Open up, Survivors Inside

Chapter 11

The first that happened when Puffer left was Duck speaking up, "A mystery!"

Puffer looked down and saw Duck, "Christ you scared me."

"I'm sorry, I heard you guys talking," Duck said, "Can I help? You're the greatest detective, and I can be Dick Grayson! Your ward!"

"Batman and Robin eh?" Puffer chuckled, then thought for a moment. Duck's keen eye could be what he needed, "You know what? Sure."

"Yes!" Duck exclaimed, "What should I do?"

"Keep an eye out for stuff that normally doesn't belong there," Puffer explained, "And it could be anything."

"I'm on the case!" Duck said, hurrying off.

Puffer thought for a moment, looking up to see Lee talking to Carley and Doug on the second floor. Puffer looked back down, seeing Clementine drawing while Elizabeth played with the soccer ball. "Hey, did either of you accidentally break a flashlight?" Puffer asked.

"Nope, mom has mine!" Elizabeth answered.

"No, did Duck say I did?" Clementine asked.

"No, did Duck break a flashlight?" Puffer asked.

"I don't think so," Clementine replied, "He's just always blaming me for stuff."

"Like what?"

"Putting a bug on his pillow."

"Did you do it?"

Clementine was silent, then the guiltiest smile Puffer had ever seen form on her face, "Yes."

Puffer snickered a bit, "Whatcha doing here?"

"A leaf rubbing," Clementine said, showing off her current progress.

"I'm just playing soccer," Elizabeth said, "Mom said she would play after her nap." Tess had spent the night on watch duty, so she absolutely deserved that nap.

"Well you two keep having fun," Puffer said as he stood up, looking up and seeing Kenny and Katjaa talking. Maybe they saw something. As he moved closer, he could hear their conversation.

"We all carry guns now, and I don't like it," Katjaa frowned.

"It's the way it's gotta be," Kenny argued.

"I know, but I'm not getting used to this," Katjaa replied, and Puffer noticed how drained she looked. When he approached, the two stopped their bickering and looked over.

"Hey, how are things over here?" Puffer asked.

"Could be worse," Kenny replied, the paused when he spotted the flashlight, "Fuck, we don't got many of those."

"I saw some broken glass by the ice machine," Katjaa said, "I meant to clean it up before the kids hurt themselves on it; I forgot though." That got Puffer's attention.

"Thanks, hopefully it's a lead," Puffer said, leaving the two to chat. Moving to where the glass was, Puffer picked up a piece and put it to the flashlight. The piece fit on the edge, meaning it was a match. Peaking around the corner, Puffer spotted a pink X on the side of the building. Rubbing his finger along it, the powder of chalk could be felt.

"Pink, hmm," Puffer jumped a bit, seeing Duck looking at the X, "It could be a clue! What do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure," Puffer replied.

"Maybe it's a sign!" Duck suggested. Puffer looked back at the X. That could very well be the case, as why was it a random X? The other chalk drawings were on the ground, while this one was on the wall. "Okay, back to investigating!" Duck said and he headed away.

Puffer looked where Clementine and Elizabeth were, seeing some chalk piled up. Heading over, Puffer decided to question Clementine, "Hey Clem, don't suppose you have any pink chalk?"

"No, it's gone somewhere," Clementine answered, "Do you want blue?"

"No that's fine, do you know how long it's been missing?" Puffer asked.

"All day. I set it with the rest, but now it's gone," Clementine replied.

"I'll keep an eye out for it," Puffer said, getting up. That's when Duck waved for his attention.

Walking over, Duck looked excited, "I found something!" Duck said, pulling out a stick of chalk, "I found this piece of pink chalk and a scuff of it over by the gate!"

"Really?" Puffer looked surprised.

"Totally! I was combing the scene for clues and I saw the scuff mark. It was made of pink chalk!" Duck replied.

"That's amazing! Great job Duck," Puffer said, giving Duck a high five. The two headed over and sure enough, there was the scuff marks. Puffer pushed the gate open, heading out. Following the pink chalk dust to a grate it the wall, Puffer opened it up. To his shock and slight anger, a rolled up bag of supplies was inside. He snatched it up and got a good look inside, seeing plenty of needed medicine. "Fuck..." Puffer whispered under his breath.

By the time Puffer got back into the gate, Lee had headed down and Tess was up, watching the girls. Puffer hurried to Lilly's room, pushing the door open. Lilly looked up, "You haven't come up with anything, have you?"

"I came up with this," Puffer said, handing the bag of supplies to her, "Someone put that in a grate outside the wall, marking it with an X."

"Holy fuck," Lilly said, and it was clear there was some disbelief in her tone, "Okay, we line everybody up, and I mean everybody."

Puffer took a seat while Lilly tried to think of a plan, "What do we do with the rat? We gotta chase them out. Any ideas?"

"It has to be one of the newer members," Lilly said, "Which means it's either Ben, Travis, Tess, or Elizabeth."

"I doubt Elizabeth would do that, she's too young," Puffer sighed, "So that leave three..."

Lilly was about to speak up, until she saw something outside the window, "What the hell?!" Puffer turned to where she was looking, and saw some bandits leaping over the wall, guns and crossbows at the ready. There was shouting, and the bandits had almost everyone on the ground while Lee was trying to calm the situation down.

Lilly grabbed her gun and headed out the window while Puffer grabbed onto his crossbow. It had been the same crossbow Danny had stolen from a women he and Lee had encountered in the woods, and Puffer had learned that crossbows were much better with walkers. Their ammo could be reused, and they were silent. As soon as the first bandit went down and Carley shot two more, Puffer pushed the door open and fired, the bolt hitting the third in the back. The bandit whistled, calling for back up before going limp. If there was ever a sign to get the hell out of this motel, it was showing itself right now.