Telltale's Walking Dead: Last Man Standing

Episode 1, Chapter 4

The first few hours on the path back to Pyne is spent in relative silence. There's a bit of small talk here and there, some banter between Ian and Lilith, a brief conversation with Malcolm and Yurik, and a quick question Lilith asks Cain. But other than that, the small group stays solemn and silent. Cain doesn't know the reasoning for the others, but the reasons behind his mood are obvious. Besides the responsibility of having to lead this mission and the fact that the intel they gather might directly help save the people that were taken from them, the idea of returning to Pyne so soon leaves Cain nauseous. To see the ruins of his home, and the bodies of his friends one more time weighs heavy on his heart, and he can't seem to bring himself to snap out of it.

The road back to Pyne leads from Mountainview and turns towards a small town a mile away. This town is the one that's been scavenged dry and cleared of walkers long ago, but just to be on the safe side, the path curves at the last moment to go around only the outskirts of the town. Then it leads through open fields for two more miles before heading into a large forest.

As they come up on their second hour of walking and enter the forest that Pyne was built in the middle of, Ian decides to do something to change the silence and heavy mood that hangs over the group. The man glances over to Lilith and nonchalantly says, "So I heard that there's something between you and Renner now."

Cain glances over his shoulder to see Lilith make a facial expression similar to choking, then realizes that she actually somehow choked on her own breath, which he didn't know was possible.

"Wh- who the fuck told you that?" she hisses out, glaring daggers through Ian. The other man simply shrugs.

"Wait, you mean Renner, old mechanic?" Yurik asks, jogging up a few steps to walk alongside Ian. "Isn't he like... what is word, ancient?"

Despite all the shit that's going on in Cain's life right now, he can't help but burst into laughter at Yurik's comment. What makes it so funny is the fact that Yurik hadn't meant it as a joke, but was being dead serious. Ian in turn grins and nods his agreement with the Russian man's assessment, but Malcolm simply shakes his head as Lilith's face turns bright red.

"Hey, it's not like that! I don't know how old he is but... goddamn it, why the hell should I explain myself to you? I think he's hot and he's kind to me, so what?"

"Renner and hot are two word I did not think I'd hear in same sentence today," Yurik retorts, seemingly falling into the joking mood as his smile spreads slightly, and Ian reaches over to playfully clap him on the shoulder.

"Hey, my man's got a point. I'm pretty sure I've seen walkers out here that have more meat on their bones than Renner does," the British man says.

"Ian Walsh, you're just jealous because old Renner is getting more action lately than you've been getting," Malcolm finally chimes in from beside Cain, the hints of a smile betraying his attempted serious tone.

Lilith laughs then, and the sound of it seems to finally snap Cain's mind out of the dark place it's been in. The young man hides a smile and raises his hand, palm up, to Malcolm, who nails the hand with an audible high five.

"Oh, hey, okay listen," Ian starts, trying desperately to backpedal, but there's no point. Lilith and Cain are both trying to hold in laughter, Yurik is grinning, and even Malcolm has cracked a smile. Ian's plan of lightning the mood has worked, and so he shrugs in defeat. "You're right, Malcolm, I'm just jealous because Renner really scored over here with our favorite beauty queen."

Lilith punches him in the arm, which is only half playful. "Come on, Ian, why does it matter who I'm interested in? Having someone to turn to or to be with in times like this, well, it helps me remember I'm still human. Helps me feel like one even after all the shit we go through every day."