A/N: This story follows the main plot of The Walking Dead: The Final Season but with an idea of how things would be if Duck survived alongside Clementine and AJ.
Those of you who'd like to know what Duck wears since he's much older. He wears a green military jacket, a faded red flannel shirt with a white T-shirt underneath, slightly tattered blue jeans and a pair of brown boots. He also wears Kenny's ball cap.
Hope you all enjoy.
Episode 1: A New Home
''Family isn't who you're born with, it's who you die for.'' -Lincoln Clay, Mafia 3
The drive was a quiet one.
Everyone inside was busy with their own little distractions. Clementine focused on the road the and made sure not to crash into the occasional walker that shambled it's way across, AJ was busy toying with his revolver, which was empty, and Duck stared absentmindedly out the window, his trusty crossbow resting between his legs. He would forever be grateful of the day he found such an invaluable weapon.
''Who wants to play 'I spy with my little eye'?'' Clementine asked, breaking the silence.
''Nah.'' Both the boys replied in unison then and continued what they were doing.
''You guys are no fun.''
When the constant sound of the revolver's chamber being rolled stopped, Duck shifted his gaze to the rear-view mirror and saw A.J's face wince in pain and a hand on his stomach.
''What's wrong, AJ?'' He asked concerned.
''Hungry.''
Duck sighed. They haven't have had a decent meal in two days and their food supply was running dangerously low.
''Here.'' Clementine said and handed him a half-empty bag of potato chips.
A.J eagerly excepted the snack, but then hesitated. ''But...what about you guys?''
''Eat up. We'll find something else.'' Duck reassured him, hoping he would believe those words.
Times were tough, but they had to keep pushing forward. Because that was better than just giving up.
They drove for another hour until arriving at an abandoned train station. Clementine slowed the car to a stop just by the entrance so they could observe the place. It was surrounded by rubble and derailed boxcars but most importantly: Not a single walker in sight.
''Are we gonna do it?'' AJ asked.
''We don't really have much of a choice.'' Duck replied, sounding more bitter than he meant to. He just hoped the place hadn't already been looted like all the others they've been to.
''We're doing it.'' Clementine confirmed and handed AJ a knife for protection.
The trio got out of the car and retrieved the rest of their gear from the trunk. Backpacks, a crowbar, and empty canteens.
There was a sign that stood by the entrance that read:'Friendly? Ring Bell (No Trespassing)'. Below it hung a rusty looking bell.
''Looks like the people here shoot first,'' Clementine commented. Out of curiosity, she went over and rung the bell once.
There was a brief moment silence before the moans of a lone walker could be heard waking up a meters away. Duck aimed his crossbow at the walker and fired. The bolt pierced through the walkers skull with ease. After scanning the area and finding no signs of more walkers, the trio continued past the derailed boxcars until they made it to the main building.
Duck went over the walkers body, pulled the bolt out of its head, and wiped the blood off on corpses shirt before putting it away. He turned to see Clementine and AJ standing by a large tire swing tied to a tree. AJ stared at it with curious eyes.
''Monster trap?'' He asked.
Clementine chuckled a bit. ''No, not a trap. It's a swing.''
''What does it do?''
''You get in the tire, and someone else pushes so that you go really high.'' She explained. ''Wanna give it a try?''
AJ seemed to give it some thought. ''Sure. But after we clear this place.'' He said.
It had been a long time since Duck had ever been on a swing. He remembered his dad pushing him on one at the St. Johns Dairy. Duck shook the thought out of his head. That place gave him nightmares for days.
He approached the door of the main building and tried the doorknob. Unsurprisingly, it was locked.
''I got it.'' Duck heard Clementine say from behind.
She took the crowbar out from her backpack and jammed it against the door. After some effort, the lock broke and the door slid opened slightly.
''A.J, what do we do inside a new place?'' Duck asked. He wanted to make sure the boy knew the rules.
''Listen for monsters.'' He answered quickly.
''Then?''
''Then we...'' AJ thought for a moment.''Always check the windows, always stay quiet and at the first sign of trouble we make our way to the nearest exit.''
''Good.''
Duck entered the building first with his crossbow raised. Once inside, he saw two walkers tied to chairs and facing the window. One looked male and the other a female. The walker couple soon spotted the three and made futile attempts to grab them. On the floor close to them laid a note that Clementine went over to pick up.
''What does it say?'' Duck asked.
''Please leave us alone. This is what we wanted.'' Clementine read the note out loud.
AJ's eyes widened. ''They gave up?''
''Looks like it. But at least they left this world together.'' Duck said without taking his eyes the walker couple.
It always saddened him to find ones that gave up trying. He hoped they at least found a better place in death.
''Duck?'' Clementine's concerned voice snapped him out of his thoughts. ''You okay?''
Duck sighed and looked away from the undead couple. ''Yeah. I'm okay.''
''Hey guys, this doors locked.'' AJ called to them.
He stood by the metal door to the ticket booth. They all took it as a good sign. It mean whatever was inside, someone thought was valuable enough to lock away.
''Well then, let's find out what's inside.'' Clementine said, crowbar in hand.
Getting the door opened proved to be a lot harder than they thought. There was a gap that AJ could crawl through and unlock it from the other side. But neither Duck nor Clementine wanted to put the boy's safety at risk, so they decided to kill the walker couple and hoped one of them had the key, which they thankfully did.
The room was had numerous shelves and cabinets against the walls and a mattress in the middle. In the corner stood an empty crib, though they didn't see a baby anywhere. Duck wondered if that's why the couple gave up.
''This place looks safe. Can we stay here?'' AJ asked after seeing the place was clear of walkers.
It wasn't a bad a idea. The place seemed easy to lock down if any trouble showed up. But with no food, that wouldn't matter.
''We'll see.'' Clementine replied .
The little boy frowned. ''No one's here. No one's ever anywhere. It's always just monsters where ever we go.''
''A.J, there's not many people left,'' Duck said. ''But we got each other at least. That's all that matters.''
''I know but-'' AJ's eyes lit up as something caught his eye. He ran over to one of the shelves and grabbed two bullets laying there. He was happy to see they could fit in his revolver.
''Remember our three rules about handling a gun?'' Clementine asked him.
''Always aim for the head, never hesitate, and...''AJ's demeanor quickly changed to a somber one. ''Always save the last bullet for yourself.''
It was a sad thing for a child so young to have to know. But in a world where monsters would eat whether you're young or old, it was necessary. That's what Duck always reminded himself. When staring down at the floor, he noticed something metal blocked by the mattress.
''I think I found something over here.'' He went over and pushed the mattress aside.
In its place was a metal trap door. Duck pulled the door opened and found a large stash of food inside.
''Holy shit!'' AJ exclaimed as he saw it.
Usually, Clementine or Duck would berate the boy for cursing, but they were just as equally stunned by their discovery. There seemed to be enough cans and jars of food to last them for weeks. For once their luck was finally turning around.
At least that's what they thought until a grenade with no pin rolled into view. Their looks of excitement quickly changed to horror. It was rigged.
''Get down!"' Duck yelled as he slammed the metal door shut.
BOOM!
The shock wave from the explosion caused them to fall to the ground. Duck's ears were ringing for a bit as he slowly got up.
''Is everyone alright?'' He asked worriedly.
''We're fine.'' Clementine replied. She grabbed hold of AJ in an attempt to shield him from the blast.
When the ringing in their ears stopped, they could hear audible groaning coming from outside the station. Duck went and looked out the window to see dozens of walkers shambling from the trees and heading towards them after the explosion got their attention.
''Shit! Walkers!'' He exclaimed.
''How many?'' Clementine asked.
''Too many. We need to get to the car!''
Not needing to be told twice, the trio stormed out the train station and headed to their car, killing any walkers that got in their way. Once inside, Clementine jammed the keys into the ignition but it wouldn't start.
''Come on, you piece of shit!'' She said furiously trying to get it to start.
Walkers were surrounding the car at that point. The sound of glass breaking from behind got their attention as one walker tried to crawl through the now open back window.
''AJ, down!'' Duck said as he aimed his crossbow.
The boy got down and Duck was able to get a good shot before the walker could grab him.
The car's engine finally started.
''Buckle up!'' Clementine said as she put it in gear. As she was about to drive off, a walker busted through her side window and grabbed her.
''Clem!'' Duck screamed. He didn't want to waste time loading another bolt and instead grabbed the walker by its head and tried to push it out.
The car crashed into something at full force, a walker most likely, and went rolling down a hill. Ducks head collided with the ceiling and his vision went black.
When Duck finally regained consciousness, his skull felt like it had been cracked like an egg. The car was upside down but his seat-belt kept him from falling. Below him was his dad's ball cap. The last gift he gave his son.
''AJ, are you okay!?'' He asked.
A soft groan could be heard from the back of the car. ''I'm fine. I had my seat-belt on.'' He answered.
''Can you move?''
''I think so.''
''What about you, Clem?'' Duck asked but got no answer. He looked to his side and saw Clementine's arms hanging limp in the air. ''Clem!?''
She still gave no response. Fearing the worst, Duck pressed his fingers her neck and relieved to still feel a pulse.
''Is she okay?'' AJ asked worriedly.
''Yeah, just unconscious.'' Duck reassured him. The familiar groaning sounds were getting closer. ''We need to move. Quick.''
Duck unbuckled his seat-belt and went falling on to the ceiling but recovered and put his hat back on. AJ did the same while Duck work to unbuckle Clementine, making sure she didn't fall down. He then dragged her unconscious body out of the car and carried her in his arms. Walker's were closing in on them from all sides.
''AJ, hurry up!'' Duck exclaimed.
AJ came crawling out of the car with Clementine's hat in one hand.
''I just needed to grab Clem's-'' AJ's eyes widened as he looked over Duck's shoulder. ''LOOK OUT!''
Duck turned around just in time to see a walker coming up to grab him. He put one arm up to keep it from biting him and Clementine but he wouldn't be able to hold it off for long. AJ pulled out his gun and was about to fire when an arrow pierced through the side of the walkers head and fell down.
The boys turned to where the arrow came from and saw a boy and girl standing just a few feet away. They both had blonde hair and looked to be about Duck's age. The boy had a bow in one hand and the girl had a meat cleaver.
''Who are-'' Duck tried but the girl cut him off.
''Marlon, we gotta go now!'' She said to the boy as walkers were getting closer.
The boy, Marlon, nodded at the girl and looked at them. ''Come with us if you want to live.'' He said.
Seeing there wasn't really any other choice, Duck and AJ followed to the two strangers away from the walkers and to what they hoped was safety.