Thanks, gaara king of the sand for helping me out.
They were back on the road again. Molly had given them a full day to rest up, but decided she couldn't just stay put any longer. The girls needed clothes, it would be colder soon and t-shirts weren't enough to keep them warm.
"Molly?" Clementine voiced.
Molly looked to the rear-view mirror to see the child, "Yes?"
"How much longer until we get to Savannah?" Clementine asked.
"It's going to take a while. We've got quite a bit of ground to cover." Molly replied. "Why?"
"Just wondering." Clementine shrugged.
The child fell silent, looking out the window for a short moment, before glancing to her friend.
"Dani," She called, looking to Danielle. "Are you okay?"
The younger girl said nothing. She had been quiet the entire day. No matter what Clementine said, she wouldn't respond.
Clementine felt her heart ache as the girl ignored her. She felt bad. Had she lost her best friend?
With a sigh, the girl turned back to look out the window.
It wasn't long before Molly pulled over the vehicle.
Clementine and Danielle looked at the woman in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Clementine inquired.
"Nothing." Molly responded. "We're stopping for lunch."
The three took turns eating from a can of fruit.
Sure, fruit cocktail wasn't a grade A lunch, but it was better than nothing, and the girls weren't complaining.
After their meal was finished they started back on the road. The few hour drive was a quiet one, and Molly was fine with that. The girls obviously weren't up for talking and Molly didn't mind. To be honest she preferred the silence.
At some point the children had dozed off, and when they woke again, it was beginning to get dark.
Molly had pulled the car over and was digging through a bag. She pulled out some crackers and tossed them to the back seat. "You two share these."
The girls eyed the crackers, falling into a dead silence.
Molly raised a brow, "Not hungry?" She asked.
The girls still said nothing.
"Alright…." Molly said. "We're going to keep driving." She informed them before starting the car. "I would advise you eat those crackers if you get hungry. We're not stopping for a while."
It was still quiet. Molly felt like she was talking to herself at this point. She let out a sigh. The offer of crackers had somehow made the children depressed, for what reason, she didn't know. She had to assume it had something to do with those sick people that were chasing them.
Regardless, she wasn't going to throw out the crackers. Food was food, and eventually she'd have to make them understand that.
"Dani, please talk to me…" Clementine sighed.
Danielle didn't even spar her a glance.
"Danielle." Clementine called again.
"Clementine, leave her alone and eat your food." Molly said, growing slightly annoyed. Clementine had been trying to get the younger girl to speak since they had stopped the car, Danielle clearly wasn't budging.
Clementine tried to protect. "But-"
"Eat." Molly said. She didn't mean to be sound cold, but Danielle was obviously upset, Clementine needed to give the girl some space.
Clementine frowned, but did as she was told. Once again, she sent her younger friend a glance. Danielle wasn't eating, she hadn't touched her food at all.
With a worried look, Clementine spoke, "Eat something, Dani."
The was a brief silence before Molly broke it. "She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to." Molly said.
Clementine didn't respond to the woman. Instead, she called again, "Danielle, eat something."
Molly sent the nine-year-old a look. "Clem-"
"Please, eat something, Dani." Clementine said, in a voice full of authority.
With a tiny sigh, Danielle started to eat.
Molly watched, surprised that Clementine had managed to get the other girl to eat.
Clementine gave a satisfied smile and continued to eat.
Once they finished their meal, the two girls laid down for bed.
Molly worked on keeping the fire low, as not to draw attention, but lit in order to keep the children warm.
Clementine gave a few feebly attempts at starting a conversation with Danielle, but all her tries were useless. Eventually, she gave up and the two girls had fallen asleep.
Molly looked over to the sleeping children. They looked peaceful. Danielle was curled in a fetal position, while Clementine was sprawled on her back with a tiny hand against her chest. The two looked so innocent. Molly felt sick to her stomach as she thought about what they had went through; the hell they had faced. She was just glad their captors had paid the price for what they had done.
It wasn't hard to piece two and two together. Molly quickly figured out what had happened.
Still, they needed to talk about it. They couldn't carry that around, she needed to get them to talk, but for now it felt too soon to mention it. It was too early to push them into talking. They needed more time. Sooner or later they'd be ready.
Clementine woke the next morning and lay still, staring to the sky for a period of time.
She heard a movement to her side and glanced over. Danielle was stirring, but hadn't fully woken yet.
Clementine continued to watch the sky, finding shapes in the clouds.
She was startled out of her thoughts when Danielle suddenly shot upright, "Mommy!" The younger girl exclaimed with a gasp.
Clementine sent her a concerned look. "Are you okay?"
There was no response.
"Dani, come on... How long are you going to ignore me?"
Still nothing.
"I thought we were friends." Clementine said. "Please, just talk to me."
Danielle still didn't answer.
"Do you hate me or something?" Clementine asked sadly.
"No..." The response was quiet. Almost unheard.
"What?" Clementine looked to the girl.
"I don't hate you." Danielle said, and despite the fact that she hadn't planned to, she looked over to Clementine. "You're my best friend I can't hate you."
Clementine's lips curved into a tiny smile.
"I know it's hard, Dani..." Clementine said, "I miss my parents too."
"But they're dead... You know that." Danielle said, it sounded cruel, but it was true. "I don't. My mom might still be alive."
"If she is she would want you to be safe." Clementine replied. "And smart." She added.
Danielle looked down. She knew her friend was right.
"I'll help you." Clementine said after a few moments.
"Huh?" Danielle asked.
"I'll help you look for her." Clementine said. "But we have to make sure we're prepared."
"Okay..." Danielle nodded. "Thanks, Clem."
"Of course." Clementine said. "We're friends. I don't like fighting with you, Dani…"
"Me either, Clem." Danielle said. "I need you... You're my best friend."
Clementine's response was to take her friend's hand and give it a squeeze.
Molly was gentle as she cleaned Clementine's wounded leg, still the child hissed in pain. It burned her skin. Molly was sure that the child was in a lot of pain, the way she gritted her teeth proved that, but at least she was alive.
Molly bandaged the child's leg, while Danielle looked over in concern.
Molly shut the door and walked around to get into the front seat.
The two girls sat in the backseat, clutching hands tightly. In the rear-view mirror, Molly caught a glimpse of the children. Danielle didn't look as depressed as she did the day prior, which was a good thing. The girls had suffered enough heartache.
"I was thinking..." Molly started, drawing the girls' attention. "There might be a little change of plans."
"What do you mean?" Clementine asked. "Aren't we going to Savannah?"
"We are." Molly said. "That's our first stop."
"First stop?" Clementine repeated, looking puzzled.
"Yeah." Molly said. "I was considering what Danielle had said..."
"Me?" Danielle questioned.
"That's right." Molly nodded. "You want to find your mother, right?"
Danielle eyes widened, ignoring the agony the question provoked. She spoke in a voice that showed she was certain of what she wanted, "More than anything."
"Well, after we finish in Savannah our next course of action can be finding your mom." Molly said.
"R-Really?" Danielle asked in surprise.
"Yes. I heard you two talking last night." Molly explained. "There's no way I'm letting you girls go alone… And I don't have anything else I'm doing."
"You're sure?" Danielle asked.
Molly nodded.
"Thank you…" Danielle smiled. "Thank you so much."
"Don't mention it kid." Molly said. "So, we have our plan?"
The girls looked to each other then back to where Molly said. They both nodded.