A/N: One quick thing I need to get out of the way, Clementine will not be shipped with anyone! She's staying eleven years old in this fanfic, I do not support any ships with her that keep her at that age. I only ship Clementine with someone if she was older!

This is not a Cluke story!

This is not a Click story!

This is not a Clenny story!

Gladiator

Chapter one; Road to Hell

Enjoy!

'It takes ten times longer to put yourself together as it does to fall apart.' 'If you don't take chances, you don't get the possible good.'

'If you don't have ups and downs in life, you're dead.' 'Before you give up, think about the reason you held on for so long.'

Nick slowly walked up to a window frame in the front of the mobile home and carefully moved a bit of the curtain out of the way, so he could at least get a peek at what was waiting for them outside.

He practically jumped, his eyes went wide with fear and he ducked under the windowsill. His eyes darted from every other member in the room and then back at the front door, which was blocked by a large wooden cabinet.

It was almost absolute silence, the only thing that really filled the survivor's ears were the sounds of their heavy and deep breaths. Sarah was bitting down tightly on her lip, preventing herself from letting out the screams and squeals that were compacted into her throat.

The whole room smelled of sweat and mold, disgusting as it was, they would rather be in the small, foul structure than out in the open. Suddenly, shouts and the slamming of car doors filled the room, the visitors have arrived.

Luke placed his ear against the old, neglected, wall paper. He concentrated and pressed his hand against the wall as well, trying to get a better position. But what he heard sent the survivors into a panic.

"Dude, I saw them go in there, come on. It's no harm to just check it out."

"Fine. I'm bringing the goons in though, just incase they're armed or try anything. Man, if they did go in there..Thats four more people to add."

"I know, the big boss is gonna be happy."

Two men, maybe more than that were heading towards them, armed and ready for anything. The group was trapped. There wasn't a single window or exit in the back of the mobile home and if they tried to get out through the skylight, they would surely be seen.

Luke turned and faced the remaining members, "We need to hide, now, these guys aren't playing around. Come on!" He whispers, fear lingered in his quiet voice, and pain was visible in his chocolate eyes.

"W-where do we hide? There's nothing in here." Sarah manages to get out, fear and panic have consumed her, she sat there with her legs tightly molded against her chest and her hands clutched on her fragile waist.

As if she was glass and cracking, holding on to avoid shattering. It seems to fit, "I don't know, try a cabinet or something, but whatever you do, you gotta do it fast. It's just like hide and seek, just like that." Luke says, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

It was almost like he was just trying to convince himself, but that was really all he could do. Clementine knew what this was, she knew that shit is gonna go down if anyone gets found.

And she was off, checking every room for some sort of hidden spot, in the bedroom sat a large pile of clothes crowded into the corner of the wardrobe.

Clem made a dash for it, covering herself in the mucky, disgusting clothes. Most of the shirts and pants in the pile were covered in large rips and tears. It was almost like smearing on walker guts.

Except this time you're not surrounded by the dead and there isn't a chance that when you turn around, your neck could be ripped out. The other members split up around the house.

Luke found a very cramped spot inside the bathrooms cabinet, Nick managed to slide under one of the couches in the living room and Sarah laid squished between the couch Nick was under and the thin walls.

Her glasses cracked, leaving a large crevasse across her field of vision, she squeaked and tried to adjust. "Sarah, I'm sorry, but you need to stay quiet." Nick whispers from underneath.

Her small feet were right in his face and some of the lose fabric from the flooring was getting up his nose, making his spot ten times more uncomfortable. Then came knocking at the door, they're here.

"Hello!? Anybody in there? Why don't you all just come out and we can take you home! There's food and water, shelter."

The man waited for an answer, but all he got was silence. He was losing his patience, he needed them to show themselves or he would just do it the hard way.

"You know, I ain't a very patient guy, I'm coming in." He began trying to kick open the door, after about two kicks, there was a large open hole in the door.

He reaches in and unlocks the door, he sees the cabinet keeping the door from opening and he backs up, "Alright, we push as hard as we can, on one..two..three!"

The door comes flying open, moving the wooden cabinet out of the way. There stood four men in the doorway, each holding an assault rifle, the types different from each other.

They all wore a ripped piece of red fabric around their elbows, they must be apart of some gang. Almost mirroring Nazis.

"Come out come out wherever you are!" The man in the front called out, his voice bouncing off the walls and down the hallway.

The man in the front scratched at his spiky stubble and then started barking orders at the 'goons' behind him, "Find them!"

The goons began to wonder a bit, hardly even touching anything, if things kept going the way it was going, then the survivors would be safe.

"You all wanna play a game of hide a seek, huh? Alright then, we'll be the seekers and you'll get to hide, but once I find all of you, we(A/N: Such Grammar XD) heading back to camp! No more games."

The 'leader' wondered around the main room, smiling psychotically, the shade from his hat darkened his face, making it even more sinister.

"There's nothin' in here!" A goon exclaimed as he took a seat on the couch, Nick could feel him pressing against him on his back.

Sarah was terrified, shaking uncontrollably, now biting down her lip so hard that blood began to drip down her chin and filling her mouth with the metallic taste.

Nick realized that his whole body had tensed into a pack of taut wires; he forced himself to relax, still careful to control his breathing.

More shuffling of feet. Then a haunting set of whispers, as if the intruders had met in the middle of the room to strategize.

From the bedroom, Clementine strained to hear, to catch any words, but the harsh puffs of speech remained indecipherable. The survivors couldn't see them, it was too dark and they didn't wanna blow their cover by peaking.

"No!" one of them shouted. A man, but Clementine couldn't tell if it was 'the leader'. "No! No no no no no no no no." The words then quieted into a murmured stutter.

Another one of the goons cut him off with one of his own chants. "Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes."

"Shut up!" That was the leader. Definitely the leader. "Shut up shut up shut up!"

Luke remained hidden and untouched in the bathroom, he felt cold inside, though sweat was beading on his skin. He didn't know if this exchange had any meaning whatsoever or was just more evidence of madness.

"I'm leaving," A man says, his words broken by an angry huff. He sounded like a child left out of a game.

The pitter patter of his shoes followed him as he left the building. Now there's only three.

"Me too!" This is from another man, well, they we all men.

"Shut up shut up shut up!" The leader yelled, this time much louder. "Go away go away!"

The sudden repetition of words creeped the survivors out. Only a few minutes ago, they actually seemed like they had a dictionary, the use of proper words and a bit of grammar.

Now it just seems like they lost it all, leaving only madness and what they were saying now seemed like some control over language had snapped in their brains.

Clementine was squeezing her own hand so tightly that it hurt. Shuffles of feet and swishing of clothes outside. Were they leaving?

The sounds decreased sharply in volume when they entered the outside, freedom, whatever. Maybe there's more people in their party and they're just waiting for the survivors to leave.

Soon it became silent all over again. Nick only heard the faint sounds of his and Sarah's breaths.

They all waited in their spots, the silence stretched out. They all kept listening, knowing they had to be absolutely sure. They all want to leave their spots, but they had to wait.

"I think they're gone." Nick finally whispered, he tries to get out of his spot.

"Hello there!" a voice yelled from the room, then a grimy hand reached under the couch and grabbed Nick by the shirt.

Nick shrieked, started swatting at the greasy and scarred hand. The man pulled, slamming Nick's body against the edge of the couch.

His face smashed into the hard wood and a burst of pain exploded around his nose, he felt blood trickling down.

"I GOT HIM!" The man shouted, probably calling all the others back, the man pushed him back a few inches, then pulled him forward again. Pushed and pulled again. And again, slamming Nick's face into the outer edges of the couch.

The rest of the survivors could hear the beat down and hesitated getting out of their spots to help Nick. Would they risk their positions to save him?

Nick couldn't believe the strength of the dude. Luke then made up his mind and ran out of his spot. He charged at the man, nocking him down to the ground and letting go of Nick.

In the distance was the sounds of the other 'savages' coming back over, they would surely be caught, but nobody needs to get beat to shit.

Luke pulled a knife out of his pocket and tried to slash at him, "You son of a bitch!" The man yelled as the knife missed his face by mere inches.

The man knocked the knife out of Luke's hand and then his only weapon was his bare hands, but before the first fist could fly into the man's face, Luke was tugged off his form.

The others are here, the leader smiled and kicked him dead in the chest, knocking him onto the ground, clutching it in pain.

The men then dragged the beaten farm boys out of the room and then outside, but Clementine and Sarah couldn't just stay there. They'll be dead in a matter of days, Sarah slowly emerged from her spot and faced the 'savages'.

They grabbed her and led her out, the last one to leave was the smallest. Little eleven year old Clementine.

Outside sat a large white van, the back doors wide open and waiting for them, something tells them that this ain't no picnic. The men needed them for something and whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

More labor? Or something worse. The men literally threw them in, their bodies colliding against the metal with a bang.

They all let grunts and moans of pain, it hurt. It was almost complete darkness inside except for some light managing to get through from the front of the vehicle.

This is where they began their new life, for better or for worse, this was a new chapter in their lives. They were on 'The Road to Hell'. In the van, they were surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air.

Metal ground against metal; a lurching shudder shook the floor beneath them. A sudden burst of speed had them on their hands and knees, trying ever so desperately to restrain themselves.

"Slow down!" Sarah cried as she slid to the back of the van, smashing against one of the doors. Her glasses were crushed and the glass almost completely shattered.

With another jolt, the van jerked upward like an old lift in a mine shaft. It swayed back and fourth, turning everyone's stomach sour with nausea.

They wanted to cry, scream, break free from this prison, but the purple skin covering their bodies kept them from doing so.

All they could do was lay there, wait for a bump and feel their bodies smash around the vehicle. It's been around an hour inside the prison.

Then, everything slowed down dramatically, no more bumps or halts. Just smooth driving. Everyone cooled down, rested.

And then, impossibly, they slept. Soundly and peacefully, laying on the ground, holding each other close for body heat.

Luke, while asleep, rubbed his arms to create friction. Heat. Blood was trailing from all of their mouths and noses, it was one hell of a ride.

But it's just getting started.

A nightmare woke Clem, something about Kenny being cornered by a bunch of walkers, angry walkers.

The first spill of blood finally jerked her awake, she looked around, worried that she said or yelled something. The back of the van laid in darkness, even the light from the drivers and passengers seat was gone.

It must be dark, she could barley see everyone else, but what she could make out was Nick propped up against the edge of the van with Sarah sleeping soundly underneath his arm.

Luke laid on the floor in front of her, but she couldn't tell if his eyes were open. But then he spoke, voice cracking and raspy, slightly gurgled.

"Bad dream?"

Clementine settled herself against the corner of the vehicle, then focused all of her attention to the beaten farm boy in front of her.

"Luke, what's gonna happen?" She asked, fear was present in her voice, it hurt Luke for her to be like this, he thought of her as a sister. He never had one, but now he does.

He had to be honest, but not too honest.

"I don't know Clem, but whatever happens, I'll be there. We're gonna be fine, we're gonna see the rest of the group again..I promise you."

"Pinkie promise?" Clementine asked, wearing a sad smile on her face, it was invisible to Luke, but he knew it was there.

"Pinkie promise."

Their pinkie's interlocked, a promise to last forever, never to be broken. He loved this girl with all his heart, he would gladly give up his life to protect her. He's gonna get her back to Kenny and the others.

He will.

Clementine moved from her spot and crawled over to Luke, attaching her tiny body to one of his large muscular arms.

"Thank you, Luke."

"No problem kiddo."

Snores then emerged from Nick's mouth, filling up the van with the sound, bouncing of the walls and firing straight into everyone's ears.

"If this continues, I might just have to wake him up." Luke murmurs.

"By 'waking him up', do you mean kicking him in the leg?"

"Pretty much."

"What's your story? I told you mine, but you never told me yours."

"I guess I could tell you. I was on my old mans farm with Nick and Pete, we were doing our regular routines, feed the cows, then the chickens- yada yada- When I was walking by the cornfield, I saw my folks..Undead. It was too late, didn't even notice till it was too late. We got out of there. People were being eaten alive all over the place. We picked up Nick's mom and hit the road. We came across Carver's camp, they let us in and we lived there. We saw what it was turning into, and we left, ran. Rebecca was just a few months into her pregnancy and Alvin was helping her every step of the way. Carrying her if he needed to. We came across the cabin and lived there."

He pauses to breathe before continuing, "We were out huntin' and Nick came across this lady, she was bitten, but we decided to help her. We brought her in and then...She turned, as I told you, Nick's mom got bitten and he had to p-put her down. It got quiet and then when Pete and I went out to hunt, we found you."

"Life is a bitch."

"It sure is, but sometimes, it ain't that bad."

A silence then loomed over the two, but a single four word sentence emerged in Clementine's head. She hesitated about saying it, but finally made up her mind.

"Luke, I lo-" Snore...

You're kidding me, Clementine though to herself. Luke, was out. His snores mixing with Nick's, she couldn't even tell who's it was anymore.

Since everyone was asleep, she might as well too, who knows? It might be the most stressful day of her life tomorrow, there's only one way to find out.

Her eyes slowly fluttered closed, letting the darkness take over.

*Clementine's dream*

They finally arrived at their destination, a large brick building covered in hanging bodies, hanging from the roof and from broken open windows. People walked through the quads in chains, a guard in the back whipped them if they didn't keep up their pace.

They hauled stone and bricks for other incomplete buildings around the area, the sky was red as blood, making the terrain seem unrealistic, but she could feel it. The hot winds passing through her finger tips, making her hair blow around in her face.

She wore nothing but a large piece of a worn bed sheet, a man approached her from behind and pushed her down to the ground, she hacked up blood and clutched her stomach.

"Get up, you filthy dog!" He yells at her, spit flying and landing on her cheek, he roughly yanks on her wrists and pulls her away, into dark ally-ways and finally into a stone chamber, it reminded her of a castle's torture camber.

The man led her down more confusing and interconnecting hallways and then finally stopped at a large wooden door. He pushed it open and let her in, Clementine fell down on her knees crying at what she saw, the entire group was there.

Their bodies littered around on the ground with a countless number of stab wounds covering them, "You're next."

He pulls out a knife and shanks her, killing her within minutes.

Suddenly, the van came to a halt, the sounds of a gate opening and shouting. They've arrived. The back doors to the van opened and the survivors were blinded by sunlight.

They all looked away, covering their faces with their hands.

"Look at them."

"How old do you think the girl is?"

"Looks like he's been out in the cold, his skin is purple!"

"They look like shit."

"Dude, it smells like feet in there!"

"Hope you enjoyed the trip, new meat."

"Ain't no turning back."

The survivors were hit with a wave of confusion, blistered with panic. The voices were odd, tinged with echo. They willed their eyes to adjust as they squinted toward the light and those speaking.

At first they could only see shifting shadows, but they soon turned into the shapes of bodies- people bending over by the van's doors, looking at them, pointing.

And then, as if the lens of a camera sharpened it's focus, the faces cleared. They were men and women, some of them older and some younger. Clementine didn't know what she'd really expected, but seeing those faces puzzled her.

Fear pumped into her system, What are these people gonna do? Clementine thought to herself. Someone clambered in, a woman, short blonde hair, dark colored clothes, a mask, and familiar eyes, she's seen them before.

The woman pulled on clementine by her shirt and out of the van, "Hey, don't touch her-" "Calm yourself, ass wipe." She says, cutting Luke off, her voice is familiar as well. The woman then turns back to Clementine.

"Nice to meet ya, kid," She says. "Welcome to Wellington."

A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoyed! Whenever I create a new story, I will be asking the audience on their opinion on wether I should continue or not, so tell me, did you like this? Would you like more of this book? Be sure to let me know in the reviews!

Also, I will be taking ideas for OC's! I'm in need of a few OC's for this story, so send your OC! Review and tell me or PM me!

(Stole this from Infintify, sorry, I give you credit!)

Here's the format:

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Personality:

Facial appearance:

Clothing type:

Can't wait to see what you guys can create!

~GHOST