Open up, Survivors Inside

Chapter 14

Puffer was not losing anyone else today. Not if he could help it. So one of the first things they did when they boarded the train was try Puffer's plan. The best possible location for getting the right cells needed. Using one of the three syringes, and with only one shot, Katjaa pushed the needle into Puffer's shoulder blade. Puffer silently winced as some liquid was pulled out. It wasn't much, but hopefully it worked.

When Duck was injected, he didn't have much of a real reaction. There was no real way to tell if the plan worked or not, but the sound of the train moving along the track was a nice distraction. "Got to be hard on ya, eh?" Chuck started, "Four adults taking care of five kids; no disrespect to the both of ya." Travis and Ben looked a bit annoyed at being called kids, but didn't say anything.

"We'll be fine," Lee replied, "We've gone through just as much as anyone else."

"Lee," Katjaa started as Duck had a coughing fit, "I need you, right now, I need you to go get Ken."

"I'll be right back," Lee promised, heading out while Puffer moved closer.

"Would you get that off his face?" Katjaa asked, "My hands are full here."

Puffer obliged and grabbed the rag, wiping the blackened bile and blood from Duck's face. "I fucking hope that's a sign it's working..." Puffer mumbled.

"So do I, but we must be ready just in case..." Katjaa agreed, looking down at her son with a pained expression, "The train must be stopped." It wasn't long before the train started to slow down, jerking a bit as it came to a complete stop. "Would you mind holding him...? Kenny and I...we need to find a spot in case we have no other choice."

Puffer wasn't a fan of the idea in case Duck turned and tried to bite him, but he wouldn't say that out loud. "Yeah," Puffer quietly said, helping Katjaa transfer Duck to him. Katjaa got off in time for Kenny to walk over.

"Ken...we need to be ready," Katjaa spoke, sounding tired.

"What are we going to do...?" Kenny asked, and it was clear he was distraught despite doing his best to hide it.

"We need to find a spot away from the girls...they shouldn't have to see it," Katjaa replied. Kenny gave a small nod, walking away with Katjaa as they began to search for a spot. It wasn't long before another coughing fit started up, more blackened bile and blood being coughed up. Puffer kept wiping it away, but he noticed something. Duck's shallow breathing was slowly starting to deepen.

A few more coughing fits, and soon Duck wasn't coughing anything up anymore. Duck's eyes stayed closes, but some hope was starting to fill Puffer. Did it really work? Duck was clearly showing signs of slowly fighting the disease off, so surely that meant something. "Come on Duck..." Puffer whispered to himself, "Wake up for your mom and dad..." Puffer sniffed, and it took him a moment to realize that he had been crying a bit.

That's when the sound of a gunshot went off, and Kenny yelling in anguish. "Ben, take Clementine into the train!" Lee ordered as he hurried in the direction Kenny and Katjaa went. Did they encounter a walker?

Puffer felt Duck startle a bit and he looked down to see the boy slowly opening his eyes. "...what was that...?" Duck asked.

"It's nothing," Puffer quickly said, but a sinking pit of dread filled him. His dread was confirmed when Lee and Kenny returned...without Katjaa. When Kenny saw Duck look over at him, Kenny looked ready to break down.

Kenny ran over and hugged his son, sobbing a bit. "Dad, what's wrong...?" Duck asked, his strength slowly returning to him, "Where's mom..."

"She's gone Duck..." Kenny sniffed, "And I thought you were too." Puffer lowered his head. In the end, five people were lost, but the fifth had not been who he thought it would be. Puffer realized that everything that had happened was most likely too much for Katjaa to bare with. The same couldn't happen to Puffer. There was too many reasons for him to carry on.

It didn't take long for the train to start moving again, although Duck stayed with Kenny where the controls for the train were. Puffer was silent as the train carried on, sitting on the floor. Clementine looked down, and Puffer had seen Lee earlier talk to her before heading for the front of the train, but he didn't tune into the conversation. Instead, he was inspecting the cane.

It was holding up well, although the dried walker guts was drowning out the cane's original colors on the tip. One idea Puffer was starting to have was maybe adding something sharp onto the cane's tip, perhaps on the side. That way if a walker's limb was trapped and in the way, he could slice it himself instead of relying on someone else to do it for him.

Lee came back and sat with Clementine again, and after a bit, Duck slowly walked in. Elizabeth had been watching the train go by at the other door, and she perked up a bit. Puffer did too when Lee walked over to him. "I'm about to give a gun lesson to the kids," Lee started, "Hope you won't mind the noise

Puffer thought for a moment. It was a good idea to teach them how to fight back, seeing as how many times Clementine and Duck had been grabbed by walkers. For christ's sake, Duck even got bit! "Sounds like a great idea," Puffer replied, "And I'll be fine."

Watching Lee show the kids how the gun worked and how to properly fire it was an interesting sight. Puffer still had his crossbow, and should they find another, it would be wise to teach one of them how to fire it. Then again, ammo was still limited. At least compared to bullets, arrows were easy to make. He just needed the right materials. Until then, Puffer planned to conserve the little amount of arrows he had. Ten was all that remained and he knew he would need more.