Chapter III: Hold Me Tightly

A/N: I finally decided to continue this, and I plan to have a release schedule, at least two or three a week. Hope you enjoy, feedback of any kind is welcome. Like Seriously. VERY WELCOME.

Lee Everett | Approximately 119 days in |

"It's just us two. We're not like other people. We just like to see friendly faces, you know? You guys seem alright. And we'd like to help you. I had a brother and I lost him. It's not exactly the same but I'd like someone else to not lose a person." Vince said, smiling. Lee believed him. However, Molly's expression suggested otherwise.

"Oh no…" Wyatt said, backing up and grabbing his pistol.

"What the hell are you doing, Wyatt?" Vince questioned.

"He's bitten! Look at his wrist!" Wyatt pointed his gun at Lee's wrist. The bite was still there, but Lee had survived it. He still didn't understand why he even survived.

"Jesus. Fuck." Vince cursed. He didn't reach for his gun, he just looked to the ground. He knew Lee for about five seconds and he's acting like it's someone he's known for years.

"He…he's cured." Molly said slowly, she knew they were gonna act strange at her reply.

"Couple of wackjobs! Great!" Wyatt sighed, cocking his gun.

"Put the gun down, Wyatt! Let me handle this." Vince sighed, he was forward and grabbed Lee's wrist, pulling it up and examining it. It looked like a scab that could be peeled off.

"What do you mean cured?" Vince asked.

"Are you actually believing this woman, Vince?" Wyatt scoffed. Vince looked back, giving him a glare, and that got Wyatt to back off.

"He's cured. I found out how to cure the virus. Or at least, it only works when someone is near death and becoming a walker. How to prevent it." Molly explained.

"Care to elaborate?" Wyatt asked, sarcastically. Molly gave him a glare that spooked Wyatt more than Vince's glare did. Molly rolled her eyes and began to explain.

"Aspirin. I know what you are thinking. It's unbelievable. I came across these three people that were scientists. One was more of a scientist than the other two. They asked me if I was bitten and I told them I wasn't, and they gave me pills. I asked them what it was for, and they said if you were bitten, eat those and you won't die." Molly explained.

"Where does the aspirin come into play?" Wyatt asked.

"I asked what was inside the pills. They told me it was Aspirin. Not exactly Aspirin actually, they had modified it with other chemicals. The pills would go in your nervous system and enhance your blood. I asked how they came up with it, and they told me it was luck. I didn't know if I was to trust them. I ran across a jewelry store and found Lee, and he was about to die and become a walker. I gave him the pill and he passed out and I thought it didn't work, and then when he woke up he was fine. It cured him. I don't know if that means he's cured for good, but I'm assuming so since they said it would enhance your blood cells." Molly explained, crossing her arms.

"What happened to the scientists?" Vince asked.

"I don't know. I told them thank you and I left. Hours later, I found him. What a miracle, huh?" Molly looked to Lee.

"Lucky son of a bitch." Vince smiled. Vince removed his hand from Lee's wrist, backing up and Wyatt holstered his weapon.

"I just need to get back my girl. She's all that matters to me now." Lee said, walking forward and staring off into the sunset.

"Me and Wyatt are going to do everything we can to help you get back to her. I promise." Vince smiled.

Clementine | Approximately 845 days in |

"No way she's survived out here on her own!" Nick growled, clenching the handle of his rifle. He had almost shot Clementine. Clementine had been bit by a dog she stumpled upon, it took her by surprise when that dog attacked her, but she definitely had a thought that the dog would turn feral against her.

"We could take her arm off." Pete suggested. The entire cabin group, Pete, Nick, Alvin, Rebecca, Carlos, and Luke didn't know whether she was telling the truth regarding the bite. She had claimed that it was a dog bite. Clementine gasped at his suggestion. Carlos ignored his suggestion, examining the bite on her arm.

"Who would volunteer for that?" Alvin questioned. Alvin seemed to be one of the few that actually didn't like the hostility towards the little girl. Him, Luke and Pete.

"You'll just be making it worse for the girl." The pregnant black woman, Rebecca said. She had been one of the top candidates for being rather rude to the little girl. Clementine didn't like her vocabulary, but she chose to ignore it, and focus on trying to convince the groups that she wasn't bitten.

"For the last time, I swear, it's JUST a dog bite! I found food and the dog attacked me! Do you really think a walker could bite like that?" Clementine questioned Carlos, taking interest in her comment.

"Y'know, she could be right." Luke said, crossing his arms. Carlos ran his index finger along the bite length. Clementine was confused at Luke's sudden defense of me. Wasn't he the one who had disbelief on her dog bite? Now he suddenly agrees with Pete?

"I think you may be right." Carlos said, standing up.

"So the kid is now a better doctor than you, Carlos?" Rebecca retorted. Rebecca looked at Clementine with a nasty glare. Clementine decided it's time to show that she wasn't a pushover. She glared at her back, but it didn't scare Rebecca.

"Smart kid, I guess." Alvin grinned. Rebecca gave a glare which turned his smile into a frown, crossing his arms once again.

"We should still lock her in the shed. To be safe." Nick suggested.

"Don't be an idiot, Nick." Pete sighed.

"Hey! I'm not an idiot! Don't act like you know me!" Nick argued back.

"Don't be like that, man." Luke sighed, putting his hand on Nick's shoulder at an attempt to calm him down.

"It's alright, boy's got his mom's temper." Pete said, nodding to Luke for him to leave him be. Luke obliged, and backed up. Nick stormed into the house. Pete rolled his eyes as if his nephew was a teenage girl stomping to her room because she couldn't get the latest phone that came out two days ago. Sure to say, he wasn't and he was about twenty maybe thirty.

"Are you hungry, kid?" Luke asked. The whole cabin group went inside, except for Luke.

"I can fix that arm for you too." Carlos said as he walked inside the cabin.

"I'm still not sold on the fact that she isn't working for Carver…" Rebecca growled as she went inside with Alvin. Clementine smiled and went inside with Luke and Carlos.

A few hours later…

"Sorry this took so long to make, without a microwave, this food can't exactly cook under a few minutes." Luke smiled as he passed the plate of Party Pizza over to Clementine. Clementine smiled, and looked to see where the microwave supposed to be. She took a guess that it was in one of the cabinets because of all the dust and it looked like a microwave would fit right into that drawer. She looked around the cabin. It had a nice setup. It was all weird to Clementine, sitting in a house, eating food on a normal day. Well, Clementine knew these were considered normal days now, and back then was pretty much considered the apocalypse. She was too used to the new world, and she didn't like it. She didn't need to like it, though.

"A whole Pizza?" Clementine questioned, unsure of how she was going to manage on finishing it. Luke let out a chuckle and grabbed the pizza slicer and sliced it into eight slices of pizza.

"Do you mind?" Luke asked, moving his hand slowly to grab a piece of pizza. Clementine nodded, smiling. Luke smiled back and grabbed the pizza and ate it.

"Oh, shit. Hot." Luke chuckled. Clementine ate a pizza and she almost choked on how hot it was. She dropped it on the table, luckily it landed perfectly so it didn't stain the table with pizza stains.

"Hot, right?" Luke laughed as Clementine picked it back up. Clementine nodded as she tried to eat the pizza again and successfully did, trying to ignore the strong steamy taste that added along with the pizza.

"Damn good, right? We only have a few more left, and we've been trying to savor it. But, I guess we will have to make an exception." Luke winked. Clementine ate another piece of pizza, and Luke had grabbed another one as well.

"So, what's your plan?" Luke asked Clementine. She hadn't thought about it, really. She had just run into a group of strangers that had served her pizza and she didn't want to leave already. She wasn't sure where she would go or where she would even look.

"I had a friend named Christa. A few guys attacked us and I don't know if she made it out. I fell into the river and ended up here, found the dog, and a camp and I ran into you and Pete. I want to look for Christa, but I have no idea where I can go to get back to where I was." Clementine explained, looking up to Luke.

"Yeah, I get it. You're welcome to stay here if you want, get rested or whatever. But I think you'd be safer here." Luke replied. Clementine glared at him.

"Is it because I'm a little girl? I can take care of myself, you know.." Clementine questioned.

"I don't doubt it, kid. I don't doubt it at all." Luke smiled.

Hope you guys enjoyed this normally longer chapter, and hope to have each chapter have a goal of 2000-3000 words. This was almost 2000 but sadly I thought it would be best to wrap things up at this point and the next few chapters will focus on Clementine and the cabin group, with changes along the way (heh heh heh) and then we'll get back to Lee, Molly, Vince, and Wyatt.

SOON.

Yeah, I said it. I'm not proud of it.