Title: Everyone's Luck Runs Out
Characters: Clementine, Kenny, and Mike
Summary: The shoot out is a blood-bath, but the tension is only beginning as the walkers approach the sound of the gunshots, their hunger at an all time high. Kenny has to make a stomach-turning decision that would change the fate of the last person he cares dearly for.
Anyone would've thought that Clementine would be used to the feeling of blood on her face. The thing was, she never ever got used to it. When she had shot Rebecca, the mother's blood had soared all over her. She'd never forget the cold feeling of horror as her eyes rested on the turned woman. No hesitation. She hadn't even blinked...
"Clementine?"
She felt a hand grab hold of her shoulder. That was Kenny's muffled voice she could hear, cracking and weak against the roaring wind. Her face was cushioned in the snow, her raven-black hair covering her closed eyes like a curtain. She didn't want to move. It felt so peaceful...
"Clementine!"
That was when she felt the pain. Her hearing cleared, drowning out the faint ringing still echoing in her ears. Her jaw-line felt like it was on fire. Instinctively, she let out a quiet wail and placed her fingers on the area, only to bring her hand back when she felt the warmth of blood. Had she gotten shot?
"Clem! Clem, open your eyes. Come on!" Kenny's voice was clearer now, but it also had an edge that told Clementine that she really needed to obey him.
Clementine blinked open her light, hazel eyes. Everything had to take a moment to focus before she could observe Kenny leaning over her. His dark green coat was covered in blood, and the bandage on his eye looked like it was about to fall off. He looked horrible.
"Jesus, Clem. Ya scared me for a second," The man mumbled, his eyebrows raised. He quickly knitted them back together when he moved her hand away from her face, "It's alright, it's just a graze."
She could tell he was lying.
"L-Listen, Clem. You gotta stay awake," Kenny said tensely, swiftly moving a strand of hair from her half-open eyes, "I'm gonna get ya outta here."
"Kenny!"
Mike's voice came from behind him, and the male came rushing to Kenny's side, the baby cradled in his arms. Rebecca's son was wailing terribly loud, his cheeks flushed as he screamed. Clementine felt a pang of relief. The baby was safe.
Kenny turned his head, "What?!"
Mike looked nearly untouched. He only had a stain of blood on his shirt, probably given to him from the baby, that had been right under Rebecca when she was shot, "It's Arvo! He ran off!"
Kenny's teeth clenched in frustration, "What?"
"Luke...Luke and Bonnie are going after him." Mike finished, holding the baby closer to his chest and rocking him gently in an effort to quiet his cries, "I told them it wasn't worth it. But.."
Kenny jerked his face back to look at Clementine. She could see the ferocity in his eye, but it faded as he gazed down at her. Her head was throbbing so much it felt like her forehead was going to burst. The pain on her jaw-line was getting worse quickly, and she could feel the trickle of blood rush down the side of her neck. But she kept her eyes open, determined to stay awake for Kenny's sake.
Kenny let out a long exhale before glaring back at Mike and grumbling, "I don't give a shit about Arvo! Clementine's wounded, Mike. She's my top priority right now."
"But what if there's more Russians out there, and Arvo's leading Luke and Bonnie right to them? We have to do something!" Mike quaked, his eyes wide.
"Jesus christ, Mike!" Kenny pulled his hands away and balled them into fists as he straightened up into a kneel, "You're handling Rebecca's son right now, I'm tryin' to get Clem movin'. We can't risk goin' out there! Stop worryin' about your girlfriend and stay focused!"
Mike looked taken aback by Kenny's blast, but he quickly blinked away his surprise, "Y-You're right. I'm sorry, I..."
"Shit!" Kenny cut him off, unballing his hand and gesturing behind him down the trail, "Walkers!"
The word 'walkers' made Clementine shoot her eyes open. She turned her head to the side and gazed down the snowy valley trail. A group of about five or so walkers were making their way towards them, groaning. They must have been drawn by the gunshots. Her adrenaline started running in an instant, and she grabbed her handgun that had been laying beside her. Clementine stifled a few coughs before pushing herself up to a sitting position and gripping the gun tighter.
"Clem, stay back." Kenny snapped, standing up and swiping his crowbar off of the stone she was leaning on.
"I-I can help, Kenny. You-" Clementine stopped as a fit of coughing overthrew her. She covered her mouth with the palm that just so happened to be covered with blood, leaving her face stained with the dark red fluid. Kenny looked sadly at her, narrowing his eye.
"No, you stay right here. I ain't riskin' you." Kenny told her, turning to Mike and taking Rebecca's son out of his arms. He quickly knelt down and slid the baby on Clementine's lap, "Hold him while Mike and I handle them walkers."
She set the handgun down reluctantly and cradled the baby boy. His squeals quieted almost instantly as she held him, as if he remembered Clementine from the night before during their small bonding moment. Kenny heaved himself back onto his feet and gave Mike a quick nod. He tossed Mike Clem's handgun and together, they started sprinting towards the group of walkers. Kenny raised his crowbar and smashed it right between the first walker's eyes. The rotting person's arms went limp, his skull still attached to Kenny's crowbar. Kenny kicked the walker out of his weapon's grip and swung it into the next one's head. Mike, in an effort to conserve ammo, grabbed one of the walkers by the neck and threw it onto the snow. He then proceeded to bring his shoe down on it's head, destroying the brain and spurting blood all over his dark jeans.
Clementine's eyes began to weigh down once again. Her wound was bleeding more heavily, and she could see dribbles of the red fluid start to fall on the baby's blanket. Rebecca's son started to cry once again, raising his soft hands towards Clementine's face. She took hold of his hand and held it tightly, closing her eyes. Fatigue crashed over her, and the sound of the walker moans were fading away. With the feel of the baby's smooth fingers enter-twined with hers, she started to drift...off...
A hand grabbed her. At first, she thought it was Kenny's, but when she shot open her eyes, she could see Kenny and Mike still fighting off the walkers in the distance. Clementine let out a scream as she heard the familiar growls. Walker!
It was far too late. The walker lunged forward, still keeping its rotten fingers wrapped around her wrist. Teeth sank into her skin, and she could feel a strike of pain rush up her whole arm.
NO!
Clementine shrieked so loud that her lungs tightened and it turned into a high-pitch squeal as she attempted to wrestle away. The walker had its torso torn off, but that didn't slow it down, its grip didn't loosen a bit as Clementine tried ripping free.
"Clementine?" Kenny whipped around, his eye huge and flashing in worry. He saw her in the snow, baby in arms, as the walker grasped her forearm tightly, "CLEMENTINE!" Kenny didn't even hesitate as he turned and bolted back towards them, "Oh SHIT!" He reached them in a matter of seconds, grabbing the walker by its shirt collar and pulling it backwards. As soon as the walker felt the touch, it released Clementine and turned to Kenny, who immediately slammed his crowbar into its face. The walker rolled over onto its back, and Kenny smashed his weapon multiple times into its head.
Clementine laid in the snow, heaving loudly. She had kept her arm wrapped around Rebecca's son, keeping it safe even after the walker had gotten her. Once Kenny was sure the walker was dead, he knelt down beside her and turned Clementine onto her back.
"Clem! Clem, are you alright?" He quaked, his voice shaking as he stared down at the girl.
Clementine didn't answer. She was bit. It was over.
"Clem, you gotta answer me!" Kenny snapped, placing his cold hand on her cheek, "Can you hear me?"
Mike had finished the last walker, and he started jogging up to them, puzzled, "Kenny! What's going on?"
Kenny didn't answer, he took the baby from Clementine's arms and handed him to Mike, who took him quickly. The baby was still wailing, but Mike didn't care much as he gazed down at Clementine.
"Come on, Clem." Kenny told her, his voice softer but still tense, "We gotta go find Luke and Bonnie. We're gonna get you outta here...get ya ear fixed up. And-"
"I'M BIT!" Clementine yelled, raising her arm shakily. She gulped loudly, suddenly feeling very sick to her stomach. It felt like the infection was already spreading...was this what Lee felt like when he got bit?
Kenny and Mike were silent in horror. The older man just had to glance at the bite before he threw his hands over his eyes and let out a series of curses under his breath. Mike's eyes widened, opening his mouth to say something but not having the guts to utter a single word.
Kenny finally let out a long exhale, "I ain't doin' this shit. I'm not loosin' you too, Clementine. Mike, get me somethin'..."
Mike looked at him, astonished, "What?"
"Get me Luke's machete."
Clementine peeled open her eyes, "No! Kenny, please-"
"Go, Mike!" Kenny roared, cutting Clementine off fiercely as he raised a finger at Mike, "And I saw the Russian's bags in the forest. They probably have some sorta bandages or somethin'. I'll need that to put pressure on it. Go!"
Mike stayed still for a few moments before nodding quickly and running off, holding the baby close in his arms. Kenny turned back to Clementine, a frown shadowing his face as he looked at her.
"It didn't work for Lee," Clementine choked out. She could feel tears start to form at the edges of her eyes, and they began streaming down her face.
"It'll work for you. I promise" Kenny said seriously, re-positioning her onto the stone so she laid back on it, "Remember Reggie? He sure made it."
Clementine let out a raspy sigh, sniffling and wiping her tears with her unbitten hand. She shook her head feebly and looked Kenny dead in the eye. Clementine kept her voice as steady as she could as she whispered, "It didn't work for Sarita, Kenny."
Kenny looked surprised at her words at first, but he quickly gathered himself together and replied, "We ain't in the middle of no walker herd this time, darlin."
Before Clementine could respond, Mike returned. He panted loudly as he dropped a dark green bag beside Kenny along with Luke's machete. Kenny instantly scuffled through the bag and pulled out all of the said supplies that was needed.
Mike stood above them, gazing sadly at Clementine, "Kenny, I should do it. I did it for Reggie..."
Kenny sighed, standing up, "Fine. We need to get this over with as fast as we can, Mike. There's no way I'm lettin' Clem get infected." He walked around the stone and put his arm on Clementine's shoulder, pulling her gently so she could lay her arm ontop of the flat rock. Kenny slowly took the baby from Mike and narrowed his eyes, "Listen, Mike. Clementine's fate is in your hands. Remember that. Got it?"
Mike held the machete in his hands, and Clementine could see he was trembling, "Yeah, I got it, Kenny." He knelt down beside the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder, "It'll be over before you know it, Clem. We gotta take this chance."
Clementine felt tears begin escaping her eyes again, but she let them fall this time, "I...I know. Are you s-sure I won't bleed out?"
Kenny knelt down beside them, rocking the baby gently, "Those Russian guys left a shitload of supplies. You'll be fine, Clem."
Clementine wished she could believe him. The wound on her jaw-line was getting worse and worse, and chopping off her hand wasn't going to make it any better. She gathered her courage and nodded, "Okay. Okay. I'll trust you...I just want it over with."
"So do I, Clem," Kenny breathed, "So do I..."
Clementine had more to say. What were the chances she wouldn't bleed to death, even if they wrapped it up? They were in the middle of nowhere. And more Russians can be around every corner. This wasn't the right time at all.
Mike wiped his face free of sweat and raised the machete slowly. Kenny started to shut his eyes.
"Wait," Clementine said sternly before he could strike. Kenny gazed at her and frowned sadly. It looked like he had a lot to say, too, "But just in case I don't make it out of this..."
"Clem!" Kenny grumbled, narrowing his eye, "Don't go on sayin' things like that. I'm not lettin' you die. Just..."
Clementine ignored him as she went on, "I want you to find Christa. I know she's out there somewhere. Please find her and take care of the baby. Christa used to have a baby, but...nevermind that. She'll know what to do. Please, Kenny!"
Kenny looked down at the snow, shutting his eye tightly. He lifted a pale hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Mike looked at Clementine then at the man, also waiting for a response.
"You'll be..." He started, but he clearly thought better of it and started again, "Alright, alright. Clem, I'll do that for you. But that doesn't mean you're gonna die. We'll both be able to track down Christa. I assure you."
Clementine looked away from him, but the thought of seeing Christa again warmed her heart and stopped her from arguing, "Thanks, Kenny."
The man leaned forward and gave her a long hug. She returned the embrace, sniffling as tears continued running down her cheeks. This might be the last time she would be able to hug the man. She didn't want it to ever end, but Clementine finally forced herself to pull away and flash a light grin at him.
Her thoughts were running around in her mind, and it only made her more terrified for what was to come. Lee kept popping up in her head, and she could almost see his figure standing in front of her, watching her proudly. But it must have just been an hallucination...she must be going insane from the walker bite. She then realized that the clock was ticking, and Mike had to get rid of her arm fast or else it would be too late. It was now, or never.
"I'm ready."
Mike also knew that time was running out, and he raised the machete. It's blade was shimmering in the dim sunlight, gleaming a stream of light onto her arm. Clementine closed her eyes tightly.
"I'm sorry, Clem." Mike murmered quietly, his hands shaking more than ever now. It must have been a lot easier for him to maim Reggie, but a little girl...
Please work...!
Mike brought the machete down onto her arm, and there was a split second before the blade hit her flesh where she could hear a faint voice in her ear.
"I love you, Sweetpea."