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. Clentine 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 ti to think. I'm having trouble rembering 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 Clentine's forced to stop. I gently lowered Lee beside the wall and let him lean against it. Clentine 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 mont, Lee handed his back to .
"I'm not hungry," he said quietly. Then he glanced at Clentine. "What about you, sweet pea?"
"Clem," he added gently, "you gotta eat sothing."
Clentine 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. Clentine 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 Clentine and held her close. She clung to , 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…" Clentine whispered, gripping my shirt tighter. "They turned into one of those things. The scary man showed them to … he said he would."
My chest tightened. I gently rubbed her back.
"I'm sorry, Clentine."
"Because of ," 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 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.
"Clentine," I said softly, "for … can you eat?"
She nodded and began eating. Relief settled in my chest as I watched them. When they finished, Lee looked at for a long mont.
"Max," he said quietly. "Co here."
I gently let go of Clentine 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 sa 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 —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 . Still, I nodded.
Lee gave a faint smile, then looked at Clentine.
"Clem," he said gently, "don't let Max lose himself, okay? Help him stay… good. Take care of him."
She t his eyes, then looked at and nodded.
"I will," she said quietly.
I didn't understand what he ant. 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 erged 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 n 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 ca—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 slamd into a building.
"Stay here," I said, drawing my gun as I looked at Lee and Clentine.
"I'll handle this."
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