We moved through the maze of sewer canals for nearly an hour without stopping. Lee's breathing grew ragged, his face steadily paling, yet he continued trying to guide us toward an exit. The darkness made it almost impossible for him to recognize the route without a map, and every few seconds he groaned in pain. Clementine wasn't doing well either, and the foul stench of the sewer only made things worse. Still, we pressed on.
"Max… stop," Lee said weakly. "We need a break. I—I need time to think. I'm having trouble remembering the way."
I looked at him. His condition was clearly worsening. I wanted to push forward, but the exhaustion etched across both his face and Clementine's forced me to stop. I gently lowered Lee beside the wall and let him lean against it. Clementine sat next to him, hugging her knees tightly.
I wasn't sure what else to do, so I did the only thing I could. I took out my backpack and handed them cans of food and bottles of water. Neither touched the food. After a moment, Lee handed his back to me.
"I'm not hungry," he said quietly. Then he glanced at Clementine. "What about you, sweet pea?"
"Clem," he added gently, "you gotta eat something."
Clementine slowly shook her head without looking up.
"You should eat whenever you can," Lee said softly. "You wanna grow up strong, don't you?"
The sewer fell silent. Clementine didn't answer. I moved closer and sat beside her. That's when I heard her sobbing.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was stupid. It's my fault."
She hugged her legs tighter.
"Hey," Lee said softly, forcing calm into his voice. "You're not stupid. Not even a little. You're one of the bravest kids I know."
Her crying grew louder.
"No… it is my fault," she said between sobs. "If I'd listened to you both… none of this would've happened. I'm sorry, Lee. I'm sorry, Max."
Her voice grew hoarse as she wiped at her tears, her shoulders shaking.
"Sweet pea," Lee said gently, resting a trembling hand on her shoulder, "nobody's blaming you. We still love you. All that matters right now is that you're safe."
I was never good at comforting people, so I did the only thing I knew how to do. I wrapped my arms around Clementine and held her close. She clung to me, and after a while, her sobbing slowly faded.
I picked up the food again and held it out to her.
"You should eat," I said quietly. "You still wanna find your parents, right? You'll need strength for that."
"They're both…" Clementine whispered, gripping my shirt tighter. "They turned into one of those things. The scary man showed them to me… he said he would."
My chest tightened. I gently rubbed her back.
"I'm sorry, Clementine."
"Because of me," she said softly, "you didn't get to find your family."
"Hey," I said. "Don't be sorry. I knew from the start that my chances of finding my family in Savannah were almost zero. I kept trying anyway because… Hope was all I had. At least you know what happened to your parents. I never even got that."
She hugged me tighter. I noticed Lee watching us, his face heavy with sadness. He grabbed the water bottle beside him and took a slow drink. Despite everything, I couldn't help but smile faintly.
"Clementine," I said softly, "for me… can you eat?"
She nodded and began eating. Relief settled in my chest as I watched them. When they finished, Lee looked at me for a long moment.
"Max," he said quietly. "Come here."
I gently let go of Clementine and sat beside him.
"Don't beat yourself up," Lee said. "You did what you had to do. And… I owe you an apology. I thought you were a monster back at the library."
He shook his head slightly.
"But you're just a kid, too. The same kid who broke down after killing those two people at the train station."
He rested a hand on my shoulder.
"You can't keep everything locked inside. That stuff'll eat you alive. If you need to cry—do it. Let it out. We've got you."
I didn't know what to say. Guilt gnawed at me—about the innocent lives lost, about the choices I'd made, but not much as Lee thought. I do hate sharing my feelings; I'd always fear people would use them against me. Still, I nodded.
Lee gave a faint smile, then looked at Clementine.
"Clem," he said gently, "don't let Max lose himself, okay? Help him stay… good. Take care of him."
She met his eyes, then looked at me and nodded.
"I will," she said quietly.
I didn't understand what he meant. When had I ever lost myself?
After resting, I carefully lifted Lee onto my shoulder, and we moved on. About half an hour later, we finally emerged from the sewer. We headed in the direction where I hid my bike.
An engine roared nearby.
We ducked into a building as a truck with shattered windows passed by. In the back, Christa was screaming while two men held her by the arms.
"Why are the hunters taking Christa?" Lee asked, confused. "I thought the group already left."
At first, I wanted to let her face whatever came—just like she had done to us. But watching the truck disappear down the street, I changed my mind. If I could take it, escaping and getting help for Lee would be much easier.
I carefully set Lee down, raised my crossbow, and fired.
The bolt struck the driver clean through the head. The truck veered wildly and slammed into a building.
"Stay here," I said, drawing my gun as I looked at Lee and Clementine.
"I'll handle this."