the skin.
We had no needles to close the wound.
No medicine to fight the infection.
Just a few strips of clean cloth and half a bottle of water and none of it was doing a damn thing.
Lee wrapped a fresh bandage around her arm as he quietly explained the plan to Clementine.
Footsteps approached.
I turned to see Kenny.
"Kid… I'm sorry for what I said earlier," he muttered, eyes low. "I shouldn't have been so harsh."
I nodded, letting him know I forgave him.
A relieved twitch pulled at his lips before he walked off again.
By then, Lee had finished with Clementine.
He sat beside her, staring at her pale face, fear and worry etched deep into his own.
Then Ben stood and shuffled toward him.
He sat beside Lee and whispered, too soft for most to hear, but not soft enough for me.
"Lee… I want to go. Instead of Kenny."
"Are you crazy?" Lee blurted loud enough for Kenny to glance their way before turning back to what he was doing.
Lee exhaled shakily. "Why do you want to do it?"
Ben lowered his head. His voice trembled. "I can't live with this guilt, Lee. Because of me… Kenny's whole family is dead. And Carley... she died because of me, too. I can't let him take this risk, not when I'm responsible. I'll tell him the truth. I just… I can't carry this anymore. Maybe… maybe I can forgive myself if I go instead."
His hands trembled. Tears welled in his eyes. If I remember correctly from the game, Ben had betrayed the group, secretly giving supplies to the bandits. When they didn't get what they wanted, they attacked. In the chaos, Duck was bitten. Accusations broke out, and Lilly snapped, killing Carley. Everything fell apart because of him.
All because of him.
Lee looked at him sternly. "If you tell him the truth, he'll kill you."
"I don't care," Ben whispered. "I have to do this."
His expression was steadily determined.
Lee sighed deeply and nodded.
Ben pushed himself to his feet, legs shaking, and slowly began walking toward Kenny.
Lee reached out instinctively, as if to stop him, then froze. He knew he couldn't stop Ben from telling the truth forever.