Totally redoing this story (well, sorta?)

I'm just restarting it so I can add more detail to the chapters. I hope to update this semi-regularly? But I'm not sure, as I'm pretty busy with school and stuff. But I shall try!

Also, btw, the whole story will be told from Clementine's POV

Enjoy :)

The cold wind no longer bit into my skin like it did earlier this morning, when we had just left our setup spot for sleeping. I had gotten used to it the past few hours, as my body had adapted.

By adapted, I mean gone numb.

First my toes and fingers, then my arms, and now my legs.

We made a brief stop at a gas station just twenty or so minutes ago and, by some blessing, there was a pair of gloves. The rest of them allowed one glove to go to me and one to go to AJ.

Mine, I cut in half, with each half stuffed in each of my shoes to help shelter my toes more from the cold. AJ's glove was ripped open and placed over his ears and head in an attempt to also shelter those precious parts of his body from the sting of the cold.

Surprisingly, the gloves actually made a decent impact, as for the past twenty minutes, I had regained slight feeling in my toes and was able to feel them wiggling. I also took my arms out of my jacket sleeves and hugged them close to my chest, which warmed my arms and fingers for a little while before they became numb again.

As for my legs, however, there was no way to protect those.

I could no longer feel them whatsoever. I was walking only due to pure muscle memory and was actually a bit relieved, as the numbness made the bitter pain from the chill in the air disappear.

But I quickly realized I was naive to think that my legs going completely numb was a good thing; they were probably an hour or two away from being dangerously frost bitten and four hours away from my legs being completely useless.

Thankfully, there was not much windchill, as that would only speed up the process of frostbite and hypothermia.

Nevertheless, we would have to find somewhere to bunker down for the rest of the day, despite it only being probably 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

"K-Kenny," Mike shivered out, interrupting my thoughts. I glanced to him, seeing his hands stuffed under his armpits and his arms tightly locked over them to preserve any warmth present.

He was ahead of me and on my right, whereas Jane was ahead of me and on my left.

She was also hunched over, a hat covering her head to protect her vulnerable ears.

We had found two hats a week back and always alternated roughly every ten minutes as to who would wear it.

Arvo wore the other hat and he was walking next to Mike, his wrists tied together due to Kenny's orders.

Kenny was strongly against Arvo getting a turn with one of the hats.

"That fucking Ruskie doesn't deserve a jacket, let alone one of the hats!"

Mike was Arvo's protector in a way. Whenever Kenny would berate Arvo and threaten to kill him, Mike was always there to stand up for him.

That really got Kenny mad, but he couldn't do anything since Bonnie always backed Mike up.

Bonnie was behind me, trailing slowly with her hands stuffed in her vest pockets and her lower face buried in the neckhole of her shirt, trying to shelter as much of her face as possible.

"What?" Kenny hissed, leading us from the very front and holding onto AJ, clutching him close to his torso.

I already knew what was coming; as did everyone.

We had been walking for two, maybe three weeks, in search of Wellington. We had a car, but that broke down after a day of use.

Kenny was still determined to find Wellington, and I'll admit, the rest of us were as well. After Luke...passed away...we all agreed Wellington sounded like a good idea. Even when the car broke down, we all were in agreement that we could walk the rest of the way to Wellington.

I expected it to take only a few days: a week at most. But that turned out to be wrong.

This past week, everyone except for Kenny was starting to give up the hope of Wellington. We'd all try to convince him to turn around and we would head back down south, since the cold was wearing and tearing us down to almost nothing.

Kenny would always decline the suggestion, though.

"D...don't you th-think we should t-t-turn aroun-nd?" Mike stuttered out, his teeth chattering.

"You guys always say that and I'm s-sick of it," Kenny grumbled firmly, making sure he didn't shiver while talking. He wanted to prove to us that he was fine; not cold enough to give up.

"B-but, Kenny," I said quietly, looking up. I immediately regretted my decision, as the cold bit into my cheeks and forehead. "We've b-be-en walk-kin-g-g for over-r-r three weeks," I gasped, forcing the last words out hastily and looking back down, having said my piece for the day.

"So?" he grumbled roughly, his voice low and dangerous. I turned around a bit, looking to Bonnie.

It was her turn to chip in.

I could see her groan internally before she spoke.

"Kenny, y-you have to th-th-think ab-bout AJ," she said loudly so that he could hear her. "It's a m-miracle th-that he is st-still-l alive."

"He's tough," Kenny rebutted, stopping at the beginning of a hill and turning around to face us. "You all need t-to quit the bullshit," he said viciously, which only got a response through numerous eye rolls of annoyance. Kenny rolled his eyes back and turned around. "You'll all thank me when we find W-Wellington."

Kenny started up the hill, the rest of us following behind reluctantly.

I exchanged glances with Jane, Bonnie, and Mike; each one of us wondering if we should keep pushing or if we should give up for the day

I almost felt bad, in a way, due to the fact that I was the main reason everyone was putting up with Kenny and his delusions.

Kenny was never going to leave AJ—that was obvious.

I was never going to leave Kenny. Jane and Bonnie were never going to leave me. Mike was never going to leave Bonnie. Arvo was never going to leave Mike.

Everyone was left with almost no choice but to stick with Kenny's plan of fantasy and I felt a bit as though it was my fault.

However, my guilt disappeared instantaneously once we reached the top of the hill.

A little under 100 yards in front of us stood large walls; ones made out of old shipping crates and other scrap metal that reached roughly 20 feet high.

On the doors read the word WELLINGTON.

There was smoke from fires coming from within the enclosure and I could feel my mouth open in disbelief. My open mouth then turned into a huge smile as Mike began laughing.

"Holy s-shit…"

"What did I tell y'all?" Kenny asked, giving us all a smug look. He started walking towards the beacon of hope before us, the rest of us now following with excitement and enthusiasm. "Aren't y'all glad we didn't turn around, huh?"

"Alright," Jane sighed, forcing her words out to avoid stuttering due to the cold as Kenny always did. "We get it, ok-k? You were right and-"

A shot rang out with dirt and snow being kicked up in front of Kenny. We all stopped abruptly, none of us daring to move an inch—not even to breath. We had all come too far and gone through too much to get shot now.

Whoever fired the shot that landed in front of Kenny missed on purpose as a warning; they weren't going to miss again.

"That's far enough," a woman's voice commanded through an intercom. No one moved. "Drop your weapons."

"Hurry," Kenny whispered, not turning around. "C'mon, I'm starving."

"Kenny, we're g-going, m-m-man," Mike spat out, slightly irritated as he removed his gun from his sweatshirt pocket and tossing it to the side. The rest of us, except for Kenny and Arvo, did the same with their weapons and the voice spoke again, seeming satisfied. "Approach the gate."

After exchanging worried glances, we all seemed to be in silent agreeance that it would be better to obey the voice rather than just continue to stand around and gawk at each other. We all headed towards the gate, seeing a woman on a balcony as we got closer. She had earmuffs on and was roughly in her mid-30s, maybe early 40s. She wore a green whistle around her neck and a green arm band over her bicep and atop her jacket. She had a warm face and equally warm smile as we approached.

"Hi," she said, lowering her rifle. "I'm Edith."

"Hey, there," Kenny said, stepping up a bit closer and looking up to her. "I'm Kenny, and this is Clementine, Bonnie, Jane, Mike, and AJ," Kenny explained, motioning to each of us as he said our names.

"And Arvo," Mike added, to which Kenny scoffed almost silently at. Edith looked to Arvo and saw his hands bound together, causing her to produce a sour expression.

"Can I ask why his hands are tied?" she asked, caution in her voice and her smile fading a bit.

"It's just a m-misunderstanding," Mike said, sticking his hands back under his armpits. "I'm s-sorry, but c-c-can you pleas-se let us in-n? We've been-n-n walking-g f-for days."

"Yes," Edith said, giving an embarrassed laugh. "I'm so sorry, come on in." She left the balcony and right as she did, Kenny shot daggers at Mike.

"A misunderstanding? That's what you call it?" he muttered harshly through bared teeth. Mike just gave a shrug as the doors opened, Edith standing behind them along with three men who ran outside. As we walked in, I glanced back to them, seeing them also with whistles and arm bands, except they were purple; not green.

"Where are they going?" I asked curiously, looking back to Edith, who led us through a brief tunnel of crates and into the real Wellington.

And it was breathtaking.

To begin, it was absolutely huge.

There were dozens upon dozens upon dozens of people present. Right in front of us was a large paved dirt path; about the size of a four lane road. On both sides were makeshift shacks and huts which seemed to be little stores or buildings of some sort. To my right, quite far out, were houses.

Actual houses.

To my left was a few large buildings, some of two stories, that were up against part of the left wall. They looked to be some sort of garages, as there were large doors on all of them.

I had never seen anything like it.

"They're going to retrieve your weapons," Edith said, looking to the men running out before back to the rest of us. She gave a small frown and tilted her head. "That's the first step in joining Wellington. Everything you own except the very clothes of your back has to be given up." She shrugged. "Sort of like a payment for joining."

I could hardly focus on what she was saying. I looked behind her, at all the people in the area before us.

There was much chatter and I even heard some laughter.

Genuine laughter.

Everyone looked...not miserable.

Everyone wore coats specifically designed for winter, along with hats, gloves, scarves, and other apparel necessary to keep warm in a harsh winter. Some people were armed, others weren't.

I noticed those who were armed were not too common and were sparsely separated. Any person who was armed in this area also wore a whistle and bicep strap, although they weren't green or purple. These people wore red whistles and bands.

"Clem," Jane said with a polite snip in her voice, grabbing my attention. I looked back to Edith and the others, seeing them all looking to me.

When I saw Kenny, I almost began laughing. His hat was no longer on his head and it was a weird sight to see, one that I found oddly humorous.

"Hm?" I asked, slightly bashful that everyone was looking to me, as I had gotten caught not listening to what Edith was saying.

"I need your hat," she answered simply.

My stomach dropped when I heard the sentence. When I heard how she said it.

At her directness behind her tone. Her primitiveness.

She had the audacity to tell me to hand over my hat like that? Like it was nothing?

"No," I said, my brows furrowing up in objection as I instinctively took a step back when Edith turned her body to face me head on.

"Hun," she said, her tone now soft. She put more meaning behind it, but that wasn't going to change my answer. "I'm sorry, but it's required if you want to join. You have to give up anything on you."

"No," I repeated, my voice more firm. Edith gave a flat frown as she looked to Kenny, silently asking for help.

"Clem, it's ok," Kenny said and pointed to his hat, giving a forced laugh. "Look—I gave mine up. It's no big deal."

"You might be able to buy it back later, Clementine," Edith said with a hopeful smile.

"I don't want to buy it back. It was my dad's," I said, my brows now shifting into a sad slant. "I'm not going to risk losing it."

Edith sighed and took a step towards me. Instead of stepping back again, I kept my feet planted as I watched her crouch before me, her elbows resting on her knees. "Clementine, look; I know it's hard, alright? But that's one of the rules here, and if you want to be here, you have to prove you can follow the rules."

"Oh, it's fine," a new, light voice said. It came from behind Edith and I saw who spoke it.

She was young; probably Jane's age, so maybe 24 or 25. She had dirty blonde hair that was in a high ponytail. Lose strands were kept out of her face by a knit headband that also kept her ears warm. Her face wore a warm smile, even warmer and kinder than Edith's, and she was extremely pretty, I thought.

She wore a black Northface, skinny jeans, and hiking boots. She carried a gun, although wasn't currently holding it as it hung loosely from its strap which was around her torso. She also had a whistle and bicep strap, but both were white and her whistle had a 1 written on it in a black medium.

Edith looked back and immediately stood when she saw the unfamiliar woman, turning to face her.

"M'am-" Edith said quietly and I was shocked. M'am? Edith was not old, but she was surely older than this new woman.

"What're two hats gonna hurt?" the woman asked with a scoff, nodding to Kenny. "Give him his hat back and I'll take them all to Processing."

Edith was about to say something else but stopped, sighing. "Yes, m'am," she said and handed back Kenny his hat. Kenny nodded to Edith once she did so and carefully took it from her while also keeping AJ close.

"Thank you," Kenny said, subtly looking to me and then tilting his head towards the woman.

"Yes, thank you," I reiterated and she laughed, her voice like bells.

"Of course," she said and shrugged nonchalantly. "I think it's a dumb rule. Anyways, I'm Emma and I'll be your 'tour guide' today," she said, adding air quotes. "Can I get some names really quick?" We all introduced ourselves and her eyes lingered on Arvo, who gave his name last and quietly. "Why're your hands tied, Arvo?"

"Oh, I can answer that-" Kenny quickly said, but Emma stopped him by holding up her finger at him and raising her brows, shaking her head.

"Not talking to you," she said and Jane sneered. Emma looked back to Arvo. "Arvo?" He looked up. "Why're your hands tied?"

Arvo's eyes darted over to Kenny who watched him dangerously. "Uh…" he stuttered. "It...It like Mike said...Misunderstanding."

I could see Kenny snarl without making a sound, but Emma just shrugged again.

"Good enough for me," she told us and pulled a knife from a holster on her thigh. She went over to Arvo and cut through his bindings and he immediately began rubbing his wrist once she did. "But...there aren't going to be anymore misunderstandings, right Arvo?"

"Right...yes, no more misunderstandings," he nodded affirmingly. Emma smiled widely, looking to Kenny who was still clearly angry.

"Look at that: problem solved," she said simply and nodded forward. "Follow me, you guys are probably hungry and cold."

I glanced over to Kenny and he pursed his lips; well he certainly couldn't argue with that.