Know that I read all of your reviews and take it to heart. Appreciate it. Hopefully the dialogue improves as does the story. Enjoy this chapter.

Also, in the dialogues of the game, Clementine has a chance to be very nice and forgiving, or be a cold, harsh girl. I'll try to juggle around and try to fit her character as both.

Chapter 4: A Blast to the Past

Lee and Clementine were fast asleep when they were awoken by the sound of the locks of the shed becoming undone, as the sun's rays pierced them. Lee immediately rose up and rubbed his eyes as the shed opened, while Clementine buried herself deeper into the cover.

"It's time to get up Clem. They'll be onto us any second now," Lee said as he pulled the blankets off of her.

She groaned and groggily rose up, rubbing her eyes.

They were met by Pete, Nick, Luke, Alvin, Rebecca, and Carlos who seemed to look very curiously at Clementine.

Clementine just stared at them. "Not turned..."

"I knew that girl was saying the truth," Luke said. "I told you she wasn't bitten."

"If I recall correctly son, you pointed your gun at her when Lee first showed her dog bite to you," Pete helpfully said.

"Okay...it was at that moment. I'm talking about right now."

"Heh, it's all good," Lee smiled, but then frowned at the rest of the group. "Imagine if she hadn't been treated and was locked in the shed yesterday...things could have been much worse. Now can you see we've been telling you guys the truth?"

"Well doc?" Nick asked, still holding on to his shotgun. "What do you say about this mess?"

Carlos examined the band-aid wrapped around Clementine and checked her forehead to see if she had a fever or not. He did not find that her temperature had increased to the point where it would be deemed a walker bite. "If she was bitten by a walker, the fever would be out of the roof. I guess you proved us wrong."

Lee smirked as Clementine tiredly smiled.

"Great, you can come in now then, now that that's settled," Alvin warmly smiled at them.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up," Rebecca said. "We still don't know if they are working for Carver. Also, how in the world did they get blankets and food? Did they steal...from us?"

"Yeah, did you guys steal?" Nick raised his eyebrows.

Luke looked pretty nervous that his secret might be spilled, but Lee didn't rat him out. "We would've froze to death if we didn't have that. We're sorry about it, but we needed it..."

"I knew they were a thief also," Rebecca glared at them. "How will we know if they won't steal any of our stuff when we let them in? This is still a horrible plan...we should just let them go on their own."

"Alright, alright, enough," Pete cut in. "I was the one who gave them the food, water, and blankets. I couldn't have them freeze of sleep hungry. So if you want someone to blame, blame me."

Rebecca glared at Pete, but didn't say anything else as Luke looked more ashamed of himself for not speaking up.

"Why don't you come in then?" Carlos asked. "You have earned the right too. We can all sit down and talk about you and us."

"Yeah, we need to get the chance to more about each other and trust each other," Luke agreed. "Perhaps by hearing from our side of the story and us hearing from yours, we can find a common ground. We aren't bad people, really."

"You COULD have killed Clementine yesterday...and refused us this shed to sleep in. I don't think you guys are all that bad," Lee said.

"We aren't. Really," Luke looked at Lee in the eye. "Come on in."

One by one, they all trailed inside the house. Lee and Clementine began examining the house, looking to see if it was safe. After all, they had every right to be wary. The house looked ordinary and nothing seemed out of place. There was a kitchen with the dishes piled up, as well as a large table and some chairs, where they had dinner. There were also some stairs that led up, but Carlos turned their attention away from it.

"Why don't you all sit down here?" Carlos politely asked, gesturing a seat to them as they all got seated.

"Comfortable place you have here," Clementine said.

"It's as comfortable as it gets," Pete chuckled. "Thankfully, our house is pretty well protected from walkers. Hordes don't get up here, but once in a while, you may have a few stray walkers."

This house immediately reminded Lee of St. John's Dairy as his nose crinkled up. No...this was nothing like that place.

"So...what do you want to know?" Lee asked the first question.

"Well Lee, Clementine," Carlos said. "We want to know how you ended up here. How did Luke and Pete manage to find you guys? It's pretty rare to have visitors."

Clementine and Lee looked at each other as understanding passed between them.

"We...were headed to Wellington," Lee began. "We had a group of four and we headed north from Savannah. We were on our trek there for sixteen months when one night, bandits struck. One killed our guy, and we don't know where the other went. We ran away from them, and ended up falling into a current, which dragged us to a lake. We headed upwards and found an abandoned camp and some food and a dog, who belonged to the group at the camp. Unfortunately, the dog was hungrier than we thought he was, so as Clementine was about to feed him, he sunk his teeth deep into her so she had to kick him off."

"That's how I got my bite," Clementine added, staring at all of them. "Because of that dog...not because of a walker."

"You're a tough kid, you know that?" Pete smiled.

"She really is," Lee nodded.

"I can't take all the credit," Clementine said. "I've known Lee for three years now. Back when he found me alone, I was a scared girl, but being with Lee all this time and learning from him, he toughened me up."

"It was her mindset, that she was willing to change. When a girl that was eight had to see everything going on, with some things that were unspeakable, it just saddens you, you know?"

Carlos sighed, reminiscing about his daughter Sarah. Hearing a little from them, he felt comfortably with sharing some information about Sarah. "The girl you saw yesterday, Sarah, remember?"

Lee and Clementine nodded.

"You have to be very careful with her. She may seem like a normal girl first glance, but I've avoided showing her any of these things that have been happening. If my daughter were to see any of it, she would cease to function. I ask of you to please avoid interacting with her. If by any chance you do, keep things quick and concise with her."

"We will Carlos. You don't have to worry." Lee affirmed.

"Thank you."

They heard Nick sigh as Clementine and Lee looked at him, with the latter staring at him with hostility.

"Hey, look," Nick gently said. "Um...I just wanted to say I'm s-sorry for being a dick out there. I got kinda aggro and that was definitely not cool."

"Nick's been known to go off every once in a while," Luke explained. "Don't hold it against him."

"I guess we had our moments..."

"Yes, you definitely did, Nick."

Lee looked at Clementine who was staring at Nick. "You were just protecting your friends. I get it."

"I didn't mean to be so harsh," Nick scratched his chin. "We just...had a bad experience once..."

Everyone, even Pete looked at Nick with sympathy.

"What happened?" Clementine asked.

"Clem..." Lee said.

"No, it's okay. I owe you both an explanation..." Nick sighed, rubbing his face. "I...I lost my mom. We were taking care of someone who got bit...and...it's all my fault..."

"It's no one's fault, son..." Pete reassured. "That was a situation we couldn't control..."

"Anyways...the person we took care of, turned and bit my mom. We couldn't do anything," Nick continued on. "I...I had to put...put her down..."

Lee and Clementine stared at him sadly.

"I'm sorry," Lee apologized. "No one should ever have to go through that. I'm sorry Pete about your...wife."

"Oh, she wasn't my wife," Pete explained. "She was my sister. Nick's my nephew, but I call him son."

"I see."

"Which annoys the living crap outta me," Nick said, annoyed.

"Deal with it son."

Clementine had to smile.

"So, if you aren't his daughter, how'd you end up together?" Luke asked. "I'm wondering that. Did you just stumble upon her by chance?"

Lee thought for a bit, unsure of how much to explain. They had somewhat earned his trust when he heard about Carlos' daughter and what happened with Nick's mom. He decided he would tell parts and pieces of what had transpired.

"I was on my prison actually, when all this started," Lee began as Clementine stared sadly at the table in front of her. "The cop hit a walker that was in front of us and the car spiraled out of control and to the ground. The cop immediately died and I was at the back of his car with a broken leg. I forced myself out of the car when the officer turned and came closer to me. I couldn't walk well, so I find a shotgun and spare bullets and I killed him. After releasing my restraints, I met Clementine. She was watching me from the distance and when she ran away, I followed her to her house. We talked through the walkie talkie when her babysitter, who had turned, attacked me. Clementine brought me a hammer and that saved my life. After getting to know her name and realizing that she was living by herself up that tree house, I knew I had to take care of her. I promised her we'd find her parents and she tagged along with me. That's how this crazy adventure began."

Everyone was listening to the story with all ears.

"And what age was she again? Sorry," Luke said, embarrassed.

"She was eight," Lee responded. "Eight years old."

"That's a pretty young age to be tangled up in this," Pete stated.

"It was...Now she's eleven, and I still think it's still a pretty young age. There were so much things we as a group had to go through...it seemed like it became worse the longer we progressed..."

"Do you mind telling us what you went through? Just to get the gist of what you had to suffer through," Alvin gently told them. "No pressure, we're not forcing you or anything."

"Are you okay with sharing some of these Clementine?"

"Yeah, I don't mind. I trust them."

"Okay then...the first traumatizing thing that happened to us was St. John's Dairy," Lee shook his head as Clementine scrunched her face in disgust and sadness. "They offered us food and protection in exchange of us helping them work. What we didn't know was that, that place was a slaughterhouse. They butchered human who were about to die and fed them...or ate them."

Everyone in the table visibly paled or shook with rage.

"What? That's crazy! What kind of crazy shit is that?" Luke asked.

Carlos shook his head. "What has this world come to now...?"

"Don't worry. They won't be doing any more of that," Lee reassured. "I had my suspicions of that place and it wasn't until dinner time when I found out. They had prepared a meal for us, but a friend of ours, Mark was missing. I found him in a room with both of his legs sawed up, being served to our group...and Clementine. I stopped her from eating it, but the others weren't lucky. When we realized they intended to pick all of us one by one, they struck and knocked us and put us in the cell. It was there we were faced with a difficult decision. There was this man named Larry who was...who had a heart attack and collapsed. His daughter tried to convince us that he was still alive, but our friend Kenny said that we couldn't take any chances. We had to smash his face in to avoid him from turning."

"I was scared then..." Clementine admitted. "I thought that killing was wrong and that it shouldn't happen. Unfortunately, that was the wrong thing to believe at that time. I couldn't grasp the concept of being bit and turning."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Nick shook his head. "That is straight fucked up."

"Hey, language..." Clementine warned, looking at him with serious eyes as he rubbed his head in embarrassment.

Pete chuckled.

"Hey, I'm not the only one who's been cursing," Nick replied.

Clementine looked back at the table with a sigh.

"H-how'd you get out?" Luke asked, wanting to know.

"We unhooked the AC unit as Clem went through it to unlock the door from the other size. We're thankful we had someone as small as Clem..."

"I really hope being small doesn't come to haunt me," Clementine said.

"I'm sure you'll have your uses," Luke smiled.

Clementine stared at him for a moment, then looked away.

"Clementine, what was your thought process when you had to go through that?" Carlos asked.

"Back then, we were all hungry, so all I cared about was food and not being lonely," she sadly said. "I didn't know how dangerous it was until Lee warned me to not eat the food. I was pretty stupid and clueless back then."

"Clementine, that is not your fault," Carlos was the one to speak up. "When you're young, you're brain is incapable of making the decisions a fully grown adult would make, or even a teenager. That is why children are raised by their parents of their guardians, to learn about the outside world. You think differently than you would have done three years ago."

"I can totally agree with that," Lee smiled. "You are much more smarter than you were three years ago, much more mature."

"Well, I wish it would have turned out different," Clementine crossed her arms a bit angrily. "I was so set on finding my parents. I thought they were alive. I had hope that they were alive and I got mad when Lee and the others didn't help me find them. I ran away from them...to a random stranger who I talked to with my walkie talkie because he said that he had my parents. If I were smarter, I would have known that they couldn't have survived...yet, I...I..."

"That's enough," Lee gently said. "Yes, I was worried when you were missing, but who wouldn't want to find their parents? Don't blame yourself for what happened in the past."

"Is that convincing enough that they are not with Caver, Becc?" Alvin asked.

Rebecca just stared at the two and sighed.

"Do you mind telling us who Carver is?" Lee asked with curiosity. "You keep asking us if we are with him, but this is the first time we're hearing his name."

The rest looked at each other, silently debating if they should.

"You trusted us with your past, so allow us to do the same," Pete finalized. "William Carver...he's a real bad man. We were trapped in his camp for a while before we planned our escape. Luke and him butted heads about his leadership, to the point where Rebecca found it unbearable. After escaping, we finally settled here because we knew he'd come back for us. That is also why Rebecca mistrusted you guys at first. If you were working with Carver, you would have told him about us leaving here, and then he'd know."

"I especially have a bad relationship with him," Rebecca muttered in disgust. "I still don't trust you two, but you guys don't seem as bad as I thought you were."

"It's okay guys. Stick with us long enough and she'll end up trusting you," Alvin smiled.

"What was bad with Carver, if you don't me asking?" Clementine asked.

Luke turned to Clementine. "He was douchebag...the way he ran that place was far from what I had thought about that place. He was a blood thirsty tyrant and wasn't afraid to hurt or kill others to save his own neck. He always claimed that it was the strong that was supposed to lead the weak, since the weak couldn't lead at all. He was very oppressive and trust me, if you had been there when we had, you would have ran away also."

"You know, from what you are saying, his 'camp', as you guys say, reminds me a lot about Crawford," Lee stated.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Clementine nodded.

"Though I believe Crawford is much worse. I'm saying that though because I've never experienced Carver and although I haven't experienced Crawford in person, all the stories Vernon and Molly had to tell..."

"Crawford...that name sounds awful familiar," Pete muttered.

"What exactly is Crawford?" Carlos asked.

"Can I try explaining to them, Lee?" Clementine turned to Lee.

"Of course you can. I'll add in any details you may miss."

"Okay. From the top of my head...Crawford was a place where only the healthy could live without fear," Clementine explained. "They did not welcome the elderly, the disabled, and children. From what Lee told me, Crawford killed them and displayed them to the outside in gruesome ways to keep others out. I...I remember seeing some walkers impaled on a stick. That place was terrible..."

No one spoke for the longest time.

"No fucking way...that is beyond fucked up," Nick whispered.

Clementine glared at him, but trained her glare at the table.

"They thought that by cutting themselves off from the rest of the world and only rationing food and safety to the strong and able, that they could get by this. They thought that their place was impenetrable...We tried to sneak in to take some supplies, when we found out the whole city was overrun by walkers." Lee added.

"How did it...fall?" Rebecca asked.

Lee sighed. "While we were trying to look for the combination to the medicine cabinet, we came upon two tapes. There was a doctor with a pregnant woman...since child bearing wasn't allowed, the doctor offered her two choices. Either she could carry on with abortion, or she could have the child, but they had to leave Crawford. Leaving Crawford would be a death sentence."

"Wait Lee...you haven't told me what abortion means," Clementine said, looking up at him.

"Um..." Lee thought, wondering if he should BS the explanation. "You're a little too young to know."

Clementine gave him a look that said, 'You're crazy!'

"I'm a little young...?" Clementine scoffed. "Lee, this young girl saw many things that a girl my age shouldn't see."

"She has a point there," Luke chuckled.

"I'm sure you could figure out what abortion means," Lee said. "It's a pretty tough subject for all of us."

"It won't bother me." Clementine crossed her arms.

"I know it won't Clem, but..."

"If the girl wants to know, you should let her know," Carlos replied. "It's not good if you keep shying away from subjects someone wants to talk about. I can explain it to her if you wish."

"Yeah, I think it'd be for the best," Lee agreed.

"Clementine, to have an abortion is to terminate the life of the child before he or she is born," Carlos explained. "It's a very horrible thing that has been a heated debate topic from all over the world."

"Killing a child?" Clementine asked. "That's terrible!"

"It sure is," Rebecca growled. "If you have a child, you better have the child. There is no damn reason to get an abortion."

Clementine felt very angry. Now that she knew what it truly meant, she had a fire raging in her heart. She hadn't felt that since...

"It's okay Clementine," Lee immediately said, trying to cool her off. "It is a terrible thing, but we shouldn't dwell on it too long. Anyways, that put the woman in the hospital in a very tough spot. She was give one more day to think of it and when she met with the doctor again, she stabbed him and left him for dead. That is how the chain started. The impenetrable fortress they thought they were living in crumbled."

"All of them deserved that," Rebecca nodded. "Every single of them..."

"I'm sure not all of them were like that," Alvin reasoned with her. "You can't damn an entire city just by the actions of a few."

"Alvin, were you even listening to what they said? They killed children, the elderly, and the disabled!"

"I was listening hon, but I'm sure not all of them wanted that," Alvin sighed. "Anyways, that is indeed a tragic place. Carver's camp isn't exactly like that, you know, but that place is still terrible."

"And you both went through all of that," Luke said. "That...that's just..."

"Messed up? Yeah, it is," Lee chuckled. "But, we made it out alive, and stronger than ever. We lost many friends and family also, but we had each other. You know, I also learned a lot from her. I wasn't good with kids at all since I've never them, but she...she was really something. She helped me to understand what it felt like to truly care for someone."

Clementine looked up and smiled at him.

"You don't have to worry about no damn walkers or any of that stuff you had to go through," Pete rose up and looked them both in the eye. "You are free to stay here as long as you like. We have a guest room you and Clementine can use together. Uh, Clementine, I know he's not your father, but we have only bed. Are you okay with sharing it with him?"

"If you don't, I can always sleep on the floor," Lee helpfully added.

"No...I'm not letting you do that. I'm okay with that," Clementine smiled. "I trust him."

"Well...welcome to the family, officially, kinda," Luke awkwardly said.

"Appreciate it Luke," Lee chuckled. "You know, you need to work on your speech. Some words that come out of your mouth, well it's very awkward."

"Hey, no need to remind me," he scowled.

"I can show you to your rooms," Rebecca rose up, wincing.

"Hon, no. You sit down and relax. I can show them their rooms," Alvin volunteered. "You guys didn't have breakfast, right?"

"I got their breakfast, don't worry," Pete smiled and rose up, walking into the kitchen.

Clementine couldn't help, but to squirm and wince as she smelled something putrid most likely from sleeping in the shed overnight.

"Um, do you have a shower? I'm very filthy and I smell," Clementine admitted.

"Oh, you sure do," Lee chuckled as Clementine glared at him.

"Says the one who smells also..."

"You got me there."

"Yes, we do have working hot water," Carlos nodded. "Though I would ask you guys to please conserve."

"Oh no problem. We know all about conserving," Lee said.

"Why don't you follow me? I'll lead you to your room," Alvin replied. "Lee, you can stay here and eat your breakfast. Hell, we all need a good breakfast to go on through the day."

"Appreciate Alvin."

"Anytime."

While Alvin led Clementine to the room, Lee, turned to the others. "I can't thank you enough for all you are doing for us. How can we repay?"

"Don't worry about Lee. We all owe you after what happened yesterday," Luke told him. "Though we usually hunt our game. Do you know how to use a rifle or a shotgun?"

"Yep, sure do."

"Great. Then, you can help us with that," Luke said. "I still can't grasp my head around what you both had to go through. From what I'm hearing from you and her...you must really care for each other."

"Didn't you hear what they've been through and how they acted yesterday to each other?" Rebecca asked. "That should be pretty obvious."

"But, I'm sure you've had more people with you...where are they? I recall you talking about being in a group," Nick stated.

"They're all dead...or ran away," Lee sighed. "We've lost many people and I almost lost Clementine also. I don't know what I would do if I lost her also..."

"I know it will be a terrible burden on you," Carlos shook his head. "If I lost my daughter, I wouldn't know what to do."

"I already almost lost her once...I can't lose her again."

"How'd you...lose her?" Luke asked.

"That's not appropriate to ask, Luke," Carlos crossed his arms.

"No, no, it's okay," Lee heaved another sigh. "Clementine had her mind set on the fact that her parents were still alive. That led her to be manipulated by this man on the radio who convinced Clementine he had her parents. He lured Clementine to meet him and when he did, he locked her in a room. When I found him, he explained that he had a family too, but because of his irresponsibility, they died and he wanted Clementine as a replacement daughter."

"He didn't hurt her, did he?" Rebecca asked.

"No...not from my knowledge. I was so relieved when I found her. She apologized and I apologized also. Since this was my first time taking care of a child, I didn't know how to properly express my care and love for her and that kinda drew us apart. The longer we spent time together after that, the more I realized how much of a blessing she was."

Lee was cut off when he heard footsteps. They looked up to see Alvin with a smile. "She was impressed at the size of the room. It is not very big, but it's not small either. It should be comfortable for both of you. Anyways, what'd I miss?"

"Nothing much dear," Rebecca said.

"Well, you almost missed your breakfast," Pete came in, smiling. "We have some vegetable stew. For lunch, we'll have some delicious game Nick and I went hunting for yesterday. Of course Nick wasn't much help."

"Will you just lay off of me?" Nick growled.

"Never happening, son." Pete chuckled.

"Sarah, get down here please. We're having breakfast!" Carlos called out.

"Coming dad!" came her voice.

"Now, we should stop talking about all this when she's here. She can't hear any of what we're talking about," Carlos requested.

"No problem Carlos. We won't talk about it." Lee smiled.

"Thank you."

Sarah came down the stairs as she caught sight of Lee. "Dad, dad, who's that? Why is the shower running upstairs? Is that girl from yesterday here also?"

"Relax sweetie. Sit down and eat your food. Say hi to Lee."

"Hi Mr. Lee," she smiled.

"Hello Sarah," he smiled back.

"How do you know my name?"

"We told him sweetheart. It's okay," Carlos said. "He and his...daughter Clementine will be staying here for a while, okay?"

"Oh, a friend! I always wanted a friend!" Sarah grinned from ear to ear.

"Easy Sarah..." Carlos sighed.

Breakfast was eaten in silence as Sarah occasionally glanced at Lee, but then immediately pretended like she didn't do anything and went back to eating. Lee had to inwardly chuckle. Sarah was the one who finished her breakfast first as she was ordered to go back to her room by Carlos.

"Are you sure it's okay to keep your daughter like this?" Lee couldn't help but to ask. "I'm not saying your doing a bad job or anything, it's just that I feel bad for the poor girl."

"I would like to first thank you for not paying my daughter any mind. I believe I can trust you. To answer your question, yes, it is okay. I have to be firm with my daughter about this...she can't be exposed to what is going on outside...she simply can't."

"She'll one day have to..."

"No. Please, let the subject go," Carlos looked on sadly.

"I'm...sorry for intruding."

"It's okay. I could understand why," Carlos sighed. They heard footsteps as Carlos rose up in indignantly. "Sarah, I thought I told you to st-"

Carlos immediately stopped himself as he saw Clementine coming down the steps, who was looking at Carlos curiously.

"I-I'm sorry about that Clementine," Carlos said.

"Did I miss anything?" she asked.

"Yes, your breakfast," Lee smiled. "Eat up Clementine. I should be going upstairs too. How was it?"

"The water was really amazing. I found a few bugs in my hair."

Lee chuckled. "Aren't you glad your hair is short? If it were longer, I'm sure there would have been more bugs."

"Yeah, I guess I'm glad."

"Here, let me show you to your room," Alvin smiled at Lee.

"You've done enough Alvin, that's okay," Lee replied.

"Nonsense, if I had done enough, I wouldn't be volunteering to do this. Now, let's go."

Alvin led Lee upstairs as Clementine took a seat. Luke put her food in front of her. "It's soup like yesterday. Hope you enjoy. For lunch, we'll have some meat. You excited?"

"Kinda," she gave a half smile. "The room is really nice."

"Sometimes I wish that were my room," Luke chuckled. "But, oh well, beggars can't be choosers."

Clementine began eating her food, slowly as most in the room stared at her. She stopped eating and stared back. "Is there...something on my face?"

"Oh no, there's nothing there Clem," Luke shook his head. "Sorry for staring."

Nick rose up. "Well, I'll be in my room. I have some things to catch up with."

Pete stood up also and grabbed Nick's arm. "Put that on hold. I have other plans for you. We're going hunter once Lee comes down. We'll bring Clementine along. We can show her how this works and maybe she can learn to use a rifle. Hopefully even much better than you."

"Oh piss off!" Nick grouched.

Pete sighed. "You okay with learning to shoot a rifle? Have you shot a rifle before?"

"Not a rifle...but I know how to shoot a gun," Clementine said.

"In this world, who doesn't?" Nick chuckled.

"My daughter," Carlos calmly replied as Nick rubbed his head. "Where'd you learn how to shoot a gun Clementine?"

"From Lee right?" Luke asked. "At this point, it should be pretty obvious."

"I learned most of my survival skills from Lee," Clementine explained. "He taught me how to shoot a gun and he told me to keep my hair short in case walkers decided to grab it."

"That's smart of him. It may be preposterous to teach a little girl too shoot, but in the end, knowing how to shoot a gun or wield a weapon can be the difference between life and death," Luke agreed.

"Lee may have taught me, but it was actually his old homeless man named Chuck that brought it to Lee's attention," Clementine thought. "He told me that I would die like every other and that made Lee mad. He confronted Charles, but he only meant that I should be the taught how to defend myself."

"What happened to Charles, Clementine?" Rebecca asked.

Clementine looked down, shaking her head.

"What happens to the rest of us if you don't live," Nick said. "He's dead."

Clementine immediately thought of Duck for some reason when Nick said that. She remembered how she had thought of him as annoying and how she put bugs in his pillow to scare him. When Clementine knew what happened to Duck and what was going to happen to him, it saddened her greatly. Her lips quivered as she suddenly felt a rush of emotions envelop her. He didn't deserve to die like that...she knew that he was sick and scared.

"Everything okay Clementine?" Pete asked.

"Yeah, I was just...counting my blessings," she said. "I lost many friends, but..."

"You still have Lee by your side," Luke finished. "You know, when sh-...I mean, when things go down and you are found in your most helpless moments, it is nice to turn to the others you still have."

"Yeah, I still have Lee."

"And you have the rest of us also, so don't worry about it," Luke smiled.

"I appreciate it..."

"You're a really tough girl. You'll get through this world," Pete said. "I've been watching you and I know you have a heart of gold, yet you have this toughness also in you and an unbreakable will. Don't let indecision make you pay the price."

Clementine did not understand what he was saying, but she accepted his advice. "Yeah...thank you."

After falling into comfortable silence for a while, Clementine saw Lee come down the stairs, all freshened up.

"Lee!" she said and hugged him tightly. "I...thank you for all you've done for me. I-I love you."

"Woah Clem, you've thanked me enough times already. Why are you thanking me now?" Lee was confused. "I love you too by the way."

"I'm just...appreciating my blessings," she grinned as Lee chuckled, patting her head.

"Great, now that that's all out of the way, why don't we head out?" Pete asked. "You, me, Nick, and Clementine can go and hunt some animals. You know how to use a rifle, Lee? I heard from Clementine that she doesn't."

"I know how to use it, yeah. As for Clementine, she'll have to learn. The kick would knock her down and it would hurt," Lee replied.

"Oh you bet it would. Well, then, let's go."

"Stay safe, all of you," Rebecca finally smiled. "I don't want any of you not coming back safely, you hear?"

"Yeah, yeah, we get you," Pete replied. "We will all return in once piece very soon."

"You ready for this Clementine?" Lee asked.

"Heck yeah, I'm ready. Let's go hunt," Clementine said with fervor.

"That's the kind of attitude I like," Lee praised.

Clementine and Lee waved good bye to the group and exited, with Pete and Nick following behind them.

"The trail is to your right. Follow that sign to go to the river. We're right behind ya," Pete explained.

"Thanks Pete," Lee nodded as he put his arm around Clementine, "Say, I think we found ourselves a temporary place, yeah?"

"Yeah, it really is good here. I won't miss sleeping outside."

"Me neither Clem...me neither. Maybe, our luck has finally turned better for the change."

"And you just jinxed it..." Clementine crossed her arms.

Lee laughed as he smiled at the warm sun. Maybe he and Clem...finally found a hope and people they could rely on and trust.