"I think we should call it a day. It's getting dark already and there's no point moving around like that," Marlon told Brody.
He was right. The sun was disappearing fast enough and they couldn't continue any further. Not without wasting precious resources and risking their lives.
"I second that," Louis agreed with him. "All we need is a place now."
Trees surrounded them, their thick brown trunks obscuring most of their vision. Spending the night in such an area where they had absolutely no cover from danger wasn't particularly idealistic.
"How about over there?" Violet pointed her finger to the right. They followed it to a small clearing where some of the trees had fallen over, allowing for a space that could hold them for the night.
They dropped their bags and sat down on the ground, massaging their legs.
"Holy shit, this feels good," Violet said, rubbing her calves.
"It does," Clementine responded, doing the same. "Your legs hurt, AJ?"
"A little." AJ laid down on the ground.
"We should get a fire going before night falls. I'd rather we get warm now because it's better not to light a fire in the night. Someone could spot us," Marlon said, his hands on his waist. His eyes moved over his surroundings. "Louis, you're with me. We'll go find some wood."
Louis groaned, before lifting himself off the comfortable ground and picking up his favourite weapon. "Come on. Let's get this done with."
"I want to go too," AJ said, looking at Clementine for her permission.
"Uh…" She glanced at Marlon who nodded. "Okay, no wandering though."
"I promise!" he told her enthusiastically, following the two into the forest. They disappeared amongst the trees within seconds.
Their camping spot seemed relatively safe. The trunks provided a slight cover, just enough to hide them from a first glance. They'd have to appoint lookouts through the night, but they could always do short shifts between the five teenagers. "I hope they don't go too far. It's not safe," Clementine said to the two girls.
"Marlon's there. He'll keep it safe. We should figure out the food till then," Brody replied, opening her bag.
They dug through their food supply, debating on how much they should pull out for the night. Without a doubt, walking all through the day had made them hungry but they still had to abide by the rations. They finally settled on three cans to be divided amongst them.
The boys returned by then, carrying a small pile of wood and twigs. Placing them in the middle of the opening, Marlon set about lighting the fire with the flint and pocket knife he had. They watched as the twigs caught fire, before he placed the larger pieces of wood into it, setting them ablaze too.
They huddled around the flame, stretching their arms in front of it, trying to fend off the cold. Brody opened the cans with her clean knife, passing them around, along with a few spoons. Clementine gave the spoon to AJ, allowing him the first bite. The hungry boy shoved the spoon into his mouth and a look of satisfaction spread across his face.
Marlon and Brody were sharing a can, leaving Violet and Louis one between them. Silence prevailed in their temporary sanctuary as they chewed on their food. No one seemed to be in the mood for any conversation, understandably enough.
The spoons softly clanged against the metal containers as the survivors tried to scoop up any remaining morsels they could. Waste was not a problem they ever faced.
Before long, dinner was over. Disappointed faces stared at the empty cans, hoping for some more. But they knew better than to give into their desires.
"I'll keep first watch," Clementine declared as they piled up their cans.
The others murmured their assent, laying down as close to the fire as they could. AJ laid his head on her lap. Leaning against the trunk kept her comfortable. Everyone seemed to be asleep the moment their head touched the ground.
She was sleepy herself but she had to keep herself up. The stars had come out now, her eyes gazing at them. She loved the way they lit up the night sky. They looked beautiful, giving her a sense of comfort. She placed a hand on AJ's shoulder, hoping he wasn't feeling too cold.
Soon enough, the fire looked like it was dying. She reached for her bag, careful not to wake AJ. Pulling out her flashlight, she kept it by her side in case she needed it. Her eyes were now fixated on the glow of the flame.
Before she knew it, her eyes involuntarily closed. Every time her head dipped forward, she jerked awake. Finally, she placed her head against the trunk and let the tiredness take over her.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." The voice cut through Clementine's sleep. Her eyes flickered open, trying to adjust to the sudden light. Her hands landed on her lap, finding AJ missing.
"AJ?" she asked, sitting up suddenly. She looked up to find Louis standing there, hand raised towards her. From the looks of it, the day had just begun.
"He's helping Brody," he replied as she took his hand and stood. "You sure look like you could use some more sleep."
"Yeah. Guess I was a little more tired than I thought." She stretched herself. "Who took watch after me?"
"I did," Violet replied. "I woke up a little while after all of us slept. I found you sleeping so I didn't wake you up again. I picked Lou after me."
Louis swung around Chairles. "So, how far do you think we are?" he asked.
"A good distance from home," Clementine replied, yawning. "We walked through most of yesterday and we'll do the same today."
"Marlon said that the town should be up ahead."
"Yep. That's the first place we'll check out. Let's see if there's anything for the taking."
They cleared up the rest of the area, making sure to bag their belongings. Clementine headed over to AJ, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Sleep well?"
"Yeah," AJ replied. "It got a little cold at night."
"I know. We'll hopefully be within walls by tonight."
"We should be," Marlon replied. "If we keep yesterday's pace, we should be at the town by late afternoon."
"Are we going to find a place there?" AJ asked.
"For the night? We'll need to," Clementine replied. "We need to see what we can find first."
"We'll decide once we get to the town," Marlon said before the discussion could continue. "Let's move. We don't want to lose any more daylight."
They picked up their bags and weapons and began walking in a single file through the forest. Their surroundings looked much better without any walkers in the picture. They trudged through the winding route, eager to find refuge away from the windy nights.
They picked up the pace whenever they could and slowed down whenever they heard walkers, keeping their distance. It wasn't the safest road but it was the fastest and with their situation, speed was a necessity.
Clementine had had another nightmare the previous night. She chose to keep it to herself rather than worry the others. The nightmares had stopped when she was at the forest house, seemingly only triggered by the situation she was in. She felt the familiarity of the uncertainty of their current journey. Not knowing where they were going to end up made her feel no more comforted than all the times before.
The kids resorted to talking to help pass the time. Interactions seemed to come easily to them, including AJ to an extent. His curiosity was well received by the others and all of them were more than willing to answer any of the questions that they could.
The sun rose to its highest and then began its downward descent before the group arrived at a road. The forest had thinned out slightly, leading them there. The town was nowhere to be seen and tempers were beginning to fly.
"Well, where is the town?" Violet asked, looking around.
"I have no idea," Marlon said. "From what I made of the map, we should have seen it by now."
"Fucking hell. Are you sure you read it right?"
"I'm not stupid. I know how to use a fucking map." His voice was louder now.
"Clearly not."
Marlon gave her a glare before eyeing the road. "We'll go along the road. Stay off of it though. We don't need people spotting us."
They proceeded to follow him. Their speed had slowed down since the start of the day. Keeping up that pace without a break was taking a toll on them. They'd refrained from stopping since the quicker they made it to the town, the quicker they could call it a day and rest their feet. That, however, did not appear to be on the cards.
"Do we have any idea where the stream is?" Louis asked.
"Should be that way." Clementine pointed a finger to their right. "There's no way we'll find it by nightfall though." Sticking to the stream had been rendered impossible ever since they spotted the walkers. There were too many of them lurking around and it made no sense trying to find their way back there now.
"I'm guessing this is our only way forward now..?"
She nodded.
"Fucking walkers," Violet grumbled. "We have no idea where we are. We need to fi-" A gunshot disturbed the group's conversation. Their instincts kicked in as they jumped to cover behind the trees.
"Where the fuck did that come from?" Brody whispered, peeking out.
"I don't see anyone," AJ said.
"AJ, keep your head down!" Clementine dropped her bag, pulling out her gun.
"What do we do?" Louis asked, clutching Chairles. His hand shook slightly.
"Not get shot, first," Violet replied. "We need a plan."
They stayed in their cover, hoping that they wouldn't be noticed if someone was out there. Before any of them could reply, another shot rang out followed by a barely audible yell.
"It's coming from inside the forest," Clementine said. "I don't think it's for us. It doesn't sound close."
"We should go investigate," Louis said.
"I don't think we should. We don't know what to expect," Marlon said.
"Look, I'm going whether you guys come along or not. Someone could need our help."
Marlon sighed. "Okay," he replied, giving in. "Let's go. We don't interfere if it isn't safe." They swiftly moved through the trees towards the sound. A third shot gave them a precise direction to follow.
"There!" Louis yelled as they spotted a small group of walkers bunched up around a tree, trying to grab something further up. They noticed the teenaged boy in the tree, a gun in his hand.
"Let's get them," Clementine said, placing the gun in her waistband and pulling out her knife. Before the walkers could realise they were under attack, they had been disposed of. The corpses lay on the ground as the six of them looked at the boy.
"Thank you," the boy said, climbing down. His checked jacket was zipped up. He wore black pants that looked faded with use. His jet-black hair was pulled back. "I didn't expect anyone to be here."
"What happened?" Marlon asked.
"I was out here when they came out of nowhere. There were too many for me to take alone so I climbed up the tree."
"Your gun must have attracted every walker nearby," Clementine said. "We should leave before more of them arrive."
"Too late," Louis said. "They're here."
The walkers announced themselves with their growls, their feet shuffling over the fallen leaves. There were more of them than the group could care to count.
"Shit! Move!" Violet urged the others to run.
"There's too many of them! It's like they're fucking appearing out of thin air!" Marlon glanced back as they sped on. The more walkers they left behind, the more seemed to appear ahead.
"Which way are we heading?" Louis yelled.
"Back to the ro-" Violet's failed to spot the root in her path. Her foot got caught in it, sending her crashing to the ground. "Fuck!" She winced as the pain shot through her leg.
"Shit. Can you stand?" Clementine asked, kneeling beside her as the girl sat up.
Violet made an effort to get up, hissing as her feet sent more waves of pain. "Fuck, I can't."
"Louis, help her up!" Clementine pulled out her gun again, hoping they had time. She fired at the closest walker, making a hole in its forehead.
"We can make it to my place," the new boy said, rushing to Violet's side to help her up.
Clementine carefully fired at the walkers, stepping backwards as she covered their retreat. An arrow flew past her and silenced the walker she'd missed.
Marlon loaded up his crossbow, aiding Clementine. He sent another arrow whizzing at his next victim.
"Go!" Clementine fired a last shot and turned around, rushing with Marlon to catch up with the others.
"That way!" The new boy guided them towards his house.
Scores of walkers were on their trail and they couldn't go any faster with Violet incapacitated. She groaned in agony every time her foot hit the ground. Louis and the boy tried to help her walk as fast as they could.
"We're not going to make it!" Clementine took another shot at the dead. "We need to go faster!"
"Fuck it!" Louis looked at the new boy. "Help me lift her up."
"What….." Violet suddenly found herself off the ground, held up by the two boys.
"Move now!"
They desperately legged it towards the house. The walkers lagged behind as they put more distance between them. Finally, they were far enough that the growls had faded away.
"Up ahead," the boy said. It was a log cabin surrounded by trees, a clearing in the front. It had a sloping roof with a small chimney running along the side. A lone front window broke the monotony of the wood.
The two of them let Violet down. Louis helped her up to the stairs of the cabin deck as the others followed suit. The boy opened the door, letting them in.
The cabin was by no means, large. It was simply a room with a smaller room towards the left, presumably the toilet. A few vessels sat on the floor, next to the small logs by the side of the fireplace. A bed seemed to be the only furniture in the room, stacked with a few blankets. A few bags sat crowded in a corner. A book and a pen lay on the bed.
He led Violet to the bed, making her lie down. "Where does it hurt?"
Violet pointed at her ankle, breathing sharply as he felt her wound. The boy fished a bandage out of his bag and proceeded to tie it around her foot.
"You need to get some rest. You're not going to be able to move around until the foot's healed," he told her.
The others had put down their belongings and were rubbing their aching limbs, feeling the adrenaline wear off. This had been too close for anyone's comfort. One small mistake could have cost any of them their life.
"Thanks," Violet said.
"What's your name?" AJ asked, observing the boy.
"Right. We didn't have time to introduce ourselves. I'm Aasim."
Author's Note: I actually like how well this turned out. Reviews, favourites and follows are appreciated! :D