Chapter 1

Everyone

Clementine

"Luke?"

The thick, icy snow that the pair were trudging through was beginning to make Clementine's feet numb, paining her with every step. A cold, roaring wind buffeted their clothes and sent flakes of snow into their face and burned their eyes until they were a faint red. Luke was stomping through the white lush a little ways ahead, shielding his eyes from the wind with his free hand, his machete gripped in the other. When Clementine had spoken, he turned around and faced her, a small smile creeping on his face.

"Hm?" Luke inquired, gazing softly at the little girl standing in the middle of the snow behind him.

"How much further?" Clementine had to raise her voice so he could hear her over the wind, "I'm freezing. I think I got frostbite on my feet."

Luke crossed his arms, the grin remaining on him as he looked across to her sympathetically, one eyebrow raised, "You're not giving up on me now are ya?"

"Luke!" Clementine snapped, frustrated and annoyed by his comment. They had been trekking all day in this weather, and all she wanted was a warm, quiet place to rest up and not have to deal with the snow any longer. They also hadn't eaten in a while from the small stash of food that they carried, because Luke thought it was best to ration it from time to time so it would last longer.

"Okay, okay. Fine." Sheathing his machete, Luke started to walk across to Clementine. She watched him approach stiffly, puzzled. Then, when he was just a few inches away from her, he turned around so his back was facing her and crouched low with his hands outstretched behind him, "Hop up."

Clementine backed away slightly, confused, "What?"

Luke looked over his shoulder at her, his eyes soft but impatient, "Ya rather walk the rest of the way until we find shelter?"

Clementine smiled a little at how considerate her friend was being towards her, and slowly leaped up onto Luke's back, fastening her arms around his neck gently so she wouldn't choke him. He stood up, making sure she was holding on tight before he continued through the snow.

"Thank you." Clementine muttered, relieved to finally be off of her numb feet and have some warmth.

Luke nodded briskly, his chestnut eyes lightening, "Anything for you, Clem."

It was her and Luke against the walkers now. They used to be part of a much larger group, but they were gone now. Her and Luke were the only ones left from it. For a whole year, they watched after each other, and that was the only reason they were still alive to this day. Without Luke, Clementine might not of made it a week outside of Carver's community. Ditto the other way around.

When they had left Carver's prison-like place, it was just her, Luke, and Kenny. They were separated from the rest of the group, most likely devoured by walkers in the herd. Finding a few cans of food in an abandoned inn not far away, they eventually made it their new shelter. But one day, Kenny went off to look for more supplies by himself, and never came back. Clementine and Luke went out looking for him, but instead found his walkerfied corpse in the middle of the road, wandering around a bag full of food and supplies that Kenny must have retrieved. The pair was forced to put Kenny down so they could take the supplies, but they made sure to bury Kenny's corpse and grieve for a few hours before they headed back to the inn. When they arrived, the inn was completely overrun by walkers. Too many for Luke and Clementine to wipe out, so they set off towards Wellington, the only other place rumored to be safe. Unfortunately, it was the middle of winter, so it was extremely cold and difficult for them to travel. The snow slowed down the walkers, which was the only upside to the season.

They continued through the snow, and Clementine found herself dozing off on Luke's shoulder. She was only awoken by the howling winds that seemed to get louder within every second. The weather was getting even worse, the wind picking up even more than it was before, and Clementine felt Luke shudder against the cold.

"We should really find a place to stay," She pointed out, pitying Luke as he carried her on his back and fought against the incoming blizzard at the same time, "I think there's a blizzard coming."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinkin'." Luke paused, gazing around the area. All that surrounded them was a valley of snow, not a single object in sight. Not even a walker was roaming around. They were alone, "On second thought...maybe we should keep walking until we find a place. Cos' by the looks of it, there's nothing out here but us."

Another gust of wind caused Clementine to shiver. It was only a matter of time before time ran out and they would freeze to death out here. Her breath was coming out of her mouth like clouds, but it was quickly swept away by the wind afterwards.

All of a sudden, Luke turned abruptly, scaring Clementine slightly. She flew open her hazel eyes and stared forward worriedly, "What? What is it?"

Luke lifted his arms and brought Clementine off of his back and set her down against a nearby stone, keeping his gaze calm as if not to worry the young girl, "I think I saw a walker over there. Let me take care of it real quick, okay Clem?"

Clementine looked up at him as he pulled his machete out of the strap on his back, confused. She observed the winter land around them, seeing nothing in sight, "I don't see anything."

He started to back away, still facing her, "Well, I saw somethin'. And it's better to be safe than sorry." Luke lifted one finger, "Now...just sit there. I'll be back in a hurry, I promise."

Clementine didn't know why, but she didn't feel comfortable being alone without Luke, "L-Luke..."She quaked anxiously, hugging herself tightly to warm up as he began sprinting away.

"It's alright, Clem!"

His footsteps faded away as he stomped across the snow, his machete in hand. Clementine watched as he paused and eyed the lump of snow around him. There was a rather long silence as Luke paced around, his eyes scanning the floor. Clementine suddenly felt pity for him, realizing that he could be hallucinating the walker instead due to the extreme cold. Luke rubbed the back of his hair doubtingly before he slowly lowered the machete. Then, before he could react, a snow-covered walker burst out from the heap, lunging for Luke's leg. Luckily, he moved quick enough to twist around with a shout, slicing through the walker's head with his weapon. It fell on its side, dead.

Clementine sighed with relief, glad that her friend was alright. But something still wasn't right. There was something odd about the atmosphere that surrounded her, turning her blood cold. She couldn't quiet figure out what was wrong, but it must have been nothing. It could have just been the worry for Luke wearing off. Clementine gave him a soft smile as he started to make his way back to her, sheathing his machete once again. He leaned down to lift her up onto his back, his dark brown eyes gentle, "I told you it'd be quick, kiddo."

Clementine smirked softly, beginning to push herself to her feet. Suddenly, the earth began...shaking. There was a quiet rumble as the snow around them started shifting loudly. Then, a rotten gray hand exploded from the surface,followed by a growl. Another pair of arms popped out a little ways away from it, then another. After a few moments, a dozen walkers were staggering out of the snow, their gnarled teeth bared in snarls as they spotted the pair of survivors.

"Come on!" Luke caught Clementine by surprise as he grabbed her quickly and swept her straight off of her feet, "No time for dawdlin'!"

Looking over his shoulder, Clementine began to feel sick as she witnessed the sight of the descending walkers. Some of them had been underneath for so long that their bodies were completely rotten, and their torsos would be ripped apart, spilling raw, stinking guts over the once-white snow. The others eventually found their footing and they began trudging after them, growling. More walkers, hearing the moans of their dead friends, started breaking through the ice and crawled after them. One lurker came out from under the ice and grabbed Luke by the ankle, but he had stomped its head in easily and went on running.

Too many of them were descending from the snow, and it was a matter of time before one of them grabbed hold of Luke again and actually sank its teeth into his flesh. The thought of her friend getting bitten brought chills through her spine.

"Luke!" Clementine exclaimed, choked up in fear. Luke looked down at her, his eyes wide and worried, "Hand me the pistol we found in the marketplace the other day!"

About two days ago, her and Luke had discovered an abandoned marketplace that seemed to be ridden of walkers. They found a few bodies that had been shot in the head already, and a bunch of medicine and bandages along with a silver pistol. At first, Clementine was skeptical of taking it since it reminded her so much of the gun that was used to end Omid's life so long ago. But Luke grabbed it for her and they both smiled when they realized it had a good amount of ammunition left in it. They already had two guns, one empty and one with only two rounds remaining.

Luke had shuffled the pistol in his hands before handing it over to Clementine, "Here ya go, Clem. You can have it."

Clementine had taken the gun away from him slowly, bewildered, "R-Really?"

He put his hands on his hips, one eyebrow raised, "Sure, why not? From what I know, you're a pretty good shot with pistols. I think this one'll be good for ya. What do ya think?"

She had gazed down at it, unsure of what she felt about it, "I don't know...wouldn't you be better at it?"

Luke shook his head curtly, "Naw, I've got my machete with me. Come on, Clem, you can have it. It's sort of like a gift," He grinned lightly, "From me to you."

Clementine nodded, trying to shove the thought of Omid and Christa out of her mind, "Okay, I'll take it." She slid it into her pocket and looked back at Luke happily.

"Now," Luke lifted his hand, not finished just yet, "Don't go...shootin' that thing for no reason, alright? This ammo should last us a while, but don't waste it." His eyes narrowed, suddenly serious, "Fire only if you absolutely need to. Emergency only, got it Clem?"

Clementine had shrugged, her eyes soft, "Got it."

This, was definetely an emergency. She had put the gun in Luke's pocket because hers was a little small for it. Now, she regretted making that choice more than anything as they raced across the snow, dodging the lunging walkers.

Luke shook his head, his hair ruffled, "Clem, I-"

Without thinking, Clementine reached down and snatched the pistol herself. Luke stared at her anxiously as she twisted around to point the gun over Luke's shoulder. One of them was inching closer to them, its bony fingers outstretched and begging for flesh to devour. Clementine pointed the gun at its head and pulled the trigger, killing it.

The extremely loud bang hurt Clementine's ears, making them ring and block out all of the moaning coming from the walkers. Luke's ears must have been effected by the noise also, because he turned his head to glare at her, "You tryin' to get me deaf in that ear?" He snapped, "And don't waste the ammo! I'll outrun 'em."

Clementine ignored him, "No you won't." She raised the pistol and opened fire.

About two weeks after Kenny died, Clementine and Luke were still shaken and anxious about facing the future ahead of them. They settled in a rickety, small department store not far from the overrun inn. Almost all of the sections inside were infested with walkers, forcing the pair to barricade themselves in a small room by the entrance. There was a few dirty sleeping bags laid on the floor, along with a lighter and a few bottles of alcohol. Right when Luke's eyes rested on the bottles, he reached for one and twisted open the top. Clementine stopped him abruptly, pointing out that getting drunk would just make things worse for both of them. Luke obeyed and placed the bottles neatly in the corner of the room as if he was trying to fight the urge to grab them.

That night, the banging and moans on the room door subsided, and Luke and Clementine can finally relax. Luke began scoping out the drawers and cabinets in the room, and he later uncovered a can of clementines. He had joked about her name and the title of the food, but little after he got over it and they sat down to eat the clementines.

They sat in silence before Luke finally popped open the top of the can and the sweet aroma of clementines filled the air and made Clementine's mouth water. He looked down at the fruit for a few moments, not saying a word.

Suddenly, he stretched out his arm and held out the can of clementines to her, "Here, you can have it."

Clementine looked at the can, then at her friend, shocked, "What? No! We're sharing it!"

Luke just shook his head, grinning lightly, "I can live off of the beans. You deserve something sweet."

Clementine couldn't accept his offer. He looked beaten and hungry, and she probably looked the same, "No way I'm eating all of it! You deserve it, too." She gave Luke the classic puppy-dog eyes that always made him stumble into a guilt trip.

He sighed loudly, rolling his eyes, "Alright, alright, fine! But don't be whinin' about how ya didn't get enough of it after it's gone."

Then, he rationed the clementines half and half and put Clementine's in a white plastic bowl that he found beside the can. Then, he slid it over to her and smiled, "Eat up."

Clementine happily scooped her hand into the soft fruit and tossed them into her mouth. The sweetness exploded on her tongue, and she continued gobbling them up gingerly.

She must have been eating too fast, because Luke placed his finger on the edge of her bowl and gazed at her, "Don't you go eatin' it all in the next couple seconds, okay? Eat slowly and enjoy it."

Clementine raised an eyebrow at him amusingly as he went back to eating his own clementines. She listened to him and ate each piece one by one, savoring the taste. Once they were all gone, her and Luke laid down on the ground, not minding the cold surface that chilled their backs. Clementine's stomach felt warm and full from the clementines.

"Hey," Luke's voice broke the comfortable silence that hung between them.

Clementine turned her head to face his, her eyes still delighted from the sweetness of the fruits.

She wasn't expecting to see Luke's gaze so hard and serious, "You trust me on this, right?" He inquired, even his tone sounding low compared to the delighted voice he usually owned.

Clementine stared at him, puzzled, "Trust you on what?"

Luke let out a grunt as he leaned forward and put himself into a sitting position, "You trust me to keep ya safe? To make sure you never get bitten? Or hurt?"

She rose up to a sit along with him, surprised by his question. Clementine never really thought about whether or not Luke was doing a good job at keeping them both alive. As long as their hearts were beating, that was all that mattered. But this question had taken her aback, and at first she didn't know what to say in response.

"I..." Clementine shrugged, locking her hazel eyes into his, "I guess so. I mean...we made it this far."

"Yeah? Well I feel like I'm not doing a pretty good job." Luke rested his head on his arms, and his dark hair covered his face like a curtain, "Since when are we so excited to find one measly can of clementines? We're runnin' out of food, and I feel like I can't do nothin' about it."

Clementine glanced sideways at him, shocked to see her friend blaming himself for their troubles, "Well, that's because you can't do anything about it. The dead pretty much decide who eats and who doesn't nowadays."

Luke sighed quietly, "I guess you're right," he admitted softly, "But you sure would rather be with some big group of fit guys with lots of food and supplies, huh?"

Clementine stared at him, eyes wide, "What? No I wouldn't!"

Luke looked at her stiffly and chuckled, "Oh, really, huh?"

Clementine couldn't see herself with anyone else besides Luke without feeling safe. He was like an older brother to her...like another Lee. She never compared anyone with Lee before.

"Luke," Clementine stammered, trying to find the words to describe her care for the man, "You're the best friend anyone could ever have...I would never leave you. We're going through this together, okay?"

He stared at her in awe, as if he was still letting her words sink in. They were all true, and Clementine hoped that Luke actually believed her statement. She was also hoping that he felt the same way, and that he wouldn't ever abandon her or put her into dangerous situations, or hurt her in any way. But she never really doubted him, noting that if he did have intentions of abandoning her, he would've done it already.

"Thanks, Clem." Was all Luke had to say, along with that half-smile that he used a lot. But Clementine knew somehow that he really did appreciate her words.

Clementine decided to tease him with the one sentence that he would always tell her. She grinned slightly and leaned forward, messing up Luke's brown hair with her hand."Anything for you, Lukey."

"Lukey?!" He gasped, raising his eyebrows. She knew he hated when he called him that.

Luke grabbed her hand playfully and gazed at her, the light returning into his eyes as he adjusted the hat on her head jokingly, "What if I called you Clemmy Clue from now on, huh?"

Clementine hated that nickname.

Clementine had shot down most of the walkers, but there were still more emerging from the thick snow, and she was running out of ammo. It felt like they had been running for years, decades maybe. She could hear Luke's breath getting louder and louder as his stamina was being drained from his muscles.

Suddenly, Luke's sprint stopped all together. Clementine, who had been shooting down some of the incoming walkers, turned around to look over her shoulder, confused. Her eyes dropped downward and rested on the huge trench that was in front of them. Its rocky surface sloped down into a rushing river that had some stones jutting out of the waters. They were trapped.

"Clem, we have to jump." Luke panted, his grip tightening on the girl as he stared down the drop.

"What?! Are you crazy?" Clementine shouted in disbelief. If they jumped, there was almost no chance they would survive.

"Just trust me, alright?" Luke started backing away from the cliff, "I'll keep you safe."

The walkers were getting quicker now, as if they realized that they were now cornered. Clementine stared back at them, then at Luke.

"Luke, you-"

She didn't get enough time to finish her sentence. Luke bolted forward with such speed that Clementine thought she would fly out of Luke's arms. The fast movement caused her to drop the silver glock she had been using, and it plummeted onto the snow as he ran. Then, she felt a rush of air. Everything felt like it was functioning in some sort of slow-motion. Like she was in a dream. Clementine gazed up, seeing the gray clouds that dotted the morning sky. The icy wind that she felt was beginning to create tears in her eyes.

Then, the moment was gone. They hit the ground with so much impact that Clementine felt like she was being impaled in the stomach. Luke had kept his promised by holding onto her the whole time, but even he couldn't shield her from the rocky floor that their bodies made contact with. As the pair fell and rolled a little ways down the slope, there was a snapping noise and flaming pain rose up Clementine's leg. She let out an air-ripping scream as her leg slammed against a nearby stone then fell limp.

Her leg was broken.