Disclaimer: The Walking Dead Seires is NOT my work, it is owned by TellTale. All rights, commendation and acknowledgement goes to them.
However, "Derek Brooks" is my own fictional character and apparently the only thing i own in this story.
Chapter 1
The rumbling sounds of the car echoed, Clementine stared at the road, wondering what to do next. Two years of scavenging, two years of survival, two years of staying alive. It was hard for her and AJ. Whenever they had a chance to stay and settle, walkers told them otherwise. She's sick and tired of running, AJ is too. She knows that but unless she has a better plan (or an actual plan). This is all she can do for now.
While thinking for her next destination, her train of thought was interrupted by a yawn beside her. She glanced to the person beside her, Derek Brooks, A boy, not older than 20. His spiky, short, deep dark black hair gave him a clean view of his angled face. His ocean-blue eyes, still sleepy just from waking up. His well-built muscles clung on his clothes in every move.
He is wearing a black hoodie with bandoliers strapped around his chest, black tactical gloves, black worn-out combat pants, and military-issue combat boots. More or less, each and every single clothing he wore is mostly composed of black.
Clementine met him after she got back to her and AJ's makeshift safehouse from a scavenging run, he was interacting with AJ, acting as if there was nothing wrong in the world. Long story short, they decided to stick together.
"Oh man. Morning already?" The Derek asked, scratching his head furiously.
"Good morning, Derek." Clementine laughed softly at him. Derek groaned and rubbed both of his shoulders and twisted his neck around a little.
"Ugh. My back hurts." Derek groaned out in slight pain.
"You sound like an old man." Clementine said, chuckling at his demise. Derek gave her a pointed look and proceeded to stretch out his sore muscles as much as he can despite the cramped conditions.
"I'm not that old…. Maybe. Where are we now?" Derek looked around the car and saw the rich forest and vegetation around. Clementine shrugged at him and focused back on the road.
Derek rolled his eyes and sighed, he rummages around his seat for his rucksack. Finding it on the floor, he picked it up and proceeds to take in inventory.
'Machete, throwing knives, two rolls of duct tape, some nails, water. Water?' He grabbed the water bottle and gave it a few experimental swirls.
'Not much.' He puts the bottle back in the pack. Noticing not much food left, he shook his head in disapproval.
"Tsk. We're running out of food. This is all that's left from my rations." He opened his hands, revealing a single canned food, an apple, and a granola bar, or what appears to be a granola bar. "We can't keep this up. We need to find food." Putting back the contents, Derek put his hand on his face, and leaned towards the window and stared outside, frustration building up. Clementine's eyes darkened by the news, she furrowed her eyebrows, thinking for a solution. She sighs, feeling suddenly tired.
"We'll find a way. Just like we always do, remember?" Clementine finally said. Derek hummed in response. Clementine looks at him in worry, before focusing back on the road, not wanting to get into any accidents.
'Not again.' She thought bitterly, remembering the final separation between her and Kenny.
In the corner of the rear-view mirror, she saw AJ slowly waking up. He groaned awake, scratching his head a little.
"Morning, goofball." Clementine greets, smiling a little. Derek perked up a little, but maintained his focus on the window. AJ groaned in annoyance from the backseat of the car.
"It's not goofball. It's Alvin Junior…" AJ protested, slightly pouting from his baby name.
"What?" Clementine mocked surprise. "I thought you liked goofball." Derek chuckled and shook his head in amusement.
"Come on, who in the right mind, likes to be called goofball?" He said amusingly, turning his head from the window to look at Clementine, AJ agreed to the statement and nodded wholeheartedly.
"Hey! It's not that bad." Clementine protested. "Besides, I like goofball." She finished with a soft smile.
"Your kid, your rules I suppose." Derek chuckled.
AJ suddenly groans and holds his stomach. Derek, showing concern to the kid, turned around.
"You okay kiddo?" AJ shook his head. "Hungry." He says, clutching his stomach.
Derek nodded his head in understanding and rummages through his rucksack for the apple. He grabbed the apple and tossed it to AJ.
"Eat up little buddy. I still got more for Clem and I but not much."
AJ happily munched through the apple, despite the staleness. An idea went up in Derek's head and opened the car's glovebox, revealing a small toy, Disco Broccoli.
"Hey kid! Munching your daily fibers, now are you? Well, good for you!" Derek mimicked, although it was horribly failing, AJ still laughed soundly, earning a smile from Derek and reassuring Clementine. Derek grabbed the granola bar from his pack, opened and offered it to Clementine.
"Want some?" Clementine smiled and gratefully accepted his offer.
"What about you?" AJ asked.
"I'll be fine kiddo." Derek said. A loud growling of the stomach told him otherwise though.
"Don't mind stopping for a few minutes?" Derek says meekly. AJ and Clementine laughed, despite Derek's meek attempts in shutting them up. Eventually he gave up and pouted slightly for being made fun of. He didn't mind though, as long as it's them.
Few hours later
Clementine parked the car outside on what seems to be a train station. There were piles of rubble and debris everywhere as well as derailed train compartments, blocking the road. Derek gets out of the car, craning his neck left and right, popping a few joints in the process.
"You know, any longer than that. I'm thinking we'll be stuck in that car forever." Derek groaned out as he stretched. AJ muttered under his breath.
"What?" Clementine gave AJ a pointed look. AJ seemed to be reluctant but eventually gave in to Clementine's stare.
"I hate the car. It's cramped, it's tiny, and it smells." AJ said in slight frustration. Clementine kneeled down to his height and put her hand on his shoulder
"Well, it's better than walking and faster too." She pointed out.
"She's right kiddo, even if I don't like it that much. It's still better than walking." Derek agreed. AJ sighed in disappointment, Clementine pats his head for reassurance and went to the trunk to get her gear.
Derek pulled out his machete from his pack and gave it a few practiced swings, he put it up to eye level to examine the sharpness. Nodding in approval, he did a few swings before relaxing it by his side.
"I'll scout ahead, you two stay here." Derek said in an authoritative tone.
Observing the scene ahead, he saw a small bell with a sign 'Ring this if friendly', Derek scoffed and walked forward. His eyes scrutinizing on any movement, his ears straining on any sound he can pick up, machete at the ready. He's trained for this, for years, he can handle this.
A walker groan alerted him, it walked out of cover and slowly approached him. He turns his attention to the walker, its arms reaching out at him, eager to rip his guts out. Derek swings his machete across the walker's neck, decapitating it, and crushed its skull in one stomp for good measure. Derek stopped to observe the surroundings, checking for anything that can be a threat. Finding no other threats, he relaxed but kept his sword-arm at the ready. He signaled for Clementine and AJ that the coast is clear.
Clementine wandered around outside first, to see if there's anything useful. She stumbled upon a water reservoir, opening it revealed discolored water, the smell was horrible and there were a few flies flying around.
'Nope.' She thought to herself, shutting the reservoir, shuddering at the sight and smell.
To her right, she saw a vegetable garden, a few crops laid about but none bore fruit.
"Whatever grew here is long gone." Clementine said absentmindedly, staring at the dead garden. Derek walked up beside her, nodding in agreement on her observation.
"Probably some corn judging at those stalks. Must be nice to have something fresh eaten once in a while." Derek said, AJ nodded in agreement.
Clementine wandered some more and saw an old, worn-out, tire swing attached to a branch of a tree. Nostalgia washed over her, as memories of her and Lee flashed into mind.
"What's this?" AJ said, looking at the tire swing with curiosity.
"It's a tire swing." Derek said, examining the robust structure of the swing. He pushed it a little, seeing it to be in working condition.
"What does it do?" AJ asked.
"Well, you sit on it and someone will push you to go really high up. It's fun." Clementine said, reminiscing back when Lee pushed her on a tire swing, years before, back at the farm whose name slipped through her mind.
'Those were crazy times. I miss you Lee…' Clementine thought sadly, remembering her past guardian and father figure.
"I wanna try it! But only after we check this place." AJ added.
Derek nodded in approval and went back to keeping an eye out. AJ stayed by the swing, observing it with utmost curiosity while Clementine wandered towards the side of the house, seeing a skull of a deer.
"Wow, this is cool." She said to no one in particular, she then pockets it for safekeeping. Unfortunately, nothing viable for use is left outside. Clementine sighs in disappointment and walks back to Derek. He notices her disappointment and huffs in frustration.
"You two should look around inside and see if there's something we can use. I'll check in with you after I do a perimeter sweep." Clementine and AJ nodded in agreement.
Clementine walks up toward the door and mentally prepares herself, she turns back to AJ and made sure he's prepared as well.
"AJ, remember what I told you when in new places? Always…" Clementine said, drawing out the 's'.
"…Look for a way out."
"Look for a way out." AJ said, feeling proud of himself. Clementine smiled softly and nodded in approval. She tried the doorknob first, finding it locked. She rummages for her crowbar from her backpack and jammed it to the side of the door. With ease, she managed to pry open the door, and the two went inside, slowly. They scanned their surroundings, finding inside to be messy, some furniture is strewn across the room, broken glass is laid down on the floor, as well as two walkers tied up to a chair, looking at the window, they're not a threat but they kept their guard up.
"A way out." AJ said, pointing at the door where they came in.
"Good job." Clementine nodded in approval.
Inside, it seemed to be abandoned for a long time, a lot of dust were gathered on the tables and floors, as well as formation of cobwebs at corner of the room. They proceed to look for anything useful. Clementine managed to find some beans from the table and put it in her sack. Looking around, there were not much to begin with. Just some table scraps as well as spoiled food. However, her curiosity rose when she saw another room, blocked by a solid, metal security door. She walked up the security door and tried the knob.
"Locked. Of course, it's not that easy." She muttered in annoyance. She took a step back and examined the door.
'Door's too hard, can't break it. Even if I did, that would make a lot of noise. '
She huffs in annoyance, however, she observed a small counter, beside the security door, that could fit in a person. Looking inside, though, was visibly dark and there were no guarantees that nothing could be there on the other side.
'It's too small for me but not for AJ.' She thought, but she shook her head, getting rid of the terrible idea.
'No. It's too dark in there, and I can't let anything happen to AJ.'
She went back to the walker couple, they tried to reach for her but to no avail, beneath them was a letter, and a bottle of poison. Clementine picked up and read the suicide note:
To anyone who reads this:
Please leave us alone. We wanted it to be like this.
Clementine frowned, but sounds of jiggling keys got her attention and saw a keyring on the male walker's pants. Keeping a close eye on the walker, she tries to reach for the keys but the walker aggressively moved forward, it's jaws came too close for her liking.
"Ahh!" Clementine pulled back on reflex. Her heart raced on her chest and her breathing quickened.
'Guess I can't do that then.'
The walker moaned as it reached for her. Suddenly a large machete imbedded itself on the side of its skull, its arms went limp and stopped groaning. The female walker turned its head to its counterpart only to receive a knife to its skull. Killing it in the process.
Clementine's eyes widened on the scene before her, Derek pulled out his knife and machete from its respective victims. He wiped his knife clean before sheathing it, he used the dead walker's garments to clean his machete, after he was done, he relaxed it by his right hand.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Derek said, looking at her apologetically.
Clementine looked at the walker couple apologetically, shook her head, and grabbed the keys. Derek rose his eyebrow on her strange behavior before shaking his head, dismissing it. Clementine used the keys to open the security door and went inside.
She gave it a quick look around, checking for any sounds or movements. Fortunately, there were none. 'No walkers. Good.' She thought. AJ went in after her followed by Derek.
Derek looked around the room, looking for anything he can use. His eyes were drawn by two rolls of duct tape, lying around the table.
"Now this is all I need." He said contently.
"Are you done?" Clementine asked. Derek nodded in approval and went back to hang out by the door. AJ looked around and smiled
"Can we stay here?" AJ asked hopefully. Clementine's face dropped. Knowing all too well that they can't stay, even if she wanted to. Derek heard what he said and looked at AJ in surprise, before looking down in guilt. When he looked back, he saw Clementine looking at him for advice, he looked between AJ and her with a sad face and shook his head in disapproval. There were just way too many factors that can affect the probability of staying, factors that they can't risk.
AJ frowned. "But there's no one here…. No one's ever anywhere… Just monsters." he said sadly.
Clementine walked to him slowly and put her arm on his shoulder. "There's me though, and Derek too. We'll stay with you forever, as much as you want." AJ looked up at her hopefully but his smile was easily replaced with a frown.
"You know that's not true." Clementine's face was riddled with guilt after he said that. She knew it was all too true. She can't stay around forever to watch over him. If she can't guarantee her own safety then how much more can she guarantee the life of AJ's? These are the type of questions that continued to haunt her every single day ever since she took in AJ.
But…..
She looked behind, where Derek was silently observing them, he rose both of his eyebrows in acknowledgement. Ever since she met Derek, their chances of surviving increased. She knew that, AJ knows that, and especially Derek. Memories of her and AJ surviving alone was terrifying, and every mistake could be their last.
Being around with Derek, around a guy who would risk his own life to protect the both of them, made them feel safer. She welcomed it with open-arms, (not that she would say that out loud). However, she knew that one day he'll leave, and she always hoped that it would not be too soon. Not until they can find themselves a place to call home. For her and AJ's sake.
"Hey AJ, look here." Derek called out, opening his hand, revealing two shining cartridges. That was enough to snap AJ from his reverie and gladly accepted the two cartridges. Fortunately, it was compatible for his revolver, and he proceeded to chamber it inside.
Clementine silently thanked Derek for taking AJ's mind off things, and mentally reminded herself to pay him back. She glanced at AJ's gun, suddenly remembering a few rules to remember.
"AJ. Remember what we said?" Clementine asked sternly. AJ sighed and thought for a while. He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration.
"Always…." Clementine draws out the 's'.
"…. Aim for the head."
"Aim for the head." AJ said.
"I knew that."
"I know you do." Clementine smiled proudly at him.
"Alright, let's wrap it up. Unless there's something else is in here, we're leaving. Don't wanna hold up here till dawn." Derek said, glancing outside the window every now and then.
Clementine sighed, then nodded. There was no point in staying. They need to keep moving and find food or else they'll starve. Just as she was about to leave the room, AJ tugged on her shirt, prompting Clementine to give him her attention.
"Look." AJ said, pointing out at the hidden hatch underneath the bed. Derek and Clementine were surprised by the revelation but did not dare to celebrate just yet. Who knows what's behind that.
Derek pushed the bed away to give space. Both of the young adults stared at the hatch with apprehension. Derek balled his fists and grabbed at the handles. He slowly lifted the door revealing perfectly preserved food underneath. Dozens of preserved foods that can last them for days, weeks even, or months if they ration it. Derek let out a sound of disbelief, Clementine stared in amazement, and AJ looked at the food in excitement.
But their hopes were quickly washed away as a fragmentation grenade rolled into view.
"CLEM!" Yelled out with panic on his voice. Derek acted on reflex, quickly and aggressively closing the hatch door and dove to the ground, grabbing AJ and Clementine along with.
*BOOM*
A loud explosion echoed throughout the room. Derek's ears were ringing as the close proximity of the explosion hurt his ears, the same could be said to the other two. Derek shook his head to clear out the sound, and slowly but surely it went away.
"Clementine! AJ!" He looked around in panic, looking for the two. Fortunately, they were safe and unharmed, with the exception of their ringing ears. Derek sighed in relief and hugged the two of them tightly.
Clementine was surprised by the action but nonetheless welcomed it and hugged back. AJ shakily hugged Derek, facing the near-death action up close, took its toll on him. The hug went longer than it should but neither protested.
Suddenly, realization dawned in on all of them. Derek pulled back, realizing and fearing what comes after this.
"Shit."
A/N: I wanted to practice writing. I love writing, a lot, but it depends on what i'm writing at. The telltale series, The Walking Dead, is a huge impact for me. The characters, story. They were S-Tier. Sadly though, the way they executed the mechanics were bad. In which case some choices don't even matter. I plan to change that, i'll "try" to change some stuff in the story as I go but not too much.
Also, to the person who's reading this. You're awesome, make sure to eat three times a day and don't worry too much. Gives ya the wrinkles hehe.
Updates is planned to be every week, however not guaranteed. Thank you and have a great day.