Thanks to gaara king of the sand for helping out.
Carley and Kenny started to head towards the truck. However, they didn't get far, as once they were outside the gates, they noticed a person on the ground.
They quickly determined the figure to be Clementine. The teen was lying on the ground and appeared to be unconscious.
Carley and Kenny immediately rushed to her side, checking her breathing. They noticed the blood stain on the girl's sleeve.
"She's been shot." Carley stated.
"What?" Kenny looked to the woman in surprise.
Carley knelt down and lifted the girl's sleeve, confirming her assumption. "She's got a bullet wound in her arm."
"Damn..." Kenny said. "Let's get her to Katjaa."
Carley nodded.
Kenny pulled the girl into his arms and they carefully carried her into the gates.
The group turned to them, looking concerned as they noticed the unconscious teenager in Kenny's arms.
"Clementine..." Shawn mumbled.
"What happened?" Katjaa asked.
"She's hurt. She needs some help." Kenny said.
"She's been shot." Carley explained.
Katjaa gave a nod. "Get her on the truck. I'll take a look at her."
Kenny carried the girl over to said truck, placing her limp form into the bed while Katjaa went of to get some supplies.
Katjaa quickly returned outside with sound medical supplies to care for the wounded teen.
She walked over to the truck bed and lifted the teen's sleeve up. She started to examine the girl's injury.
Clementine didn't even stir.
Katjaa carefully cleaned the girl's wound and dressed it before continuing to evaluated Clementine for injuries, treating any she found. Luckily, the teen wasn't in too bad condition.
Still the group was anxious upon Clementine's suddenly return and her condition. They wondered what had happened to her.
Once Katjaa had finished caring for the teen, she had Kenny take the girl into one of the rooms to rest.
Clementine remained unconscious for the rest of the day. Katjaa made sure to check on her every couple hours.
The group spent the rest of the day getting the walls fix, making sure the motor in was secure, while Duck colored happily in a coloring book.
By the time night came, Clementine still hadn't woken up and the group was starting to get worried. Katjaa reassured them, that the teenager was probably just tired.
Another day went by and the teen was still unconscious, this time with a fever.
"Was she bit?" Larry demanded.
"What?" Katjaa asked, taken aback by the sudden question
"The girl." Larry grumbled. "Was she bit?"
"No." Katjaa said. "She's not bitten."
Kenny sighed, he didn't want to go through this again. This man was just crazy to want to kill a child.
"Then what's wrong with her?" Larry asked.
"She was shot moron." Shawn said.
"Where'd the fever come from?" Larry questioned.
"It could be a cold, or a minor infection." Lilly said. "Come on dad, she was out there in the rain. She's probably just a little sick."
"Did you even bother to check for a bite?" Larry asked. "Are you people stupid."
"Don't you think she would've turned by now if she was bit? She's sick. That's all." Shawn snapped.
"You better watch the way you talk to me, boy." Larry spat.
"Then you should watch the way you treat everyone else."
"Whatever..." Larry huffed, going back to working on the wall.
"Fucking asshole." Shawn mumbled.
"Tell me about it." Kenny agreed before turning to Katjaa. "How's Clem doing?"
"She's okay. She's obviously been through a lot in the past few days. She just needs to rest." Katjaa replied.
"Well, I hope she'll wake up soon." Shawn said.
As it became later the group assumed Clementine would probably not wake up they day. Assumptions where right.
They reluctantly headed to bed for the night after Katjaa checked on the teen one last time.
Clementine didn't know how long she slept. She almost panicked for a moment when she felt the soft pillow her head lay against. She had no idea where she was. However, she soon realized she was back at the motor inn. She remembered passing out, the group must have found her.
The room was dark. She figured it must be night time until she noticed the stream of light coming in from the bottom of the door.
She wondered what had woken her up. How long was she out? She carefully forced herself to her feet, feeling a throb in her arm. She gritted her teeth in pain.
Suddenly, she picked up on voices outside her door. People were arguing.
"I'm not comfortable with this?" She heard Lilly say.
"Neither am I." Came a deep response, Larry.
Clementine paused at the door, listening in.
"And why's that?"
"I'm sorry, Shawn. But you're still recovering from an injury."
"I can handle it."
"Yeah right." Larry said. "We're not going to let you screw everything up for us."
"Kenny can't do every single run. He needs some time to relax. Carley and I can handle this." Shawn said.
"Right, and so do you." Lilly said.
"Come on. If he says he can handle, let him do it." Carley said. "We'll be fine."
Clementine decided to finally open the door. She wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep, not with all that noise.
Besides she wanted to know what they were talking about.
As she opened the door all eyes turned to her. The group seemed surprised to see her.
"Clementine...You're awake."
"Yeah... I am." Clementine replied a bit awkwardly.
"Well, I'll be damned." Shawn said.
Clementine explained her story of what happened while she had been separated from the group.
She slowly spooned some food into her mouth, happy to have a meal.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that sweetie..." Katjaa said. "How do you feel...?"
"I'm okay." Clementine shrugged. She wasn't okay but there was nothing she could do about it. She had hoped this was all just one long nightmare and that she would wake up at home, in her bed, but it was apparent to her that it wasn't the case.
"I'm glad you're safe, darlin'." Kenny said to the teen."
"Thanks..." Clementine replied before deciding to change the subject. "So... did I miss anything."
"Not much... We've been trying to make thing place more stable, as you can tell." Shawn said.
"Yeah. It's looks good so far."
"Thank you." Larry cut in. "I've done most of the work."
Clementine giggled. "Well... Good job."
"Right... And we were talking about going on a run." Shawn let slip.
Kenny shot Shawn a look.
"Can I go?" Clementine quickly asked.
"Hell no!" Kenny said.
"Why not?" Clementine demanded.
"You just got shot." Kenny said.
"I'm fine. I want to help." The teen claimed.
"You're hurt pretty bad Clem." Lilly said. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"You weren't even supposed to go on the last run." Kenny scold.
"I know... But I don't want to just sit here and do nothing. I can be useful too." Clementine said.
"Useful in what, getting yourself shot?" Kenny said.
Clementine frowned.
"I know you might think you're old enough to do what you want, but you're still a child." Kenny said.
Part of having Kenny scold her reminded Clementine of the conversation she had with her father before he left...
"I'll be extra careful." Clementine said. "I promise."
"We'll keep an eye on her." Shawn said.
"Who said you were going?" Lilly huffed.
"I did." Shawn replied.
"You know what... I'm fine with it." Carley said. "They can go if they want. I'll keep an eye on Clem. We're not leaving for a couple days anyway..."
Clementine smiled. "So I can go?"
"I didn't agree to that." Kenny stated.
Clementine pouted, "Please...?"
And so, despite the protest and complaints, days later Carley, Shawn, and Clementine were packing up to get going.
"This is a bad idea." Kenny grumbled.
"We'll be fine." Carley sighed.
"Yeah. You worry too much." Clementine said.
"Was I worrying too much when you went missing?" Kenny asked sarcastically. "I'm sorry, I'll just relax, it's not like you got shot last time."
Clementine rolled her eyes at that.
"Well, think of it this way. At least we know she's coming this time." Carley said.
Kenny sighed, "Fair point."
"Anyway, we should get going." Shawn said.
"Right..." Kenny turned to Clementine, "Be careful."
"I will." Clementine nodded.
They took off in Shawn's truck and soon enough they made it to the drug store.
They made sure to stay on their guard. They didn't want to waste any ammo or draw any walkers.
"Let's be quick." Carley said, as they walked cautiously along. "In and out."
"Right." Shawn said as Clementine gave a nod.
"And you make sure you stay close." Carley said to the teenager. "For real this time."
"Okay." Clementine said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.
Up the ladder and into the pharmacy they went. They were in a good spot so far, no walkers to worry about. Clementine was happy, she just hoped this trip would go smoothly.
However, the second they walked into the pharmacy they were met with multiple guns.
"Don't move." Came a deep voice.
"We don't want any trouble." Carley said.
"Not buying it." The same man said.
"Just shoot them, dad." A second man, younger than the first spoke.
"Not now Jessie." The man spoke. "What do you want?"
"We were trying to get some supplies. Our group is running low... We usually come here to stock up..." Shawn explained.
"We need those supplies." Another man spoke.
"We can split it... There's more than enough." Carley knew there wasn't much left, and if they split it they'd have even less, however they had no other choice.
Clementine swallowed nervously. So much for going smoothly.
"Come inside." The first man said, motioning them in.
"Honey, you're kidding." A woman said, looking over with a concerned look.
"These folks haven't done anything wrong...yet." The man said.
"We don't plan to." Shawn replied.
As they moved from the doorway and further into the pharmacy Clementine noticed a young girl. No older than Beth had been, maybe younger. She looked pale, sick.
Clementine frowned.
The young man, Jessie, noticed Clementine's concerned gaze and moved in front of the child, as if to shield her from the teen's gaze.
Clementine looked away.
"Please... We can split the supplies. We have a big group and kids..." Shawn said.
Clementine sighed, realizing he was calling her a kid.
"Alright..." The man said.
"You're daughter..." Clementine spoke to the woman. "Is she okay?"
"Clementine, stop." Carley called.
Clementine ignored her. "Is she hurt."
The woman shot the teen a look, "She's fine."
"Are you sure?" Clementine asked.
Shawn called to the teen, trying to stop her. "Clem-"
"I want to help." Clementine told the woman.
The man frowned. "She was bit..."
"Shit..." Shawn mumbled.
"It doesn't matter..." The woman said. "She'll be fine."
"But..." Clementine started but quickly cut herself off.
"Whatever... Take your supplies and go." The woman huffed.
Carley nodded. "Alright."
The older man and Carley walked to the stockroom while Clementine slowly approached the child.
"Hi..." Clementine said in a kind voice, ignoring the glare she received from Jessie.
"Hi..." The child coughed.
"I'm Clementine." The teen said. "What's your name?"
"April." The child's voice was quiet, weak almost.
"That's pretty." Clementine smiled at her.
Jessie's gaze softened realizing Clementine was doing no harm. "I'm Jessie."
"Nice to meet you." Clementine said.
"Likewise." Jessie shrugged. "That's my cousin," he pointed to the boy who was standing by the door. "Dylan."
The mentioned boy didn't even gaze in Clementine direction.
"That's my mom." He motioned to the woman, who stood nearby.
"My name's Colette." The woman said.
"Clementine." The teen told her name.
Shawn noticed Clementine was breaking the ice and decided to introduce himself as well, "I'm Shawn."
"The man with your friend is my dad." Jessie explained.
Suddenly April started coughing. Jessie frowned, feeling the child's head. "Mom...Her fever's getting worse.
"She's fine Jessie!" Colette snapped, startling Clementine and Shawn.
Shawn found the situation to be eerily similar to what had happened with his own sister.
"But she's not fine." Jessie argued.
"She will be. She just needs some rest. As soon as these people leave, we can take our half of the supplies and go." Colette replied.
Jessie sighed but nodded.
Meanwhile Carley and the man who had introduced himself to her as Jerry.
"So this group of yours... How many people you got?" Jerry inquired.
"There's eight of us..." Carley replied.
"How old's the girl?" He asked.
"Fifteen, I think." Carley said.
"Young..." Jerry commented.
"Yeah." Carley nodded.
"Why'd you bring her with you?" The man asked her.
"She insisted." Carley said honestly.
"I see."
They began to stock up on supplies, a couple minutes went by in silence before they suddenly heard a shriek from the other room.
They exchanged glances before they both dashed into the other room, carrying their supplies with them.
Clementine looked at April, who appeared to be half asleep. The girl looked terrible. Clementine felt bad for the child.
"I'm going to check outside, see if there's any of those things." Dylan said.
"I'll go with you." Shawn offered.
"You don't have to." Dylan shook his head.
"I insist." Shawn said.
Dylan had no choice but to give in.
The two headed outside. Clementine started to look around for anything useful.
"What are you doing?" Jessie asked.
"Looking for stuff."
"Like what?"
"Anything." Clementine shrugged. "Anything useful anyway."
"Oh." Jessie said, suddenly he felt April take hold of his arm. "Are you okay?" He asked the girl?
April didn't response.
"April?"
Jessie raised a brow in confusion, allowing the child to hold onto his arm.
The girl wasn't moving for a moment. It worried him.
"April-" He was suddenly cut off as he felt the child bit into his arm sending searing pain up through his shoulder. He let out a yell, causing everyone to turn to him. Blood began to spurt from his arm as he yanked away.
Clementine's eyes grew wide in horror and Colette let out a shriek.
Suddenly Carley dashed into the room with Jerry closed behind. The woman's eyes immediately fell on the child walker. Carley grabbed her gun as the walker lunged at her brother once more, she shot the little girl, who fell to the ground.
"NO!" Colette yelled, running over to April. "You bitch!" She snapped at Carley.
Jerry sent Carley a glare, suddenly pressing his gun into her back. "Don't move a muscle." He said a harsh voice. "Or I'll shoot you and the girl."
Carley said nothing.
Clementine reached for her gun.
"Don't!" The woman shouted at her, aiming her own gun at the teen.
Clementine stopped.
Shawn entered the room with Dylan.
"What happened?" Dylan asked.
"They killed my baby..." Colette said through tears, still holding Clementine at gun point.
"What the fuck!" Dylan drew his gun, aiming at Shawn. "I knew these pieces of shit were no good."
"Get down on your knees, out here in the open floor."
Jerry said, pressing his gun into the woman's back.
The three did as he ordered.
"You killed my daughter." Jerry said, he was trembling as he aimed the gun at Carley.
Carley shook her head. "She was already dead."
"Shut up!" Colette snapped.
"You killed my daughter. Now you get to pay. With your lives." Jerry growled.
Clementine, Carley, and Shawn found themselves surrounded by the group, guns pointed at them from all directions.
Clementine was nervous for the outcome.
Suddenly, Jessie collapsed to the ground with a groan, causing the attention to turn to him.
Colette looked torn between running to her son's side and stay where she was.
Carley took the opportunity to grab Jerry's gun, shooting him.
"Jerry!" Colette cried.
Carley aimed her gun at Dylan, "Drop you weapon or I'll shoot him."
The woman did so, trembling in fear. "You've destroyed my family." She claimed.
Carley said nothing in response.
Shawn and Clementine stood.
"We're leaving." Carley said.
Carley started to gather all the supplies they had, leaving them with their share.
They started to walk away and Shawn quickly noticed Dylan raising his gun, aiming at Clementine. Grabbing his own gun, he shot the man before he had the opportunity do anything.
Colette was crying.
Clementine felt her heart clench as Carley led her out of the building.
Once they got outside they could hear walkers. The creatures were attracted by the noise.
"To the truck, hurry!" Carley ordered.
Bullets went flying as they ran towards the truck, not looking back.
They moved in a haste, Carley trying to keep track of Clementine so they didn't get separated again.
As they got into the truck, walkers started to surround the vehicle. Clementine was worried that they might meet their end out here. However, soon enough the truck started. Shawn slammed his foot on the gas and the truck darted forward, tearing through the walking corpses blocking their path. They barely make it out of there.
Shawn glance into the rearview mirror at Clementine. The girl was in the back seat, laid down whimpering quietly to herself, eyes clenched shut.
Shawn sighed. If that kid wasn't traumatized before she definitely was now….