Carley (Video Game)

"You think you're some tough bitch, don't you? Like nothing can hurt you. But, you're just a scared little girl. Get the fuck over it. Take a page from Lee's book and try helping somebody for once."

- Carley telling Lilly off.

Carley is an original character that appears in The Walking Dead Video Game. Carley is a quick-thinking regional news reporter from Atlanta.

Character
Compared to Doug, whose personality within the group is more neutral and passive, Carley plays a more active role in group discussion and isn't afraid to speak out her mind. Between them, Carley's storyline offered players with more choices and additional scenes or dramas, although saving Doug would provide players with an equally interesting plot to enjoy.

Carley is first introduced as a no-nonsense reporter who along with Glenn, chose to save Lee, Clementine, Kenny, Katjaa and Duck upon their arrival in Macon. Having spent her time in war-zones as a correspondent, she presumably acquired basic knowledge of firearms and survival tactics that allowed her to hold out during the outbreak. Her accuracy of handling a gun, is often remarked by Kenny to be a "dead eye accuracy".

Like the rest of the group, she cares about their welfare, although unlike Lilly or Larry who she claims to have no "humanity", Carley is interested in saving every survivor that her group comes across. In fact, she was one of the earlier members in the group to know about Lee's past and goes out to warn him about it, stating that his past better not be a detriment to the group.

She is however, a respectful and thoughtful individual as well. When Lee chooses to admit his past to her, she reassured him that she keeps it to herself, although later on she urges Lee to reveal his past to the group. During Lee's showdown with Andrew in the farm, punching Andrew long enough will trigger Carley's appearance to stop him from inflicting any further injuries, claiming that he doesn't deserve any of it.

Regardless of who Lee saves in Episode 1, both Carley and Doug will display immense loyalty to Lee for the remainder of the game, and later on towards Ben. Both will express interest in having Lee as the group's leader although interacting with Carley will trigger the topic about his past. Her strong relationship with Ben would later lead her defend her fellow friend when he is accused of being the traitor in the group by Lilly.

Due to her active participation, Carley is blunt about her opinions and isn't afraid of defending her comrades if threatened. This is shown when she reprimanded Lilly's paranoia as a cover for her fear when accusing Ben. However, it is due to this very trait which unfortunately earned her own untimely demise under the hands of Lilly (who was close to an emotional breaking point). Ironically, the very person whom she defended, Ben, was the cause of her death after it is revealed that he was the traitor.

Before her untimely death, Carley's relationship with Lee developed to the point where she showed interest in him. Depending on the choices, Lee can choose to reciprocate her feelings as she gives Lee a kiss on the cheek. The romance was possibly a response from Telltale Game's staff towards fan's question about a Carley-Lee relationship. The relationship would have been certainly explored if it weren't for her death.

Carley and Doug's death continued to affect Lee, Ben and, to a minimal extent the rest of the group.

Atlanta, Georgia
Before the outbreak Carley was a regional news reporter for WABE in Atlanta, Georgia. Having spent time as a correspondent in various war-zones, she feels that she can take care of herself and isn't afraid to use firepower as a solution to the problems that face her. Right before the outbreak, Carley and her production crew drove to Macon to cover the International Cherry Blossom Festival. The crew was attacked by walkers and she was forced to watch as her producer was eaten alive. She was saved by Doug and joins him. They both later meet up with Glenn, Lilly and her father, Larry.

"Episode 1: A New Day"
Carley is first seen when she saved Duck from nearly being bitten by a walker. Carley and Glenn brought Lee and the rest of the group into the drugstore to hide as more walkers approached them. The pair were blamed for saving the group, to which Carley defended their actions by saying that they can't let people die off. However, Lilly felt that the pharmacy group needed to be protected by not taking any extra risks. Things get worse as Larry joins in the argument, which causes a commotion between Kenny, Lee and himself. Unbeknownst to the group, a walker hidden inside the bathroom of the drugstore nearly killed Clementine and Lee if it weren't for the timely intervention of Carley's gun. Unfortunately, her gunshot alerted the rest of the walkers outside the drugstore. This  forced the group to hide and remain silent until the walkers' attention subsided.

Just as things were starting to calm down, Larry is struck by his heart disease and Lee is tasked with finding the keys to the drugstore in order to obtain his medications. Glenn eventually leaves the drugstore to search for gasoline. Lee is then given a chance to interact with the remaining survivors. It is revealed that Carley is actually a reporter working for the WABE in Atlanta, she is complimented by Lee on her dead-eye accuracy, to which she replies nobody messes with a reporter whose short on days of coffee. Additionally, she  revealed that Doug saved her and expressed interest in him. Later on, she tags along with Lee when Glenn gets trapped in the motor inn and calls back for help. After overcoming the obstacles at the inn, the group is introduced to Irene, a survivor who had been hiding out in the motel after being bitten by her boyfriend. However, the moment is short lived when she decided to take her own life using Carley's gun, causing the group to escape back to the drugstore before more walkers approached them.

Having found the keys to the drugstore, Lee and Lilly break in to get the medications that they need, unintentionally setting off the alarm and alerting the entire group of walkers within the area. While Kenny rounds up the rest for the survivors to escape, Lee, Doug, Clementine and Carley were left to hold the walkers back. She takes on a broken window with her gun while Doug takes another, leaving Lee to hold the door on his own. At this point, Carley runs out of ammo and is mauled by a pair walkers while Doug is grabbed by a pair of walkers and left defenseless which forces Lee to choose either one of them, choosing Carley would result in Doug's death.

At the motor inn, she thanks Lee for saving her and does not blame him for not being able to rescue Doug, although she is clearly disappointed and wished that the both of them could have made it. With Glenn gone and Doug dead, the rest of the group are left to fend for their own. Just as things were starting to seem better, the power at the inn shuts off.

In-Game Decision
Lee will have to choose to save either Carley or from the walkers when they are attacked at the pharmacy.

Save Carley (Alive)
If Lee chooses to save Carley, Lee gives her ammo and she kills the walkers but they fail to save Doug. At the motel, she is upset about Doug but doesn't blame Lee.

Save Doug (Death)
If Lee chooses to save Doug, Carley runs out of ammunition and is killed by a group of walkers. Later at a motel, Doug expresses regret that Carley is dead, but doesn't blame Lee. He also admits that this is just survivor's guilt.

"Episode 2: Starved for Help"
Carley will only appear in this episode if she is saved in Episode 1: A New Day. Three months down the road, she is one of the survivors from Macon that holds out in the Motor Inn. This time round, Carley sports a different outfit. It is revealed that along with the rest of the survivors, she had been placed under intensive firearm training by Lilly and served as one of the team's watchman. If Lee gives one of the food rations to her, it will strengthen their relationship between the two. Relying on her trusty Glock, she rescued Lee and Katjaa from the reanimated David Parker/ by shooting him in the head. When Andrew and Danny St. John approach the group for gasoline with food in return, she voluntarily tags along with Lee to the dairy to provide cover.

Depending on Lee's action and response to her in Episode 1, Lee's relationship with her will be portrayed on the trip to St. John's dairy farm. In the conversation, Carley expresses her interest in having Lee as the leader in the group, stating that the group looks up to him. She also questioned him about his past, and displayed her loyalty towards him by placing her faith and support in him. When Brenda provides the group with food, she goes back with Ben to round up the rest, taking Mark's rifle along; leaving Lee and Mark alone with the brothers. Having eaten some of Brenda's pastries on the way back, she and Ben stayed back to watch the inn while the rest of the group proceeded towards the dairy.

The St. Johns are later discovered to be cannibals and lock most of the group away in the barn while Katjaa and Duck are held hostage.After sensing something gone wrong, Carley and Ben decided to head back to the dairy to check on the group and arrived just in time to help the team rescue Kenny's family. During the ensuing fight between Lee and Andy, Carley attempted to shoot Andy in the head but missed and hit him in the ear instead. She later leaves the dairy with the group and discovered a huge amount of rations in an abandoned car, to which the group later grabs. Having found some batteries for Lee's camcorder and Clementine's walkie-talkie, she plays Lee's camcorder. The pair watches in horror as a spying video of Jolene's is played.

"Episode 3: Long Road Ahead"
Carley continues to appear in Episode 3 if she is saved back in Episode 1. Carley defends Lee and Kenny when Lilly goes on a angry rant. When Lilly mentions about some of their group not being above murder, Carley glares at Lee, as she is still the only person in the group who knows about Lee's past (Except for Clementine who knew a small part if Lee told her in Episode 1). Shortly after, she tries to convince Lee to speak to Lilly in order to calm her down about the traitor situation. Carley also suggests that Lee should reveal his past to some of the survivors in order to gain their trust or at least ensure that they hear it from him and not someone else. She warns Lee to be careful about who he tells, as some of the group may react differently to the others. He doesn't understand, but agrees when he knows Carley cares about him and is right. She kisses him on the cheek and goes on with her day. During this conversation, Lee can tell her that he thinks about her, suggesting that they may be starting a relationship. This is further backed up by a conversation that Lee has with Katjaa when he tells her that a proper romance wouldn't be possible in the apocalypse, but he did have feelings for her.

After Lee finishes investigating the possible traitor in the group, Carley is rounded up with the others (except Lee and Lilly) by the bandits when they invade the camp after they don't get their promised supplies, but escapes when Lilly shoots one. She then helps Lee defend the RV against the invading Bandits and Walkers. After escaping on the RV. Lilly cracks under the emotional pressure and violently questions her and Ben with threats, believing one of them is the traitor. Lilly at first thinks its Carley, but then goes after Ben when he starts to panic at the thought of being thrown out of the group. She defends Ben, and will either be happy or mad at Lee, depending on who he sides with. No matter what, Carley insults Lilly, telling her that she is acting like a "paranoid, scared, little girl", which leads Lilly to believe that Carley is the traitor, and she shoots Carley in the face when she turns to face Lilly after watching Kenny getting rid of the walker trapped under the RV.

"Episode 5: No Time Left"
If Carley was saved in episode 1, and Lee returned the feelings she had for him, Lee can mention that he had hurt Carley to the Stranger. Lee's decision of saving Carley may also be criticized by the Stranger who states that Lee "saved a pretty girl with a gun".

Killed Victims

 * David Parker (Zombified) (If saved in Episode 1) (Determinant)
 * Travis (Zombified) (If saved in Episode 1) (Determinant)
 * Linda (If saved in Episode 1)
 * Gary (If saved in Episode 1)
 * Tess (Indirectly caused) (If saved in Episode 1)
 * Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed Save-Lot Bandits.

Killed By
Lee has to choose in Episode 1 whether to save Doug or Carley from the walkers at the drugstore after the alarm is set off while retrieving Larry's pills. If Lee chooses to save Doug, then Carley is killed and devoured by the walkers and will no longer appear after Episode 1.
 * Zombies (Determinant)

Killed By

 * Lilly
 * Ben Paul (Indirectly Caused)

After the RV pulls over, Lilly begins to interrogate both Carley and Ben, thinking they are both at fault for the bandit raid at the motor inn. Carley argues with Lilly, telling her that it wasn't her fault nor Ben's. Lilly then begins to think that Carley is the culprit, demanding that Ben tell her that it is indeed Carley's fault. Carley then tells Lilly off and tells her to start acting more like Lee. This caused Lilly to snap and shoot Carley in the left cheek, killing her.

300px|Carley's Death

Non-Canon Deaths
If Lee fails to complete certain tasks, it is possible for Carley to die. These deaths are considered non-canon and will result in a game over. Lee will then re-spawn and be allowed to try again. Below is a pictorial list of when Carley can die.

Episode 1: A New Day

Trivia

 * Not counting Shawn and Duck, Carley and Doug are the first pair of characters that pit players in a decision making situation and the first character that Lee successfully saves.
 * If rescued at the pharmacy, Carley admits to having an interest in Doug. Later on in Episode 3, however, Carley shifts her interest on to Lee instead.
 * Similarly, Doug (if saved) will reveal he had an interest in Carley at the motor inn.
 * Depending on how Lee responded to her in Episode 1, Carley continues to place her trust in Lee and shows her support.
 * Carley is one of the survivors whom Lee can choose to give the rations to. Depending on the type of ration that he gives, she responds differently.
 * If Lee chooses to give her an apple, she'd take it and reminiscent how she used to have an apple with granola and six different kinds of almonds every morning and how it wasn't enough to fill her.
 * If Lee tries to give her the cheese and crackers or beef jerky, she'll reject it and insist that Lee and Clementine have it, in fear that they might start feeling weak. This still counts as making a choice to feed her.
 * Additionally, if Carley doesn't receive any rations, she will assure Lee that she understands his position in the matter and knows that he is still keeping an eye out for her.
 * If Lee repeatedly punches Andrew in Lee's showdown with him to the point where Andrew's face swells up, Carley will come in to the scene and stop Lee from inflicting further damage. To trigger the additional scene, Lee will have to punch Andrew for a minimum of 6 times or until the scene of the group watching Lee beat Andy up comes in to play, then punch Andrew for an additional 9 times to make Carley appear.
 * In Episode 2, "Starved for Help", Lee has to decide who to give food to. 15% of people choose to feed Carley, the third least out of any character, only before Doug and Lee himself.
 * In Episode 3, Carley mentions that her family is Lutheran.
 * When asked if there was a possible romance budding between Lee and Carley, the crew of Telltale Games mentions that there are subtle hints in between, although they do not deny nor confirm the relationship between the two. Lee can confirm in Episode 3 that he was fond of her, and her mannerisms towards Lee have hinted that she developed romantic feelings for him.
 * In Episode 3, Lee makes a teasing remark about Carley being small. The remark is an indirect joke of saying Carley is the shortest adult member in the group.
 * In Episode 5, if Lee hurt her feelings in Episode 3, then Lee can say to the Stranger that he had hurt her.
 * Carley's death proved to be ironic, as she was killed by the very gun that she had used to defend herself during and before the zombie apocalypse.
 * Although Carley has been known not to lend her personal gun to anybody else, Kenny and Lilly were seen using it for the earlier part of Episode 3.
 * How her gun had managed to get in to the hands of the other survivors is not known, but it is assumed that Lilly made everyone hand out their weapons to her for safekeeping as a general rule, this is supported by the fact that the hunting rifle is present in Lilly's room when Lee discusses the issue about having a traitor in the group with Lilly.
 * After her death, Lee keeps her gun for the rest of Episode 3, presumably as a memento of her.
 * Her gun was used by Lee when he taught Clementine how to use a firearm.
 * Lee dropped her gun while trying to climb the drop ladder in the manor, the last memento of Carley being lost forever. (If Ben is alive, he will get it for you.)
 * Carley's VA, Nicole Vigil, has confirmed on her Facebook fan page that Carley makes her exit from the game in Episode 3, stating that while she very much likes her character, Carley's fate of dying has been determined much earlier by the game developers in Telltale Games, as a result of wanting to stay true to the recurring themes in The Walking Dead.
 * Carley's main sidearm (despite not being mentioned in the game) is a Glock 17, but in Episode 3 she picked up a Beretta 92FS Inox belonging to a bandit shot by Lilly, she then uses it to kill the bandits Linda and Gary and she also intends to kill Drew but she runs out of ammo. She later uses it to cover Kenny's RV from the Walkers, its unknown how she got more ammunition but maybe she had some 9mm bullets in the RV, since her Glock is also a 9mm handgun. Carley's Beretta was probably picked by the group after her death and was given to Christa since she is seen using it in Episode 4 as her weapon of choice.
 * Carley, Lee and Clementine have had the most changes in appearance. In Episode 1, Carley wears her news reporter clothes. In Episode 2, she wears a purple vest and blue jeans. In Episode 3, she wears a purple jacket with a green undershirt.
 * In Episode 1, if Lee chose to help Carley with the radio she has, it turns out that she doesn't know it required batteries. After you give her the batteries then she will put them in the wrong way. This later becomes a recurring joke in Episodes 2 and 3, and Carley was a character was ridiculed by the community over this.
 * In Episode 2, her lack of knowledge of batteries is referenced jokingly by Lee when she gives him some for the video camera and Clementine's walkie-talkie.
 * In Episode 3, when questioned about the broken flashlight, Carley quickly remarks "The batteries are probably in backwards." to a question of her knowledge of the object. When Lee responds with a statement that there's only one, she hastily replies, "Of course it does. Everything should. What was the question?"
 * If you do not save her in A New Day, the Stranger will criticize you because you let her die to protect your secret.
 * Alternately, if you choose to save her over Doug, he'll criticize you for "letting a boy die to save the pretty girl with a gun."
 * Carley and Doug are the first two characters to have multiple ways to die.
 * She can either be devoured by walkers at the pharmacy or shot by Lilly.
 * In Episode 1, when Carley fixes the radio and she is able to hear the WABE broadcast, she refers to the man on air as "Steve". This could be a reference to Steve Gross, well-known weekday host for WABE radio.