TWD - Zomboid - Chapter 273: Claire Again (Patreon)

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

Leon asked.

Joel shook his head. "No. At most, it was self-defense. I've hurt a few people, but I don't know whether any of them died..."

Liar.

Leon shook his head.

Even he had been forced to defend himself in order to survive. The man sitting in front of him certainly didn't look like someone who had never killed.

"If you've made it all the way here, then I assume you still believe there's hope for the future. So there's no point hiding things from each other. Let's be honest."

Joel frowned. "What does any of this have to do with the assessment?"

"I need to determine how much of a threat you are. If you enter the Commonwealth and end up killing someone over some dispute, who do you think will be responsible for letting you in?"

"I'm not a murderer."

"Are you sure about that? Hard to say."

Leon shook his head. "Something is clearly eating away at you. You have trouble sleeping, don't you? The moment you close your eyes, the nightmares start. The people you've killed come back to haunt you..."

"...What the hell do you know?"

"Plenty. Because I live with the same thing every day. Sometimes it isn't even people. It's those things... walkers, Hellhounds, Lickers..."

Leon finally laid it out plainly.

"We're all killers. Anyone who survives long enough in the apocalypse doesn't get here by stepping over walker corpses alone. Sometimes there are human bodies in the path too."

"I'm not here to judge your morality. I need to understand where you draw the line between right and wrong."

"Is that girl your biological daughter?"

Joel paused.

Was Ellie his daughter?

Of course not.

His daughter was dead.

But after everything he and Ellie had been through together, whether they were related by blood no longer mattered.

They were family.

"Yes."

Joel nodded firmly.

"You'll be assigned to the troopers and remain under my supervision until I'm convinced you aren't a threat. Only then will you be allowed into the Commonwealth. Can you accept that?"

Leon tapped the table.

He had unconsciously picked up the habit from Luke.

"Fine, as long as everything you've promised us is real."

Leon nodded.

...

Then came Ellie.

The problem child who was already giving Leon a headache.

She was a teenage girl with her hair tied back in a ponytail. Unlike most girls her age, she didn't look timid around strangers. Her eyes were full of caution, suspicion, and guarded hostility.

She looked well behaved enough on the surface, but Leon could tell immediately that Ellie was nothing like Sherry.

Sherry was a sweet, soft little cupcake.

Ellie, on the other hand, carried some serious emotional scars.

And Leon could recognize that because he had a bit of PTSD himself.

"Name."

"I heard you're pretty good with guns. Did your father teach you?"

Ellie hesitated for a moment before nodding. "More or less."

"You're too young for this. You should be in school."

"I think so too."

Ellie nodded.

Leon rubbed his forehead.

This girl was good at putting on an innocent act.

According to Crane, Ellie could take down several walkers by herself and wasn't afraid to stand up to grown adults either.

This father and daughter were nothing like ordinary survivors.

"You'll be sent to the Commonwealth."

Leon decided he should also give Luke a heads-up. It would probably be best to have the community keep an eye on her.

"What about Joel?"

"He'll stay here with us."

Leon wrote something on the evaluation form.

"Where Joel goes, I go. We're going to the... Commonwealth together." Ellie's expression was firm.

"Ellie, you need to understand that everyone is evaluated for how much of a threat they might pose. You're still a child, so people are willing to give you more leeway. Adults don't get the same treatment."

"Your father... I can tell he's not exactly harmless."

Ellie immediately protested. "No. Joel's a good person..."

"He's a good person to you. That doesn't necessarily make him one to us," Leon cut in.

"You can trust me. Your father won't be in danger here. You should go to the Commonwealth. There are communities, schools, hospitals, and plenty of kids your age."

"I promise you'll see each other again in the Commonwealth."

Ellie was deeply attached to Joel. The two of them had been through countless hardships together.

Separating them...

"I want to talk to Joel. Is that okay?"

Leon nodded. "Of course."

Ellie stood up, then glanced back at Leon before leaving.

There was something upright and trustworthy about Leon that made her willing to trust him, at least enough not to become openly hostile.

...

Leon rubbed his temples.

Two more unstable factors, and one of them was a kid.

What a headache.

...

Meanwhile, in Luke's office.

Luke had just returned from the outpost. After sorting out the assignments for the survivors, he immediately opened his arms and pulled Ada into his embrace.

They needed to spend some time strengthening their relationship.

Ada had been following developments involving the Southern city-states.

After discussing the matter, they decided to demonstrate the antidote's effectiveness somewhere more suitable.

Atlanta.

Biochemical bombs had been dropped across Atlanta and the surrounding area. Luke had left Greene Farm early on, so he had no idea what the region looked like now.

According to Ada's intelligence, Atlanta had become a complete no-man's-land.

Even agents from many organizations refused to enter the city and deliberately went around it whenever possible.

It was now one of the most dangerous forbidden zones anywhere, practically a kingdom of walkers.

Hell on earth.

Since the GRE had been responsible for dropping the biochemical bombs, they were probably trying to see how far the walkers could evolve.

And unless something unexpected had happened, the virus they used had to be the Harran virus.

Chris's side was still considering the proposal.

To be fair, the neutral test site chosen by the Commonwealth was a little extreme.

A horde numbering in the millions.

Aircraft barely dared fly over the place anymore. It felt like even taking a look at it might get you killed.

Ada passed along Luke's position.

He wasn't in any hurry. The Southern city-states could take all the time they wanted to think it over.

If they conducted the test in Atlanta, everyone would be forced to focus purely on whether the antidote worked. No one would dare try anything underhanded.

After all, nobody wanted to fall into that place and become walker food.

Once the official business was finished, Ada took the initiative and sat on Luke's lap.

The two began spending some quality time together.

Ada was no longer as cold and distant as she once had been. They were deep in the honeymoon phase now.

Besides, whatever dignity she might once have tried to maintain around Luke was long gone.

The atmosphere in the office quickly became intimate.

The two were in the middle of it when...

"Bang!"

The office door was thrown open yet again.

For fuck's sake!!

Did you hear that?

For fuck's sake!!

Luke looked up and glared toward the door.

Claire.

This dashing warrior still hadn't learned how to knock.

The moment she saw what was happening inside, her face filled with helpless frustration.

"Seriously, don't you two have somewhere else to live?"

"This is an office. You're supposed to be working in here!"

"Why is it that every single time I come to report something, I catch you two making out?"

Luke snapped, "Because you're hopelessly single! You've gotten so used to being alone that you can't stand seeing us steal a little time together!"