The first thing Clementine felt was cold.
Coughing involuntarily, she weakly tried to lift her head, blinking in the morning light. She found herself lying on the ground next to the river with her lower body submerged in the icy water. She coughed again, suddenly becoming aware of the sharp pebbles under her hands and cheek. She closed her eyes, mustered her strength, and tried to stand up, but her legs were completely numb from the water.
Clementine groaned and dragged herself out of the water by her forearms. Massaging her legs and shivering, she slowly worked feeling back into her extremities. She stood up on shaky legs. She clutched her stomach as a sharp pang shot through her abdomen. She tried to remember back to her last meal… It must have been the day before yesterday. She sighed, looking down at her petite frame. She didn't know if she could take one more missed meal.
Still clutching her stomach, she shuffled away from the river and took in her surroundings. The end of a sunken wooden canoe poked out of the water just off the shore. There was a 10 foot cliff separating the water's edge from the surrounding woods, but half a collapsed set of wooden stairs remained connecting the cliff to the shore. From the look of the sign by the stairs, this used to be a children's summer camp. Clementine was no longer struck by these dilapidated relics of another life. They were simply part of her reality.
She made her way to what remained of the stairs. She jumped with her arms outstretched, muscles straining and pain shooting through her legs. She pulled herself onto the platform and walked towards the woods. "Christa? Are you there?" she called out through the trees.
Clementine noticed a walker slumped on a rock by the edge of the cliff. Still shivering, she examined the sign lodged in its skull. It was hard to tell whether it was put there before or after it reanimated… If the walker was killed by bandits, maybe Christa is still close by. I have to find her, Clementine thought. She might be in trouble. …I might be in trouble.
Clementine walked into the woods cautiously, following a somewhat overgrown trail. Probably from the camp, Clementine thought to herself. She passed a sign warning of dangerous wildlife. Nervously, she scanned the trees around her, half expecting to see a bear lumbering behind any one of them
The freezing wind chilled Clem's still-damp body. She was struck by the vastness of the woods around her. There might not be anybody for miles…. She pushed that thought out of her mind and kept walking, jumping at every rustle in the underbrush.
Suddenly, she heard snuffling in the bushes. Eyes wide, she peered through the brush. Clementine's breath caught in her throat. An emaciated dog turned around and stared back at her. Clementine couldn't remember the last time she saw a living dog… How had it survived so long without people?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the dog's low threatening growl. It backed away from her slightly, ears back and tail lowered. "I-It's ok, boy, it's ok," Clementine soothed nervously. The dog barked in affirmation. Apparently it decided she wasn't a threat. Clementine smiled slightly to herself as she bent down to check the dog's collar. "Sam… Nice to meet you, Sam."
Sam walked off a ways, seemingly inviting Clementine to follow. "Hey… wait up!" Clem called, chasing after him.
They soon came to an abandoned camp. Ragged tents slumped in one corner, while a rusted shell of a minibus rested in another. Empty cans and old trash littered the campsite. Feeling her stomach growl, Clem scanned the site for likely hiding places for food. It looked fairly run over, but it was her best chance for now.
Clementine halfheartedly poked through some boxes around the campsite looking for food. Nothing useful immediately presented itself, but she did come across an old Frisbee in the dirt. Smiling to herself, she called Sam's name to get his attention. He ran up to her, his eyes questioning. "Look what I got, boy," she said, waving the frisbee. He pawed the ground, tail wagging wildly. "Go… get it!" she called, throwing the frisbee as far as she could. She watched Sam scamper across the camp, catching the Frisbee in midair before bringing it back to her and dropping it expectantly at her feet. The sheer normalcy of it was… surreal.
Turning away from Sam, Clementine turned her attention to more pressing matters. Her eyes fell on a garbage can full of old trash. Haven't checked this one yet…
She rolled up her sleeves and started to pick through the empty cans. This part always made her nervous. The sharp can lids were hardly sanitary and contracting tetanus wasn't high on Clementine's list of preferred deaths.
Aha! Jackpot! Clementine lifted the familiar heaviness of a full can of food. She couldn't believe her luck. "Yes… thank you," she breathed. Sam's low growl made her turn around. He seemed to be disturbed about something on the far side of a nearby tree.
She shushed the dog, fearful of attracting walker attention. Walking towards Sam cautiously, Clementine caught sight of a walker tied to a tree by the side of the camp. "It's ok. He's dead," she informed Sam quietly. She sighed and grabbed a heavy branch. What a hassle. She silenced the walker's gurgles with a few good hits to the head. It took more out of her than she expected. She paused with her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. Her whole body still ached with cold and exertion. "I just need some food," she panted to Sam.
Looking back up at the walker, she noticed a medium-sized knife sticking out of its arm. "Looks like he tried to cut out the bite," she murmured. "But… that never works." She quickly swallowed down the lump in her throat and extracted the knife from the walker's arm with a quick yank. "Still pretty sharp," she said with a satisfied smile. "C'mon, let's get this can open."
Sitting down on a log, Clementine pierced the can lid with a few deft strokes of the knife. Looked like beans. She sniffed the food experimentally. "Seems ok," she shrugged. Reaching in with her hands, she hungrily scooped out handfuls of food and licked it off her fingers.
Sam sat by her feet, whining and wagging his tail for his share. Clementine frowned and turned away slightly. "There's barely enough for me," she scolded, eating another handful.
Sam's whines instantly turn to threatening growls. Clementine realized a split second too late the mistake she'd made. Sam lunged towards her, clamping his mouth over her forearm. Clementine yelped in pain and grabbed a rock, trying to beat the dog off her arm. When the dog's jaws relaxed, Clementine kicked it reflexively, sending it over a log and out of sight. Clementine braced herself for another attack, but instead heard the panicked whines of a dog in pain.
Breathing heavily and clutching her throbbing arm, Clementine slowly peered over the log, holding the knife ready in her good hand. Her stomach twisted when she saw Sam.
Her kick had impaled him on the old, rusting tent stakes. Unable to free itself, the dog was twitching and whining. My friend…
Clementine looked down on him with sadness clouding her face. She could only imagine the pain Sam was in. He hadn't meant to harm her; he was only acting on instinct. Leaning down, she drew her knife along his neck. "I'm sorry," she whispered as she left the camp behind her.
