She was trapped, injured and all alone. Her old group had been overrun just the day before and she couldn't move far. The girl clutched her arm and frantically searched for a way out, there was no immediate route, the walkers were pushing her farther back against the thick tree line, it was getting dark and she did not want to get caught in there.
She felt around her pockets for the picture of Lee. "I-I'm sorry, Lee…" she whimpered. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the walkers to tear her apart. "HEY!" Clem's eyes flew open o see a small figure waving a flare at the walkers, "Come an' get me you rotting freaks!" She could barely see them as the boy went down, there was a scuffle, snapping of teeth and a yelp. The figure stood up, shoving the walker off of him. He laughed, "Shows how smart they are. HAH!"
She was huddled at the base of a large bush, hoping not to have been seen.
"Hey, I know you're there. Y'don't have to hide. I won't hurt you."
"Promise?" Clem asked, looking at the form against the graying sky.
"Cross my heart an' hope to die! I probably will, so…yeah. No need to fear me." The boy extended his hand. "It's okay." Clem hesitantly took the boy's hand and got a better look at him. The boy had black hair that was very tangled and fell in his face. She noticed an especially dark shadow beneath his right eye, which she realized was an eyepatch. "What's your name?" Shayne asked.
"It's Clementine." She replied softly, averting her eyes.
"I'm Shane. Nice to meet you, Clementine, we'd better not hang around too long, I think I hear more biters." The boy, Shane said, looking around cautiously. And just like that, the two lost children became 'we.'
The two kids were sitting
"How'd you survive this long?" Shane asked Clementine as he carved a long stick to a deadly sharp point. The two Clem sighed, "I had a group as while back, they helped me. A man found me and took care of me for a while, his name was Lee." Shane noted her use of past tense. "What happened to him?"
Clem flinched, "He-he uh…died a long time ago."
Shane sighed, "I know the feelings kiddo." He looked a little distant and closed his eye. "I lost my family a while ago."
Clem looked away, "Sorry." She replied softly.
"Nah, its fine. I'm totally over it." He thought for a moment, "Hey, wanna go find something to eat?" Clementine watched him, all too aware of the evasion. "Yeah, we better be careful though." She straightened her hat firmly on her head. "Let's go."
The two returned after an hour of fruitless searching, exhausted and still just as hungry, Clem and Shane returned to the hideout they'd occupied. "Man, that sucked. Find anything?" Shane asked Clementine who was flat on her back. "Nope." She replied sadly.
"We're gonna starve before the biters get to us, eh?"
Clem shuddered, "You're a very….'up' person y'know that?" Shane chuckled, and shrugged. "Just how you look at things I guess. " He leaned back against the wall. The two had managed to find an abandoned building, this room alone had a sturdy door.
Shane looked over a Clem and thought for a moment, "We need to set up traps. For food, and walkers." Clem looked surprised at his seemingly ridiculous proposal. "Walkers?"
"Think about it, this is our... stronghold of sorts, and it makes sense to protect it! Like, we could hammer stakes into trees, set booby traps! We could be safe for a long time!"
"Aaand what if we set off a trap or two?" Clem asked, seemed like a fair question.
"We'd make a map!" Shane said, holding out his hands as though envisioning the very near future. "A map!" He claimed again.
"Exactly how long have you been alone?" Clementine asked politely.
Shane shrugged, "I dunno, a while I guess."
"That explains it." Clem muttered, she sighed. "We'll, for starters we're going to need supplies. How late is it?"
Shane peeked out of the high window, "The sun is still kinda high, we got a little time." He nodded, "You wanna do this? Make a run now?"
"Yeah, I mean, who knows, I may have to pull you out of a bind." Clem said, punching his arm as she went past him. Shane plastered on a grim, crooked smile on his face and followed.
Maybe things would be alright after all. Clementine had a family again; she could get over Christa, Omid, but not Lee. Lee would always be there, a little whisper in the back of her mind, telling her not to worry, not to be afraid, to be smarter than them, to be faster, and she vowed every day she woke in one piece that she would be. Shane was a lonely boy in a world filled with loneliness and betrayal after betrayal. He hardly knew any kindness and little love. He had no mother, father, brother or sister to help him. He had no one until Clem came along, so maybe, just maybe, they'll be able to calm down…
"Hey!" Clem called quietly, after they'd been walking for a while, the duo had stumbled across a ravaged campsite with little left over. She picked up a bit of rope, that looked like a pretty sorry piece of equipment.
To be continued….
So, what did you think of that? I know it's a little short but, I'll write longer chapters in the long run.