Remember Me
Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead or any of its characters besides my OC. All rights go to Skybound and Telltale.
Chapter 1: On the Path
Author's note: Okay, since my love for the Walking Dead is overwhelming, I decided to write another story for Walking Dead. This time it's a Clementine x OC one (My 3rd favorite pairing in the series behind Clem x Carl and Rick x Michonne). I hope you guys like my OC and I won't say too much about his past and family. That's for all of you to figure out. I'll drop some hints as the story goes by and hopefully by the time it ends or reaches its climax, you'll all know.
And yes, I will be doing a New Frontier sequel. That's all I gotta say for now.
"Christa! RUN!"
"Jesus, are you fucking kidding me?!"
"Let go you little bitch!"
"AAARGGHHH!"
"CLEMENTINE!"
Her eyes snapped open and she sat up with a gasp. The encounter with the bandits were replaying in her head, followed by her friend's screams. She was scared, scared that her friend didn't survive the attack and she was all alone once again. Just the thought of surviving with no familiar faces to support you scared her. Maybe she isn't dead, the one side of her brain trying to reassure herself. She heard her yell then a gunshot, she has to be dead, the other side argued.
Then she noticed her surroundings. It was dark out and a small campfire was burning in front of her. The sound of the wood cracking and burn reminded her of Christa and how she taught her how to make a fire. The sound of crickets and trees rustling also filled her ears.
She started to get up, but a sudden throbbing sensation from her shoulder stopped her. She must've hit it when she fell in the river.
"Oh good, you're up."
She turned her head to notice a boy about her age, sitting against a large rock, smiling at her. He had mid-length, shaggy black hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks. He was wearing a sleeveless, red sweatshirt with a black t-shirt underneath it, worn out blue jeans, and worn out hiking boots. On his wrist was a small watch, which looked old as well. The most noticeable feature of him was his blue eyes that seemed like they shined in the night.
Her eyes trailed down to the boy's bandaged hand which had blood stains on it.
He followed her gaze and held out his injured hand. "Oh this? It's nothing. I ended up cutting it when escaping from a walker. Don't worry about it."
"W-What happened?" She asks, rubbing her arms together from the cold wind.
His smile dropped to a frown. "I found you passed out on the shoreline not too long ago. Then I dragged you here." He says. "I ain't gonna sugarcoat it, but I thought you were dead. I was thinking about just leaving you there…but I couldn't."
Clementine's eyes went wide. She was shocked that she was nearly left to die just like that.
A short silence fell amongst the two of them before the boy's gentle smile came back. He reached behind him and pulled out a black drawstring bag. She heard a few things shuffle and clang together in the bag until he pulled out a water bottle. The outside of the bottle was covered with dirt stains, but the water inside was clean.
"I, uh, have some water if you're thirsty." He says awkwardly, handing Clementine the bottle. She thanked him with a nod and took a few sips. "What's your name? Sorry I didn't start our conversation with that. I figured you'd want to know what happened…"
Clementine looked at the boy for a brief second. "I'm Clementine." She answers, sending him a small smile while handing him his water back.
"Sweet name." He comments. "I'm Austin."
Clementine nodded, watching the wood crack and burn in the campfire. It was times like this she thought she'd never see again. Sitting beside the campfire, introducing yourself to other people like herself. Survivors who just want to help others survive. It was peaceful.
Austin looked at the girl next to him, taking in her features. He admired her copper eyes that made it look like they were gold and her short hair that was tied into two tiny ponytails. It was a smart haircut. The hat she wore was battle damaged, scratches and dirt were all over it. Like it mattered though. It wasn't like there was a working washing machine these days.
"You did this yourself?" She broke the silence whilst motioning to the campfire in front of her.
He nods. "Yeah, a friend of my Dad taught me…before all of this started." He responds. "I was a Cub Scout and he was one of the leaders. At first, I thought I'd never need to make a fire unless I was stranded or lost in the woods. Now look what happens." He chuckled to himself. "My Dad didn't like that. He thought I was too young to learn that kind of stuff. I wish he was here to see me now."
Clementine assumed the worst.
"Where's your Dad now?" She asks, looking at the boy sadly.
"Somewhere in Spain, I guess." He replies, shrugging his shoulders. "He said he was going to visit Barcelona for a while. He left me with one of his friends. I don't know if he's alive or what."
Clementine looked at the ground, feeling sorry for the boy. She knew how it felt to lose your parents when all of this happened. She thought her parents were alive and well. She couldn't wait to hug them and tell them how much she missed them. When she reached Savannah, it was too late. They became one of them. Walkers. The sight of them, their rotting flesh, was burned in her mind forever.
"What about you?" Austin's voice snapped Clementine from her thoughts. "Where are your parents?"
"They're dead." She simply states, glaring at the dirt beneath her.
Austin held his hands up. "I-I'm sorry for asking." He apologizes after picking up the girl's tone.
Clementine shook her head. "It's okay, I didn't mean to sound angry." She then hugged her knees to comfort herself. "I guess I couldn't accept the fact that they're dead. Them and Lee and Omid. Now Christa. It seems like everyone I get close to ends up getting killed."
Austin opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He was going to ask her who were these people she mentioned, but he put it in the back of his mind for later. For now, he wanted to comfort her. He wanted to be a good friend.
"You wanna know how I see things?" He asks, grinning.
Clementine nods, still looking hurt. "Sure."
"Those we lost, only make us stronger." Austin says, looking at his bloodied bandage for a second. "There's a reason why people come into our lives then leave, Clementine. They all teach us something about themselves or ourselves. Their lessons can be brief, but sometimes they last a lifetime. Even those who wish us harm, they teach us something. It's interesting. Nowadays, that's all I ever think about."
Clementine soaked in the words from the boy while staring in awe at him. His words touched her. Lee, Christa, Omid, Kenny…they all taught her something. Lee taught her the will to stay strong and survive. Christa taught her to keep moving even if a place seems safe. Omid taught her there was always time to smile in a world like this, especially the goofy ones like him. Kenny taught her family came first above anything else.
Now she wondered the reason why Austin came into her life.
"Anyway," Austin sighs, standing up. "I was thinking we leave once the sun rises. It's too dangerous to camp here for a while."
Clementine nods in agreement. "Can we look for my friend Christa? She's gotta be out there somewhere."
"Christa..?" Austin mutters before nodding. "Sure, we'll look for her then we'll decide where to head to. I heard Virginia ain't that bad."
"Well, she and I were moving on up to Wellington." Clementine said, flashing the boy a small smile. "We heard it's safe and the cold winters make the walkers slow."
Austin made a disgruntled face at the girl and said, "Cold winters? Snow and Ice ain't my thing. Well, if you think its best, then we'll go. Hell, it'll be nice to stay someplace for a while."
Clementine stood up and embraced the boy in a hug. "Thank you, Austin."
Said boy only stood stiff, not knowing what to do. It's been a while before he's been hugged, let alone by a girl his age. He didn't wanna be awkward, but he didn't wanna be creepy either. So, he simply patted Clementine on the back before she broke the hug.
"No problem." He smiles before yawning. "Well, let's rest up before sunrise. I'm gonna put the fire out." He takes out the half empty water bottle, takes a few sips, and dumps the rest in the fire to put it out. "Good thing I found another sleeping bag. Here, Clem."
He rolled out an orange sleeping bag that was covered in old blood.
"Ah!" Clementine gasped at the sleeping bag.
Austin chuckles, "I covered it in Walker blood so they don't eat us while we sleep. It still fuckin' stinks though. Sorry about that."
"Swear…" Clementine warned, eyes narrowed at the boy.
Austin laughs before shaking his head. "Night, Clementine."
She nods. "Goodnight."
Like Austin said, they left when the sun rose. They decided to leave their sleeping bags behind, figuring it'll just slow them down and hopefully they'd find somewhere safer to sleep. Clementine thought it was a bad idea because it might attract any bandits and follow their trail. Austin reassured her, saying if anything they'd just take the sleeping bags even if it was covered in blood. People were desperate these days.
They followed a dirt trail that led them through the forest. Both children kept check of their surroundings, hoping to not run into any walkers. The wind made the bushes and trees rustle, which made it worse for them. Crows fled from their spot in the trees that towered over them, making Clementine gasp.
Austin looked over his shoulder at the frightened girl. "It's okay to be scared. To be honest, I'm on edge too."
Clementine nods and followed behind the boy through the trail. They reached a fallen tree blocking their past. Austin led out a huff before barely climbing over the tree. Clementine followed with Austin helping her over.
Then she remembered she needed to find her friend. "Christa?" She calls out, trying not to be too loud. "You there?"
The only response she got was the wind howling.
"Let's keep moving." Austin says.
A nearby bush began to rustle a few yards away from them. Austin gave Clementine a nod before taking out a hunting knife from his belt. Clementine was surprised that she never it on him last night. She must've been too busy learning about the boy to notice. The boy approached the bush, his knife ready to stab and slash anything that was a threat to them.
He waited for a few seconds before a dog with brown fur emerged from the bushes. Austin sighed out in relief and put away the knife. "Oh, it's only a dog." He reassured Clementine, who walked towards the two. "Hey there, boy!"
When he reached to pet him, the dog let out a dangerous growl. Austin recoiled his hand back to his side, looking annoyed.
"It's okay, boy….It's okay." Clementine's soft voice made the dog stop growling. Austin looked at her stunned. "You got a name, boy?" She checked the dog's collar and smiled when she found its name. "Sam? Hey there, Sam."
The dog barked and wagged its tail, somewhat greeting her. He then snapped his head in the other direction, running further down the trail.
Austin rose an eyebrow. "What's he doing?" He asks.
"He wants us to follow him." Clementine replies before following the dog down the trail.
Austin stood there looking stunned again. Were they seriously about to follow a dog they just met?
Finally accepting the fact, he followed her. Sam barked a few times before leading them to an abandoned campsite. Well, both abandoned and destroyed. Debris of the burnt van were everywhere, Pots and pans were scattered everywhere, and one of the two tents were burnt while the other was ripped to shreds.
Sam sniffed around the area while Clementine waited behind the bushes for Austin. When said boy finally caught up, they entered the campsite, shocked by the amount of debris and destruction that was left behind.
"Jesus…" Austin mutters out, scanning the area. "This looks terrible, but we gotta find some food. I wouldn't mind for a can of beans."
Clementine nodded. "I can eat anything at this point." She then looked over at the tents. "I'll check around the tents. How about you check around the van, maybe find some food or anything useful?" Austin smiled and nods, obliging.
While searching, Austin found a few things that almost ruined his whole morning. He found a burnt doll, pretty much confirming a little girl use to be here. He also found a picture of the family and sure enough, there was a little girl in front of the family, looking as happy as ever. Also, Sam was in the picture, which made it even sadder. Poor dog must've ran away when his owners were killed…or even eaten.
He placed the belongings back in the van before continuing his search. His eyes lit up when he found a yellow Frisbee on the ground.
"Hey! Clem!" He called out to the girl. She quickly ran over, thinking he found something useful. "Look, a Frisbee. Maybe you wanna play with Sam for a bit?" He handed her the Frisbee and she thanked him with a nod.
"Hey boy, you wanna play?" The dog barked, its tail wagging again. Clementine flicked her wrist and the Frisbee went flying with Sam chasing after it. It didn't even touch the ground when Sam caught it and brought it back. "Good boy! Wanna go again?"
Austin smiled at the girl as she continued to play with Sam. Just watching the girl having fun and smiling made him happy. It was times like this that he missed. He loved seeing the smiles on people's faces as they talked and enjoyed one another's company. The last time he saw someone smile like that, besides himself, was his Uncle before he was gone from his life a few weeks ago. Walkers got'em. He didn't even have a chance to say goodbye.
"Aw, dang it!" Clementine groaned when the Frisbee went over the bushes and landed back in the forest. Sam whimpered. "It was fun while it lasted."
"At least you enjoyed yourself." Austin smirks, making Clem giggle at him. "C'mon, let's see what else we can find."
Before they could continue their search, Sam began to bark in a frenzy. He ran over to a tree near the tents and got in a defensive position. Clementine looked over at Austin, who shrugged, and walked closer to the dog.
Just when they reached him, the familiar sound of snarling and growling was heard. There was a walker tied against the tree, a small switchblade dug into its left shoulder. Clementine winced at the undead creature. He must've been tied to this tree so he couldn't harm others.
"Looks like he tried to cut the bite off." Austin points out, examining the wound on its shoulder.
Clementine looked down at the ground. She remembered Lee had his arm removed after he got bit. She thought he'd be safe, that he'd be with her again. She was wrong. He died from blood loss that day. He died saving her.
"That never works." Clementine nearly whispers to herself, but Austin heard what she said.
Again, he decided to keep his mouth shut for now.
Sam began to bark again. Austin quickly looked around, hoping his barking didn't attract any walkers. Well, beside the one in front of them.
"I got it." Austin took out his knife again and quickly dug it in the walker's skull. Blood spurted from the hole in its head and the snarling came to an abrupt stop. "Here, from me to you." He grinned, taking the blade from its shoulder and giving it to Clementine.
"Thanks." She wiped the blade clean on her pants.
Austin looked behind the tree when he noticed a garbage bin covered in flies. He made a disgusted face when he realized what he needed to do. He never liked getting dirty, despite enjoying the great outdoors very much. He didn't mind getting dirt on his hands but garbage is another thing.
He sighs, "Well, let's get this over with."
Clementine looked confused for a moment before she saw him approaching the garbage bin. Her face turned from confusion to disgust real quick. Austin took a deep breath and dug his hands through the garbage, hoping he wouldn't touch anything wet or something worse. A huge grin was plastered on his face when he pulled out a large can of unopened beans.
"Fuck yeah." He says to himself, holding out the beans for Clem to take. "Looks like my prayers have been answered!"
Clementine giggles, "You mean our prayers?"
"Right…our prayers." He corrects himself as he watches Clem open the can with her new knife. It took a few stabs, but she finally opened the can and there were the beans in all their glory. Austin could feel his mouth start to water as he took a handful and threw them in his mouth. They were cold, but they sure did the job done.
Sam looked up at the two, head titled as if he was begging them to give him some.
Clementine swallowed her handful of beans. "Here you go, Sam." Instead of taking the beans from her hand, he knocked the can from her hand and ate them from there. "Hey!" She yells while scooping the can. "Don't eat it all!"
Sam let out a dangerous growl before clamping its jaw tight around Clementine's arm. She let out a terrified yell as Sam brought her to the ground. Again, the animal clamped its jaw on her arm again, blood dripping from its teeth.
"Clementine!" Austin gasps in shock, running to the dog and placing him in a chokehold. When the dog refused to lose its grip on the girl, Austin closed his eyes and stuck his knife in the dog's throat. Sam cried out and let go of the girl's arm, dying on the spot. "Jesus, Clem! You okay?!" He exclaims, placing his knife back in its holster.
Said girl could only stare in horror at her arm before looking at the dead dog beside her. "Austin…you killed him."
"I know. I had no choice." He looked down at his feet. "I'm more worried about your arm. It's bleeding…a lot. We have to find something to stop bleeding."
Clementine hissed in pain as she covered the wound with her sleeve. "We need to clean it before it gets infected."
Austin looked at the girl in worry. "I'm sorry Clem, but we gotta keep moving so we can find supplies for you. At least to clean your arm."
The boy helped Clementine to her feet and led her down the path, away from the campsite and the dead dog.
While continuing down the trail, Austin could feel Clementine get heavier and heavier as every passing minute goes by. She was exhausted, she needed to rest. At one point the girl dropped from Austin's side and groaned out.
"You okay?" He asks, kneeling beside her.
Clementine only groaned in response.
"Let me take a look." As instructed, Clementine pulled up her sleeve to reveal the bite. There was more blood than before and Austin started to get worried. "Shit, if we don't treat this right now, you might not make it." He held up his bandaged hand and ripped a piece of bandage. He wrapped it around some of the wound as best as he could.
"A-Austin!"
Said boy turned his head and spotted a walker approaching him from behind. He quickly took out his knife and plunged it in its skull as it tried to grab him. Clementine gasped when she noticed they were surrounded by them! They were everywhere!
"We can't stay here!" He shouts before helping Clem to her feet and running further down the path. They only reached a fair distance until a walker appeared out of nowhere and trampled on the two. Clem dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes and Austin fell face first in the dirt.
The walker on top of Austin snarls and tries to chomp at the boy's neck. Austin tried to reach for his knife but the walker was starting to overpower him. It's foggy, dead eyes stared right into his soul as its teeth came closer to his neck. Austin was grinding his teeth together, using all of his strength to push the walker off of him.
It let out another growl until it went limp, giving the boy enough strength to get him off. Clementine stood over him, taking deep breaths as she grasped her bleeding arm. She looked down at him, her face morphing from exhaustion to concern.
"Thanks." He huffs, quickly standing to his feet. When he noticed her concerned face, he titled his head to the side. "What?"
"Y-you're bleeding…"
He touched the side of his head, which stung and the familiar red substance ran down his head. Shit, she was right. He must've hit it when the walker landed on top of him. It wasn't fatal, but it stung. The blood ran from the corner of his head to the side of his chin.
"I'll be fine." He reassures her with a smile.
Another walker dropped dead behind them, this time with an arrow sticking out of its eye socket. They both quickly turned around and saw two men. One was a nearly bald headed old man wielding a crossbow while the other was a young man with brown hair carrying a machete. The younger man slashed at a walker near the kids, its head clean off its shoulders. The older man shot another arrow into a walker's skull.
The younger man approached the two, a serious expression on his face as more walkers surrounded them.
"I'm out." The older man exclaimed to the younger one. "Grab her and let's go!"
The man with the machete nods and picked Clementine off the ground. "Come one kid." He then turned to face Austin. "Keep up with us."
Austin nods and ran through the forest with the men, barely escaping the undead.
When they reached a good distance from the walkers, they stopped to catch their breaths.
"I-I think we lost'em." The older man huffs out. "Woo, ain't young as I use to be."
The younger man looked behind them to make sure. "Yeah, we're good." He sent a nod to the older male before looking down at the girl in his arms. "Hey, kid, you alright?"
Clementine winced from the throbbing pain in her arm. "I'm fine….just let us go."
Austin frowned at the girl then looked at the two men. "Look, all we need are some medical supplies then we'll be on our way. We need something to clean her wound, then we'll be gone." He watched as the two men glanced at one another, whether or not to believe him.
"You both are in bad shape." The man carrying Clementine said. The older man walked alongside him with Austin following.
"What're you two doing out here anyway?" The old man asks, looking at the two stunned. "Where are the people you're with?"
"Yeah, because there's no way you two survived out here on your own." The young man commented, shaking his head.
Austin looked up at him with a small scowl on his face. He hated it when people underestimate him. It gets annoying after a while. He knew it was an advantage nowadays, but it just made him feel…weak.
"I was with my friend before we got attacked." Clementine manages to mutter out, the pain in her arm becoming unbearable.
Austin nodded in agreement, "Yeah, believe it or not I've been on my own for a few weeks. I found Clementine onshore and I dragged her to the forest."
The young man looked down at the boy in awe. "You managed to drag her all by yourself?"
Austin shrugs. "She's not that heavy."
The brown-haired man then remembered Clementine's words. "Wait, who attacked you?" He asked. "I mean, did they say want they wanted? Were they looking for anyone?" Austin could tell the man was panicked about something.
Clementine shook her head. "They probably wanted the food we had. We were cooking some sort of weasel."
Austin looked at the girl being carried. "And I'm guessing that's when Christa went missing?" The girl nodded and Austin looked ahead. That was enough for him to know what happened before she fell in the water.
"They attacked you for a weasel?" The man asks in disbelief before shaking his head. "Damn, that's low. Sorry, we all lost folks. Well, anyway my name's Luke and this here is Pete." He motioned to the older male next to him. "What're your names?"
"I'm Austin." He greeted before looking at the wounded girl. "And that's Clementine."
The man smiled at the two. "Well, it's nice to meet ya both." He then looked down at Clementine. "Pete and I are going to take you back to our group, okay? We got a doctor with us and he'll look at those wounds you two have. You could look like you could use some-Oh shit!"
Luke stopped and dropped the girl after looking down at the bite on her arm.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Austin shouts, running over to Clementine to check on her.
Pete stared at Luke with a confused look. "What? What happened?" He asks, sounding angry that he just dropped her on the ground like that.
"S-She's been bit, man." Luke's voice was shaky as he paced around, gripping his hair. "Fuck, fuck! What are we going to do?"
Clementine started to whimper, obviously scared at the scene. "No! It was a dog!" She exclaimed.
Pete crossed his arms over his chest. "I didn't see no dog, Clementine."
"Come on, kid! We saw you with all those lurkers back there." Luke said while continuing to pace around.
Austin looked up at the old man sadly. "I had to kill it. She's telling the truth."
Luke came to an abrupt stop and sent a glare to the younger boy. "You what?!" He nearly yells, outraged at the thought of a dog being murdered. "A dog comes up and bites her and you kill it?!" Austin sent a glare up at him.
"The fuck did you want me to do?!" He shouts, clenching his fists. "Just let him take off her arm?!"
"What would you have done?" Pete asks, coming to the boy's aid.
Luke looked at the glares he was given and frowned. "I-I don't know." He says in a disappointed voice. "You just… you don't kill dogs."
"Just look at it! Please!" Clementine pleaded, gripping the front of Austin's shirt. The boy simply looked down at the girl's fist before looking back up at the two, his glare gone and being replaced with a pleading look.
"Oh right, and have you bite down on Pete's neck?" Luke scoffs.
Pete had an annoyed look on his face. "Why am I the one?" He asks.
"Because man, I don't know a dog bite, from a lurker bite, from a mosquito bite!" Luke exclaims while throwing his arms up in the air.
Austin rolled his eyes in annoyance while Pete looked down at her. Clementine met his gaze and made a face that looked like she was about to cry.
"Alright, let's see it." Pete sighs out, kneeling in front of the two.
Luke's eyes went wide in concern. "Hey man, watch yourself." He warns but Pete only ignored him. Both Clementine and Austin sent a glare at him. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I ain't the one who's bit here." He turned away from the two.
Pete rolled up Clementine's sleeve, which made the girl wince. "See."
"Is it as they say?" Luke asks, turning back around to face Pete.
"…I don't know. It could be a dog." He says, still examining the bite. "We'll take them back to Carlos and he can have a better look." He then looked at Austin. "He'll also fix up that scratch on your head for you, son."
"Are you sure?" Luke asked.
"Well, I'm sure that I ain't willing to leave an injured little boy and girl in the woods, when we have a doctor who could take a look at them." Pete said to Luke.
Luke looked at the ground for a second before scowling. "Nick ain't gonna like this, not after-"
It was Pete's turn to scowl at him. "You don't need to remind me of that, boy!" He snapped.
Luke's scowl dropped and he looked ashamed at himself. "Yessir. Sorry." Pete's scowl dropped as well and placed his hand on his shoulder, giving him a comfortable smile as well. He titled his head towards a cabin in the distance. As the two started to walk towards the cabin, Austin helped Clementine to her feet.
"How ya feeling?" He asks, sending her a small smile.
Clementine's face scrunched up in pain. "I-I'm….I…" Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she dropped, causing her to land on top of Austin, who was taken by surprise.
"Clementine!"
"Ah shit…"