A/N: Here's an idea that I've wanted to do for a long time. I wanted to post this to see what you guys think of it.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or The Last of Us. All rights reserved to their respective owners.
A young girl slept in a bunk bed within a dark military room. Ever since humanity had to deal with the infected, the human race had to adapt and become stronger. So instead of a normal classroom with parents and a home to return to, all children were provided with difficult military drills and education. Suddenly the door cracked open and a young boy approached the sleeping girl. He closed the door behind him with a smirk on his features. He reached her and hissed and began to pretend to chomp at her neck. She yelped and pushed the boy off of the bed. She swiftly grabbed her pocket knife that she kept under her pillow and opened the blade, ready to attack.
She then looked to see a laughing boy on the ground with his hand up in surrender. "Duck?" The girl asked surprised to see the boy.
"Ow… you are surprisingly strong." Duck said as he laughed. He got up and continued, "Oh well, it was worth it."
The girl sent a playful glare at the boy in shoved him. "That is not nice. I could have hurt you, you know?"
"I got you." Duck said teasingly. He then frowned and said, "Where's your hat?"
"On the nightstand." The girl remarked as she pointed to the said object.
"You without that hat… it's just so weird." Duck said.
"It's my trademark." The girl chimed. She then frowned and said, "Duck where have you been? I haven't seen you in… I don't know how long."
"Forty-six days." Duck said confidently. He then smirked and said, "You want to see what I've been up to?"
The girl looked to him sadly and said solemnly, "All this time… I thought you were dead."
Duck nodded sadly and said, "Yeah…" He trailed off as he looked to her with a regretful stare. "Here." Duck said as he took off a set of tags. "Take a look."
The girl accepted the tags and looked at them. It read Duck's official name which is Kenny Jr. McBoats on the front. She turned the tags around and her eyes widened upon seeing the Firefly logo on the back. "No way." The girl said ecstatically.
"You bet." Duck said. "I'm a Firefly now, Clem." Duck then went over to wall and noticed the photo of him and Clementine that was taken a few years ago. He plucked it from the tack that was holding it in place and said, "You still have it." The picture showed Clementine and Duck siting side-by-side with Duck giving her bunny ears. As he looked it over, Clementine rushed to the door and opened it. "What? What are you doing?" Duck asked.
Clementine analyzed the hall in both direction and closed the door upon seeing that it was clear. "I'm making sure that I don't get caught with a Firefly in my room." Clementine responded.
"Relax." Duck said. "There are no soldiers on the entire floor."
With that, awkward silence surrounded the two as the only sound to be heard was the rain outside pattering against the overflowing gutters. Clementine huffed and said somewhat coldly, "Here congrats." She handed his tags back but Duck wouldn't release his grip.
"Hey." Duck said noticing the bitterness in her voice. "Are we cool?" Clementine huffed and shook her head. "Okay I get it." Duck said. "I disappeared and you're mad…"
"You think?" Clementine scoffed
But Duck interrupted her and continued, "And I owe you an explanation. So, let's get out of here and I'll tell you all about it."
Clementine shook her head and said, "Duck, I can't. It's almost morning and I have military drills."
Duck scoffed and said, "Put some pants on and let's go. I ain't taking you anywhere when you're wearing PJ's." He then exited the room and allowed her to change. She looked down and noticed that she was wearing a pair of purple plaid pajama pants and a black t-shirt. She then eyed her bed and thought of just going back to sleep.
She sighed and said, "I always get wrapped up in some stupid stuff, don't I?" She proceeded to change into a pair of jeans which replaced her pajama pants followed by a pair of socks, a pair of blue shoes, and finally her trademark white and blue hat with the letter 'D' on it. She then grabbed her backpack and walked out into the hallway to see Duck leaning on the wall and giving her a smirk.
She rolled her eyes as he said, "Okay, this way. Just try to stay low and stay quiet." Duck said as led the way towards a fire escape, one of the buildings easily exploited weaknesses that none of the military instructors knew about. Clementine followed him and they started to head for the direction of the mall.
30 Minutes Later
"Hurry." Duck whispered. A military truck started approach them as Clementine lifted a window that led into an abandoned building. Duck quickly went into the room that was provided by the opened window followed by Clementine. The headlights shone above as Clementine landed on the ground and the sound of the truck running off pierced through the tense filled atmosphere and gave the two a moment's relief. "Oh man. That was close, huh?" He then smirked and said, "Fast as always, you haven't missed a beat since I last saw you."
"Thanks." Clementine said.
"Well, up we go." Duck said as he raced toward the stair and started to climb them. He turned his flashlight on while also keeping a sharp eye out for any infected.
Clementine nodded and she ran after the boy. "So how'd you find them?" Clementine asked as she followed Duck.
"Who? The Fireflies?" Duck asked as reached the top of the stairs.
"Yeah." Clementine said.
"Okay, remember that one Firefly that I bit and stole his gun?" Duck asked as he continued to run through the desolated building.
"Yeah, I usually have to be the one to scold you for doing dumb things like that." Clementine said.
"Well, anyway, that was Vince." Duck began to explain. "I saw him walking down the street so I tailed his ass. I followed him into this alley and all these Fireflies ambushed me." Duck squatted down to avoid a couple of plywood boards that covered up a doorway and continued as Clementine followed him, "They took me to their hideout, to Marlene."
"We're you scared?" Clementine asked as they passed through a kitchen and dining room setup and into another hallway.
"Terrified. I thought this time that she would actually shoot me." Duck said. "But instead, she just asked: 'What took you so long?' She was expecting me."
"And she just made you a Firefly?" Clementine asked.
"Something like that." Duck replied. "That whole almost killing me thing was a test. She wanted to know if I was committed."
"Oh…" Clementine said as she looked around. She then noticed a wanted poster of Marlene on the wall and said, "Hey, there's your boss."
Duck chuckled and said, "She asked about you."
"Really?" Clementine asked.
"Yeah." Duck said. "She said that you remind her of your mom."
Clementine scoffed and said, "Well, she would know more than me." They approached a room with a collapsed ceiling and noticed a couple of large pieces of furniture at the corner of the room. Duck went over and climbed the two pieces of furniture followed by his friend.
They reached the floor above and Duck said, "Come on, we're making good timing. So who do you hang out with these days?" Duck asked as he and Clementine continued to walk with each other.
"I hang out with Becca every once in a while." Clementine said. "She can be mean though."
"Huh? How about Arvo and the rest of the guys?" Duck asked as he hopped into another room through a hole in the wall.
"Duck, those are your friends. I don't like hanging out with them by myself. Besides, you know Arvo doesn't like me." Clementine explained.
"Alright, alright, point taken." Duck said as Clementine followed her friend's procedure and hopped into the other room. This new room was especially dark with no windows which forced Clementine to turn on her own flashlight which was hooked onto her backpack. Inside, the room was a typical large apartment setup, with a well-decorated living room, kitchen, bathroom, and a couple of bedrooms. Duck motioned Clementine to follow him. They arrived at another opening which led to a laundry room.
Clementine followed Duck and she asked, "So what, do you buy into this thing now? I mean, we've been soldiers all our lives."
"Yeah, well, wouldn't you want to be something other than a typical, dumb soldier?" Duck asked as he rounded the corner and went into the hallway. "I'm sick of being just a cookie-cutter soldier; I want something more. Wouldn't you want that for yourself?"
"You know what I want." Clementine said as they continued down the hall. "I want a family."
Duck rolled his eyes at his friend's comment and they continued down the hall. He has always known Clementine and one of the biggest things she complains about is not having a mom and dad to take care of her. In the background the two could hear Vera announcing in a very monotone voice, "Attention. We are pleased to report the zone has been free of cordyceps infection for thirty days-"
"Thirty days my ass!" Duck spat as the two ran up the stairs to the next floor. "People are getting infected all the time, they just do a good job of hiding it." They reached the top of the stairs to which they were greeted by a chain of broken windows which allowed the cool night air to freely enter the building.
"You've run into more infected?" Clementine asked.
"As part of my initiation, they made me kill this…" Duck explained as they continued to walk down hallway that had the chain of broken windows. "You know let's talk about something else." He then climbed out of one of the windows and ran across the rooftops.
"Alright." Clementine replied as she ran followed him. She shivered as the rain continued to pour down. "Cold rain tonight." Clementine said.
Duck scoffed as descended to another section of the roof. Clementine quickly followed but then he heard a dreaded noise. It was an army truck and it was close by. "Oh shit! Hide!" Duck exclaimed. The two children hid behind part of the roof and watched on as three army trucks passed by some apartments on the opposite side of the street. "Oh man…" Duck huffed and he got up. "Sorry, I'm a bit jumpy lately." He then continued to walk across a wooden board. "Careful, it's wet." Duck said.
"Yeah, I got it." Clementine replied and she walked across the wooden board. They got across and turned their flashlights on. "Hey." Clementine said to get Duck's attention. "Maybe I should join the Fireflies?"
"Clem that was the first thing I asked Marlene." Duck said sadly. "She wants you safe at that stupid school. I'm not even supposed to come see you."
Clementine stared down and shook her head. "I'm not safe at that school. I'll never be safe there. It's a deathtrap."
Duck then eyed one of their favorite hideouts. He went to it and descended to the floor below from a hole in the ceiling caused by corrosion. Clementine followed him as he asked, "You remember the first time I brought you here?" Duck asked.
"You mean drag me against my will?" Clementine asked.
Duck scoffed and said, "You were crying the whole time, begging me to take you back home."
"I was afraid we were going to get in trouble. You know how mean Tavia is." Clementine said
"She's a bitch, isn't she Clem?" Duck said as they walked through the building.
"Duck, you know my rule. I'm not going to swear. I don't care if you swear, but I'm not." Clementine said.
"Fine, whatever." Duck said in a defeated tone. "Anyway, I have a surprise for you."
"What?" Clementine asked. "Is it a dinosaur?" They approached a long-abandoned escalator and walked down from it.
"Maybe..." Duck chuckled.
"I'll be your best friend again, if it's a dinosaur." Clementine said.
"You'll just have to wait and see." Duck said.
Clementine then eyed a poster of a water gun called the Typhoon Blitz. She and Duck had the two water guns but the corporal, William, confiscated them for being toys. "You ever get them back by any chance?" Duck asked as he looked to the same poster.
"No, I don't think he's ever going to give them back to us." Clementine said.
"Dick." Duck spat and the two walked away from the poster and continued down another flight of escalators. There at the bottom of the escalator, was a tent that one of the army members, Winston, had set up. Unlike most of the guards, Winston was a kind man who loved his privacy, which explained why he placed his home far from the other members. "Oh Winston." Duck sighed sadly as he went up to the tent. Clementine joined him and he asked, "So, what happened to him. All I heard was that he passed on."
"He just fell off his horse." Clementine said. "Doc said something about him having a heart attack."
"Damn…" Duck said sadly as he looked over to the tent. "Well, how many people get to die of natural causes in this world?" He then looked to Clementine.
"Winston's the first that I heard of." Clementine replied.
"Exactly." Duck said. He smirked as he looked back to the tent and said, "Let's go see what he left us." He then went into the tent. Clementine sighed figuring that it was a bad idea to go through the possessions of a deceased man but ultimately followed Duck inside. "Bingo!" Duck said as he pulled out a glass of liquor. "Want some?" Duck asked as he offered Clementine the bottle.
"I don't drink." Clementine said. "Besides, someone's got to keep a leveled head, since the other wants to get drunk."
"Suit yourself." Duck said. He then tipped the bottle up and drank some of the liquor. He immediately spat it out. "Yuck!" Duck exclaimed. "Ugh… man Winston! You're hardcore!" Clementine smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "Anyway, let's keep moving." Duck said and they left the tent.
After exploring some of the old features in the mall, the two finally reached the wall of debris that had collapsed from the ceiling above many years ago. The did find a way to go through it by using a rebar and lifting some of the debris to where it was capable of being entered and going through a crossable pathway, but of course, it wasn't safe.
"Clem, come and help me lift this." Duck said as he wrapped his fingers around the metal pole and waited for his friend's assistance.
She grabbed the end of the rebar and together they lifted it to reveal the entrance of the small crawl spaced to get on the other side of the debris. "I hate crawling through there. It feels like we're going to get crushed." Clementine grunted as she struggled with the weight of the debris. The two then went towards a rock that would hold the rebar up.
"It's fine." Duck grunted struggling equally with the weight of the debris as he backpedaled. Finally, the rock came in view out of the corner of Duck's eye and he placed the rebar on the rock. "You first." Duck huffed as the metal started to groan. Suddenly, the rebar gave way the debris fell to the ground with a crash. The broken half of the rebar fell to the ground with a loud clang and the two looked at the wall of debris somewhat frightened by what had happened. "You know what? How about we find another way?" Duck suggested.
"That's the best idea you've had all day." Clementine said as she started to look around for an alternate route.
After several minutes of searching, Duck spotted an opening in the form of a shattered window. "Hey look, there's an opening over here." He then stood in front of door and cupped his hand. Clementine looked to him questioningly and he said, "Clem, this isn't too hard. Up and over."
"Why do I have to be the one who gets hoisted up into that store?" Clementine asked.
"Because, you can't lift me and you barely weigh anything. Now come on." Duck replied.
Clementine sighed and placed her foot in his cupped hands. He then lifted her up to the shattered store window which made her yelp. She then climbed over the window and down onto the store floor below. She turned her flashlight on and her eyes widened in wonder and amazement. It was a store filled with Halloween masks, gags, and props. "Well? You see anything?" Duck asked from the other side of the door.
Clementine then smirked as an idea hits her. It was time for revenge from earlier. She quickly grabbed a clown mask and took her hat off momentarily to place the mask over her head. "Clementine?" Duck asked. She went over and unlocked the door and cracked it open waiting in excitement for Duck to enter. The boy entered and looked to the giant Frankenstein figurine in the middle of the store.
"Blaahrrrr!" Clementine exclaimed as she jumped towards Duck. Duck screamed and fell to the ground terrified by the sudden scare. Clementine laughed as she took the mask off.
"Clem, what the hell?" Duck exclaimed as he got off from the ground.
"I got you." Clementine said teasingly as she placed her hands on her knees and looked down to the boy.
"My gosh, you're going to give me heart attack at young age." Duck said. Duck then looked around as Clementine discarded the clown mask and placed her baseball hat back onto her head. "How in the hell did we never find this place?" Duck asked.
"I don't know." Clementine said. "We could really cause some mayhem in here."
Duck then eyed a mask of a werewolf and said, "Hey cool, a werewolf mask." He then placed it on his head and he looked to Clementine. "What do you think? Do I look scary?"
"You look hairy." Clementine said.
"I'll take it." Duck said. "Come on, let's see what this place has."
Clementine rolled her eyes at her friend's antics, but she was genuinely curious to see some of the props. She approached a skeleton display which read: Ask Skeleseer a Question… and Shake for your Fortune.
Clementine shrugged and said, "Worth a try." She picked up the skeleton and asked, "Will I ever have a family?" She then looked at the bottom of the skeleton which read: Your chances are dismal. "Good thing, I don't believe in fortune-telling." Clementine stated as she placed the skeleton back on the display.
They continued to play around in the store picking up masks and trying them on. Clementine then eyed a jar of fake eyes on one of the shelves and asked, "People used to buy this stuff. Gross." She then placed it on the shelf and turned around to see Duck pop out of a wooden coffin with a zombie mask on laughing manically. "Lame." Clementine said with a shrug.
"Seriously? I had to have scared you a little bit." Duck said but Clementine shook her head in response. "Damn." Duck said.
"So you ready to move on?" Clementine asked. "You said that you had a huge surprise for me."
"Yeah, come on." Duck said as he removed the zombie mask and went to a set of doors. The two pushed the doors open and Clementine followed Duck. Duck then eyed two SUV's on the floor below. He stopped and asked, "You see those cars down there?"
"Yeah." Clementine said.
"The red one's yours. I'll be blue." Duck explained as he picked up a brick. "We throw bricks. Whoever breaks all of the window to their car wins."
"You're going down." Clementine said with a smirk and she picked up a brick.
"Alright." Duck said. "Let's make this interesting. Whoever loses… has to answer a question. No sarcasm."
"Alright, you're on." Clementine said and the two started to throw bricks at the windows of their respective car.
Duck acted quickly, hoping to get a quick lead over Clementine and threw his brick, but the brick broke to pieces when it hit the top of the blue SUV. "Bullshit." Duck complained.
Clementine took more time to hit the red SUV, but the time used to aim for the window was rewarded with a satisfying smash. "Alright!" Clementine cheered.
Duck grabbed another brick but this time he took time to be accurate, while Clementine went off to look for another brick. He threw the brick which smashed rear window. "Crash!" Duck exclaimed.
However, his crash was followed by another as the red SUV's sunroof window broke to pieces. "Two for two!" Clementine exclaimed.
Duck grabbed another brick and smashed the passenger side rear window as Clementine smashed the passenger side window.
"Two down!" Duck exclaimed.
Clementine then quickly ran to view the front of the vehicles and threw the brick and smashed the windshield. "Bingo!" Clementine cheered.
Duck smashed the passenger side window and exclaimed, "Oh yeah, Brick-Throwing Champ right here."
Clementine then proceeded to smash the driver's side windows as Duck broke the driver's side windows and sunroof window. Duck did catch a break when Clementine missed one of the driver's side windows. However, they were now neck-and-neck. Clementine had to run back over and smash the passenger side rear window and Duck had to smash the passenger side window. They both grabbed a brick and threw at their respective windows at the same time, but Clementine's brick smashed the window since she didn't throw her brick in haste like Duck did. Instead, his brick went low and crumbled to pieces upon hitting the passenger door.
"Ha ha! That does it! I'm the Brick-Throwing Champion!" Clementine exclaimed in victory.
"My car had tougher windows." Duck said.
"You mean your aim was horrible." Clementine smirked.
Duck chuckled and said, "Fine, what do you want to ask me?"
Clementine pondered for several seconds thinking of a good question to ask him. Finally she asked, "Okay, why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"
Duck huffed and said, "I was in a weird spot. I actually didn't tell anyone. Everything was happening so fast and I couldn't slow it down."
"I'm not anyone, though. We've been really close friends for… life." Clementine said sadly.
"I know, which is why I want to get you to this thing. I want to make amends for leaving you and not telling what's been going on." Duck explained.
Clementine huffed and said, "Lead the way." Duck nodded and they went towards a pair of double door, one in which was blocked by debris. The door creaked loudly upon being open by Duck. He gestured to Clementine to follow, and they went down the hallway which led to two flights of stairs.
"What are we doing here?" Clementine asked. "This is place is starting to creep me out."
"So, you know how we thought they can only power certain areas in the city?" Duck asked.
"Yeah?" Clementine said.
"Follow me." Duck said as he went into the hallway at the bottom of the stairs.
"Like I have a choice?" Clementine asked and she ran into the hallway after the boy. He turned into a room at the very end of a hallway and looked over several circuit boards and breakers.
Clementine looked to him questioningly as he examined the setup. "So turns out…" Duck said as he pistol whipped the locked fuse box. "The whole city has power." He grunted again as he pistol whipped the lock, but this time it broke off. "They just flip the circuit breakers." He then opened the fuse box to reveal a large lever and said, "All you got to do is flip it back."
Clementine approached the fuse box and said, "There's no way this is going to work." But she went ahead pushed the lever to the opposite side. Suddenly, there was a loud crash and the lights started to glow for the first time in almost twenty years. Clementine's eyes widened and a smile developed on her facial features.
"I told you so." Duck said with a smirk.
"So wait. The whole mall is lit up?" Clementine asked.
"Let's go find out." Duck said as he ran back into the hallway; Clementine followed him and they reached the very end of the hallway. Double doors blocked their way and Duck asked, "You ready for this."
"Wait, I…" Clementine tried to get the next set of words out but trailed off as Duck looked to her with questioning stare. "I know what you're trying to do and… I'm really glad that you aren't dead." Duck looked down sadly with a nod as Clementine continued, "I mean, I'm really glad that we're back together and-"
"I didn't mean it." Duck said sadly. "All that stuff I said before I left, I didn't mean any of it."
The two stood there looking into each other's eyes. Clementine looking into Duck's hardened brown eyes and Duck looking into Clementine's large amber orbs. Finally, Clementine hugged Duck and he hugged back. "I don't want us to be fighting. You're my best friend, Duck."
Duck released her from the hug and held her by her shoulders. "You're my best friend, too. Now come on; I want to see what this place looks like being lit up." The two pushed the double doors open and were amazed by the sight they saw…
…To be continued.
A/N: Wow that was tough to write! I'm going to have updates biweekly, instead of the normal weekly routine. Also, if you haven't guessed by now, I replaced Riley and Ellie with Duck and Clementine. Additionally, I should point out their ages. Clementine is ten years old and Duck is eleven years old.