FYI:This was written BEFORE the release of ep 4.
Clem POV
My eyes widened as I saw AJ, gun pointed at Lilly's head. I glanced at Lilly, who was reacting the same way.
"AJ, wait! I give up! I will give up!"
It was almost amusing how easily Lilly was willing to surrender; even Abel had held out longer than she had.
"Put down the gun," Lilly pleaded, "I'll let everyone leave. My crew and I will leave, we won't bother you anymore!"
Bullshit, I thought. There was no way Lilly would ever leave us alone.
"AJ!" James was slowly making his way toward him. "She's not a threat. Lower the gun."
"You weren't down there!" Alvin Junior argued, "You didn't see what she did!"
Lilly continued to plead with him, "You don't have to do this, please!"
"It's a trick!" cried Tenn.
"Just give me the gun," James said calmly.
Tenn raised his voice, trying to talk over James, saying, "You can't let her hurt anyone else!"
"I don't want to do die!" The older woman exclaimed.
The little boy looked to me, asking for help, for guidance. I was just about to tell AJ to shoot, to end all of our trouble, when I made eye contact with James. His eyes were wild. He shook his head, telling me that no, AJ shouldn't shoot Lilly, tell him to put down the gun. I thought back to our conversation from earlier, about how taking to many people's lives could break something in AJ.
I hesitated. Was getting rid of Lilly really worth the chance of destroying AJ for good?
By the time I had made up my mind, it was too late. Lilly lunged forward, snatching the gun. Before I even had time to think, Lilly had the weapon pointed at me, and was shooting.
Bang. Bang. The first shot hit me on her left shoulder, and the second found it's way a few inches to the right of my belly button.
Louis POV
After Clementine had left to go find AJ, the remaining kids were supposed to get off of the boat before the bomb went off, but I had refused to leave Violet behind.
"Louis, we have to go!" Aasim was pulling on my arm, trying to pull him along with him, but I stood firm.
"We can't leave Violet," I said as she cradled her motionless ex behind me. "You two go, and I'll meet you out there." Aasim started to object, but I wouldn't have it. "I'm not leaving here without her, Aasim."
Omar said, "If she doesn't come with you in two minutes, leave her. If you guys don't come running out by then, we're coming back in here to get you."
"Ok, fine! Now go, get outta here!" I ordered, shooing them off.
Omar and Aasim ran off in the other direction, and I ran to Violet's side. "We have to go, Vi," I stated, placing a hand on her shoulder. I tried to hide the panic in my voice, but was having trouble. "This ship's gonna blow any second!"
Violet jerked away from my touch, refusing to listen. "I don't care, Louis! I'm not leaving her!" My mind was running in circles as I tried to think of a way to change her mind.
"What about the rest of us, Violet? Are you really gonna abandon us for this-this," I struggled to think of a word to describe Minerva, then decided on, "This traitor?"
Violet whipped around, a look of anger on her face that I had never seen before. She brought up her hand, then swung it hard to collide with the side of the my face. "You have no right to call her that," she growled. "You have no idea what she's been through."
I held my cheek, a little taken back by Violet's hit. "Well wasn't that the slap of the century," I muttered to myself.
Seconds ticked by, then minutes, and I still couldn't figure out how to sway her into coming with me. Finally, I stated, "You know what, Violet? I'm not leaving until you do."
She groaned and did that famous eye roll of hers. "Why are you such a dumb ass, Louis? Get out of here, leave me! Go!" She attempted to push me away, but still, I stayed put. She pressed her index finger and thumb to the part where her brows and nose meet, eyes scrunched. I thought I had finally convinced her to leave with me, but then she said, "Fine then, I guess we're both dying today."
Another minute passed, and then I got an idea. I scooped up Minerva's unconscious body, and at first, Violet did not approve. "Put her down! What are you doing?" But when I started sprinting towards the exit, she understood, and finally followed.
At the end of the docks, we were met by a frantic Ruby, Omar, and Aasim. "Louis! Violet! Thank God y'all are okay!" Cried Ruby, running to meet us. "We're fine," I said. "Where's Tenn and Willy?"
"I don't know, I went to check their hiding places, but they weren't-"
The unmistakable sound of gunshots stopped her short. And then we heard the screams; Clementine's screams.
"Clementine!" I handed off Minnie to Aasim, and took off toward the boat. I was just reaching the entrance when I was blasted back by the explosion.
Clem's POV
I felt like a rag-doll as my body was blown into the water. I tried to move, to swim, but every little movement shot wave of pain through my body, almost too intense for me to handle. But I made myself do it, for AJ. I would come up for air, shout Alvin Junior's name, then fall back under the water.
This continued for what seemed like forever. Up I came, yelled, "AJ! Where are you? AJ!" Then my limbs would give out on me and I would go back under. However, this got harder and harder, until eventually I just couldn't. I had lost too much blood; it was literally impossible for me to keep swimming.
So I floated on my back, praying that one of the walkers from below didn't get me. I kept yelling his name, but soon, my voice began to get horse. Shortly after, all that came out was a whisper.
Eventually, I gave up; accepted that this was how it was all going to end. I had lost all hope, and I was broken. Mentally and physically. I could feel myself sinking, and I took one last breath before I was completely submerged.
I waited for death to take me then, although I wasn't really sure what I was waiting for. I've heard that people see a bright light when they die, so maybe I just had look for one of those? Some other people also told me that your life is supposed to flash before your eyes, but that hadn't happened yet, either. How long did it take to die? To be honest, I just wanted to get it over with.
I thought of Lee. Of Kenny, and Jane. Luke, Sarah, Carlos, Rebecca and Alvin, Omid, Gabe. Everyone I had ever known who had died passed through my mind, whether they were friends or foes. Heck, even Carver's beaten bloody corpse made it's way into my brain.
Hey, I thought, if God is real, I guess I'll see everyone again.
I wished that Louis was there with me, to make me feel better. He always knew just the right thing to say. What would he do without me? I thought. What would AJ do without me? What about the rest of the kids? My heart began to ache, but I couldn't tell if it was because of my injuries or my emotions.
Suddenly, I felt something grip my arm, yanking me up out of the water. "Oh my God, Clem!" My eyes fluttered open to see Louis, his face holding the same shocked expression he had when Marlon was shot. He pulled me into his lap, holding me like a baby.
"What happened? Who did this too you?"
"Lil-" I coughed, bringing up the water from inside my lungs. "Lilly shot me." My voice was a lot quieter than I intended it to be, and it was raspy, too. "Where's AJ?"
"He's with Ruby, Omar, Willy and Tenn," he said. "He wanted to help look for you, but I didn't wanna risk it, just in case any of the raiders found us. Violet and Aasim are looking for you, too."
"Good thing it was you who found me, Violet would have just killed me," I mumbled.
"No, that's not true," Louis said.
I scoffed, saying, "She hates me."
Louis said, "Well, maybe, but I doubt she'd kill you. You're too valuable to us."
"Well, she did try to kill me in the cell," I replied.
"Wait, she did what?"
"Never mind," I said.
Then he looked at my stomach then, his eyes growing wide. "Clem, you've lost so much blood..."
"I know," I said. I watched as his facial expression changed, from relief to concern.
"You've lost a lot of blood, Clementine!"
I tried to calm him down, taking his hand in my own and squeezing it, whispering, "Hey, it'll be alright, Lou," but it was no use. He was shaking his head frantically, repeating, "No, no, no, no..."
He completely broke down. His chocolate brown eyes filled with tears, and his freckled nose began to run. He pulled me into a tight embrace, and began to shudder with every breath he took. "I can't l-loose you too, Clem!" He sobbed quietly into my ear.
"Shh, shh, it's gonna be okay," I cooed, squeezing him as tight as I could in my condition. I began to move my fingers in circles on his back, something I knew always soothed AJ when he was upset.
Apparently, it works on Louis, too. His sobbing turned to a steady sniffle, and I could no longer feel each tear it it landed on my back.
"Clementine!" The sound of Violet's voice startled us both. Louis pulled out of the hug only to look at her with a pained expression. The blonde teen rushed over to us, kneeling on the ground next to us. "What happened?"
I started to answer, but Louis interrupted me. "She got shot protecting the other kids, on the rescue mission to save you."
Violet looked ashamed, and for once, didn't have a snarky comeback.
Louis was staring daggers at her, and she was looking at the ground.
There was an awkward silence, until I began to cough again. Louis removed his gaze from Violet and replaced it on me. He gently patted my back, the way moms do when their trying to burp their baby.
"It's okay, get it all out," he said in a soft voice.
After a few more moments of silence, Violet said, "I'm sorry, Clem."
I studied her, trying to see if she meant it or if she was saying to because its what Louis wanted to hear. "It's fine."
Violet continued, saying, "No, I am really sorry, for everything. From the bottom of my heart. Maybe, if I would have helped you, then this wouldn't have happened. Fighting you in that cell was a real idiot move of me."
She took my hand, squeezing it. By the look on her face, I could tell that she was truly sorry.
"I forgive you, Vi. It's alright." I tried to smile, but the pain got a little too intense, and I winced as my heart ached again. I guess it was because of my injuries, not my feelings.
"Louis," I spoke, "I'm running out of time. I need you to promise me two things."
"Shoot," He said.
"Take care of AJ, tell him how much I love him, how sorry I am that I'm not going to be able to say goodbye," Tears began to cloud my vision, but I tried to keep them from spilling.
My boyfriend looked at me sincerely, answering, "Of course."
"Okay, that's good." It felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
"And the other promise?"
I looked into his eyes, staring directly into mine. "You can't let me-" I didn't even have to finish the sentence. He knew what I meant.
"No, I can't kill you! I won't"
He was beginning to cry again, closing his eyes, refusing to look at mine. I placed my hand on his cheek, and told him to look at me.
He obliged, his eyes now red and puffy. "Louis, you have to."
"Clem, you don't understand, I can't, I literally can't," he sighed, saying, "I don't have it in me."
"I'll do it," Violet spoke up, and I looked at her, grateful. "Thank you," I breathed.
My senses were getting weaker, and I didn't know how much longer I would be here. I struggled to keep my eyes open, before I finally just closed them. "I think... I think it's time."
"Oh, sweet Jesus," I heard Louis say under his breath.
"So, I've never been the best at goodbyes," Violet started, "but Clem, thank you, for everything. I'm sorry things had to end like this," I heard her voice crack on the last word. "I, I guess I'll see you on the other side."
"Thanks, Vi," I muttered.
"I second what Violet said." Said Louis, crying again. "God, I'm gonna miss you so much, it hurts."
"I'll miss you too, Louis," I told him adding, "You were my best friend that I've ever had, okay? Never forget that." I was starting to sniffle now, too.
I felt him bring my hand up to his face, where he planted a gentle kiss on it. "I'm glad I was the one who go to sweep you off your feet."
"And Clem?" He asked.
"Yes?"
"I love you."
It was all I could do to choke down a sob. "I love you back, Lou."
There was no more talking after that. Louis rested my head on his shoulder, and I got ready to leave the world.
But I decided to make one final request before I left.
"Louis? Sing."
Louis POV
At first, her request puzzled me. She had never mentioned that she had actually liked my singing. But, since she was dying in my lap and all, I decided to sing the same song I sang to her when we first met:
Oh my darling, oh my darling. Oh my darling, Clementine,
You were lost and gone forever, dreadful sorrow, Clementine.
In a cavern, in a canyon, excavating for a mine.
Lived a miner forty-niner, and his daughter Clementine.
Yes i love her, how i love her, thought her shoes were number nine.
Herring boxes without topses, sandals were for Clementine.
Her breathing was slowing down, and when I noticed this, my voice hitched. But Violet placed a hand on my shoulder, urging me on. So I continued:
Oh my darling, oh my darling. Oh my darling, Clementine,
You were lost and gone forever, dreadful sorrow, Clementine.
Drove the horses to the water, every morning just at nine.
Hit her foot against a splinter, fell into the foaming brine.
Ruby lips above the water, blowing bubbles soft and fine.
But at last, I was no swimmer, so I lost my Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling. Oh my darling, Clementine,
You were lost and gone forever, dreadful sorrow, Clementine.
You were lost and gone forever, dreadful sorrow, Clementine.
Her body was completely limp, and her chest was no longer moving up and down with each breath, like it was before.
She was gone.
I stared at her lifeless body, unsure of what to do next.
I gently laid Clem on the grass , folding her hands on her chest.
I stood up, and Violet stood next to me. "You sure you want me to do this?"
I nodded.
All of a sudden, her body began to stir, and Violet knelt down and rammed the meat cleaver into her face.
I grimaced, and turned away.
It was quiet for a couple minutes, before I thought out loud, "It's weird to think that just hours ago, this body was full of life, isn't it?" Violet patted me on the back, saying, "Let's go. Those rain clouds will be over here and pouring any minute."
"Just a sec," I said. I walked over to where she lay, then picked up her famous "D" hat, staring at it for a second in my hands. I put it in my back pocket.
As we were walking away, I took one last look at her, then made my way back to the school.
Now, I asked myself a very important question; how was I going tell AJ?
AN: Sorry this one was so depressing! The next one will be better, and happier. Let me know what you thought of this chapter!