Clementine's POV

"You talk in your sleep. I never noticed." Louis whispered to me.

My eyes opened quickly and darted around. Though we have been at the Levee for about a week now, the feeling of protection and walls still hasn't set in. It was currently night time, ad the only light in the room came from a small dome light on the ceiling, and since the whole building was built like a warehouse, the light was at the very top so it only illuminated the fourth floor. Everyone was asleep, so I would have to push aside my urge to raise my voice at my boyfriend. Could I even get mad at him? I mean... that smile. Ugh, whatever. I calmed myself down and sat up. Louis sat beside me on the floor as the local carpenter had not finished making us a larger bed. Louis smirked at me slyly, however I could see he was trying to cover up the guilt he felt for scaring me.

"Jesus, Louis. You know I hate that."

"But aren't you glad to see me?"

"What time is it?" I wiped my eyes and yawned.

"Not sure. Everyone's still asleep. So... early."

"Why... Why did you.. wake me up then?"

"I wanted to show you something." He stood up and extended a beckoning hand.

I sighed. As much as I wanted to sleep, I was down to go on a little adventure with him. I let him help me to my feet and i slipped on my boots and jacket. He led me outside and across the town square to the aquarium. "Louis." I whispered loudly. "That's where all the supplies are kept, we aren't aloud in there, we'll get in so much trouble."

"We'll be fine, trust me." He led me through the entrance and I immediately noticed that the lights were still on. The inside was certainly not what I expected. It just looked like an average lobby to any old building, kind of like a hospitals.

I slumped my shoulders. "You know... As much as I didn't wanna come in here, I'm sort of disappointed. I was expecting fish and exhibits and... more fish... This is just... boring."

"Ah, my sweet princess you have no idea how much you're about to regret saying that. Follow me." He approached a dark hallway to the right of the door and walked into it, out of sight.

I walked to the edge of the shadows and stared into the darkness, too afraid to go inside. "Louis? Louis what the hell are you doing?"

Suddenly, I was blasted by streaks of light, causing me to recoil back and cover my eyes. When they adjusted I gasped. It wasn't a hallways at all, instead it was an escalator that led down. I saw Louis at the bottom next to a power box wearing a sheepish grin. "You coming or not?"

I sighed, then looked back and forth between the door and my boyfriend. After a few seconds I looked at him and smiled wide, nearly running sown the still steps of the escalator. When I reached the bottom, I saw what I wanted to see in the first place. The room opened up into a circle with exhibits embedded into the walls. We looked into each one, however, much to our dismay, they were all empty and the water was a dirty green. "Well." I chuckled, sitting against one of the walls furthest from the escalator. "That's somewhat disappointing."

Louis sat next to me, so I rest my head on his shoulder. "Yeah." he said. "I'm sorry for waking you up. When I found this place, I didn't think to make sure there were fish. I wanted to see it for the first time with you, you know? Share our excitement together."

I looked up and smiled at him. He really was perfect. How did I end up finding someone like this, especially now a days? "I love you Louis." I said and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Before speaking again, he locked his lips with mine, catching me off guard. Usually I was the one who initiated this kind of thing, but seeing him do it was... nice. When he pulled back, I saw his smile that melted my heart.

"I love you too."

Hours Later,

Kace's POV

I slammed the car trunk closed and shrugged. "Another empty car." I muttered. I was on the hunt for nothing in particular, but some food or water would have been a nice find. It had been about a day since I had left Ra's encampment and made my way east passed Ericson and along the river where I assumed Tatum and the others had gone. I wonder if they still had Kaiso. I was in some town by the name of Bellvue, and by the looks of it, it's better off now then it was back in the days before the outbreak. The homes were small and poorly built. The cars were cheap and most of them had at least three colors on certain parts. The whole place just screamed 'don't come here at night, or you'll get robbed'. I had no clue what state this was, surely after a full days of walking I had crossed a border or maybe even two. As I walked along the cracked street, I caressed my metal arm with my other fingers gently. It was still bruised around the edges where it connected to skin. Whatever they were planning on doing with this was fairly evident based on the extra tiny contraptions on the metals surface. it seemed like they wanted to try giving me control of this arm somehow. Synthetic limbs or something. I couldn't even fathom what their protocol for that was. Maybe I should've let them attempt to give me control of it before I escaped. Oh well, no turning back now. I could see skyscrapers in the distance, sight I have not seen in a years. They were almost ominous. I could tell they were still quite far away, however I decided that those buildings would be my destination. Perhaps I could get inside and get to a higher floor to check my surroundings.

While I was in my trans of thought, I neglected to realize a figure approaching me about fifty feet ahead on the road. It's skin was grey and wrinkled like a walker, however instead of the typical hunch backed posture the infected usually walked with, this one moved with a straight back and swaying arms. I panicked and jumped behind an old 4x4 truck.

"Hello!" It called out.

I slowly peaked over the edge of the truck. The stranger had stopped walking toward me and instead began to wave. "Who are you?" I yelled back. This was bad. This hollering back and forth would surely garner even more unwanted attention.

"I was a friend of Clementine and the others at Ericson. You're Kace, right?"

After the stranger had said that, I knew that he was not going to attack, at least not yet. I waited for him to get ten feet away so I wouldn't have to yell. "Uh... Yeah. How do you know my name?" It was at this time I noticed that he was wearing some sort of suit underneath his cloths. Every part of his body besides his face was grey and dead. "And what the hell are you wearing?"

He stared me deep into my eyes. At first I thought he was going to say nothing, but then his lips parted. "It's... nothing. My name is James."

I lowered my guard and nodded. "So. You wanna tell me how you know who I am."

"I was a close friend to the group at Ericson. Sometimes I would visit the front gates to check in with whoever was on look out duty. They told me about you."

I cracked a smile. "Alright, I'm curious. What'd they say about me?"

"Most of them liked you."

"Most?"

"Some thought you were too... Confident, for lack of a better word."

I shrugged. "Yeah you get like that when you have nothing to lose.' There was a pause between us before I spoke again. "So what are you doing up here anyways? You're along way from Ericson."

"When Clementine told me that they were leaving, I just couldn't bared the thought of not having a group like that to be close with. They gave me a purpose, they gave me friendship when I thought I would never have it again. I guess... I guess I just feel some sort of obligation to be there whenever they needed me."

I rasped my lips. "Nobel." I muttered.

"Why are you up here?" James retorted.

"There's girl I rescued about a week ago that's with Clementine and the group. I'm trying to get back to them. I took her under my wing. I can't imagine how she feels. I just want to make sure she's safe and well."

"Well if she's with Clementine, I'm sure your friend will be okay."

"You said you've been following them? Any idea where they ended up at?"

"I think I have some idea. They traveled by river. There used to be an old boat a few miles east of Ericson. I think they took it."

"Yeah I think so too. Their wagon left trails that led right to a dock."

"Hm... I wonder..."

I slide my staff into the holster I kept on my back and looked at him curiously. "What're you thinking?"

James just stood there, eyes at the cement and a hand to his chin. "There's a community nearby. They live in a complex right on the river. From what I can tell they are mostly friendly, and even have electricity."

"If the community is right on the river then surely Clementine and the others were taken in, right?"

"I think so. It's risky to just walk up to a gated communities door, especially one that large. How do you want to go about doing this?"

I bit my lip and battled the nervousness growing in my heart. "Okay... Here's the plan."

Hours Later

Violet's POV

"Here you go!" Ruby exclaimed with a smile as she handed me my boots. "All patched up."

I smiled. "Thanks Ruby. I never knew you were good at sewing."

"Just a skill Mrs. Martin taught me. You need anything else just holler."

"You got it."

She turned and walked back over to her bunk. The main living quarters of the community were fairly empty this time of day. Everyone must be out working. I should probably go out there and make myself useful. 'Reputation is everything', I said to myself. I slipped on my boots and made my way to the front doors, passing a family of five on my way out. They sat there laughing, smiling, and enjoying each others company. It was... weird, to say the least. However I'm glad I could be apart of a community where something like that is still possible. When I opened the doors, the sun hit my face, but I felt no heat. Fucking November. Ever since the outbreak, I, along with many others, have grown a massive distaste for this time of year. The lack of showers made us dirty, and the cold would translate that to itchiness. The community square was alive and busy, many people of all ages were out making themselves useful. There was a soft song playing though a radio in the open window of a little market stand in between the library and the stairs that led to the parking lot and the front gate.

"Come out here to find some work, I assume?" I heard Awe say from beside me.

I turned and saw him wearing his pink bandanna over his mouth and nose. "Why pink? Doesn't it stand out more?" I asked, pointing at his face.

He nodded, dipping his eyes slightly. "It does. I've had this bandanna for years. In fact I remember wearing it as a child before the outbreak even happened."

I chuckled in amazement. "Bullshit."

"No it's true. I had an aunt who died of cancer before I was even born. This bandanna was my moms. Apparently pink used to be the color of support for cancer victims or something like that."

"Hm. Never heard of that."

"Me neither. It's just what I've heard."

"Ok... well... See ya." I began to walk away, however Awe interrupted.

"Kieran is the head of the guards here at the Levee. He's been asking for volunteers to do a sweep of the perimeter with him."

I glared at Awe in contempt, to which he just shrugged back at me. He continued, "You can find him down those stairs through the door that leads to the parking garage, that's where the guard post is."

I glanced away, weighing the lack of options I had. I wanted work, and here it was on a silver platter. "I'll check it out."

I could tell Awe smiled as he gave me wave. "Good. See you around then." He parted ways.

As I walked down the stairs that led to a small parking lot , I realized just how large the community wall was. It must have been twenty feet high and made of a stronge cement. I had never seen anything that looked so secure, an to top it off, it had gates made of metal that seemed to only be opened by a lever at the top of the wall where the guards would patrol. It took me just a few minutes to find the door that led to the guard post. It was fairly well hidden: Embedded in a stone wall behind the steps. The garage was huge and had chairs placed in a circle near some camo tents. Men were minding their own business, whether that be having a cigarette or talking among each other. There must have been at least fifteen, however none of them noticed me as I stood there awkwardly at the door.

"Who are you, young lady?" A demanding, confident voice asked.

I looked to my right and saw a large man with brown hair curled to the side leaning against the wall by the door. "Oh uh... Awe sent me. He said that the guards were looking for volunteers for patrol."

"Ah!" The man smiled and stood up, extending a hand in my direction. "Great to meet you. My name's Garrett, I'm head of the guard."

I shook his hand, his grip somewhat hurting me as i did so. "Yeah... Nice to meet you too." I felt his confidence radiating into my skin, so I thought of something else to say before it got too awkward. "So uh. Where do we start?"

"Ah. Straight to business, right? No need for small talk, I like that." Garrett smiled and gave me a nod. "But there is one thing I need to know. We don't allow any children to do patrols, it's just not safe. Are you fifteen or older?"

His question surprised me. I had thought that anyone could just come and do this job. After all, we had A.J on lookout by himself back at Ericson sometimes and he was no older than ten. Civilization is weird... "I'm sixteen." I replied.

"Terrific. I'm on patrol duty today as well so you'll stick with me. I'll show you the ropes as best as I can."

"I've done this sort of thing before, don't worry."

"That's what I wanted to hear. I trust you'll be able to handle yourself then?"

"Oh yeah. Don't worry about me."

Two Hours Later...

I had been struggling to breath for the past five minutes. Garrett had been leading me around the outskirts of the Levee for an hour now and is showing no sign of stopping anytime soon. The road we were on was surrounded by skyscrapers on either side. Apparently we were suppose to be searching for any remaining infected in the city. It was just him and I, so I had to make a good first impression if I wanted to make a name for myself. "How... how much longer, Garrett?"

Garrett glanced up to the tips of the building in thought. "Just another two hours and we'll be done."

I moaned in distaste. "We haven't found one walker this entire time, why do we need to keep searching?"

As I asked this, Garrett rounded a corner and bump into something, causing him to gasp. I couldn't see it, however based on his reaction I guessed that t was another person.

"Oh my!" Garrett exclaimed. I rushed over, knife in hand ready to battle whatever stood in our way. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't two of the people who I knew and thought were dead. "James? Kace?" I asked, slightly concerned as to what I was seeing was really happening.

Kace was the one who had bumped into Garrett. While Garrett hadn't budged from the impact, Kace was back first on the ground with a bloodied nose. "Eh... Hi" He groaned, wiping the red liquid from his face.

"Deepest apologies!" Garrett said swiftly, crouching down by Kace's side. "I did not see you coming, otherwise I would have-"

"I'm fine." Kace interrupted.

"Here. Let me help you to your feet."

"Dude, I said I'm fine." Kace stood and faced me, still holding his nose. "Violet." He greeted with a nod.

"Hey... Kace." I respond back in suspicion. Back when Kace had been captured, Louis filled our heads with the idea of Kace being the enemy, and for the most part I believed it, but seeing him here now with a prosthetic arm and a broken nose made me smile a bit. If this was our enemy, nothing could stop us. Maybe it was an inappropriate thought, but it drove my mind of any negative feelings I had towards him.

"I've been searching for the group for days."

I shrugged, not knowing how to respond. "Yeah... Tatum won't shut up about you."

His eyes lit up and his hand fell from his face. "I-Is she okay?"

"She's fine. All of us found a community. One with walls, food, families, even electricity." I confirmed.

A sigh of relief emitted from him, and a grin spread across his face. "Can you take me to them?"

My mouth opened, but nothing came out. If it was up to me, I would've said yes. I never really believed in the thought that Kace was a bad guy, however I knew the others did. Convincing them otherwise would be hard without allowing Kace to do it himself, but the was a risk in its own right. If I brought him into the community, what would my friends do? They could report him to the guards and have him kicked out, or worse. "Um... I don't know if that's a good idea."

"What?" His eyes made me feel guilty. They were lost, confused, cold. "Why not?"

"It's not up to me, Kace."

"Then who's decision is it?"

"Look." I blurted. "Everyone from Ericson thinks you were one of the enemies that raided our school a few days ago. You'll have to convince them that you weren't."

"Well then let me explain to them that those assholes blew off my fucking arm!" He held up his metal prosthetic and bared his teeth in anger. "I get it, you guys wanted somebody to blame and I was the easiest scapegoat, but I'm back, and I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. So take me back to the others, let me show them that I'm good, and that I'm on their side."

I exhaled deeply and glanced to James. "James, you're a fair thinker. What do you think?"

James glared at me with that same, emotionless face he always puts on. "He isn't evil. There's just no way."

"...Alright." I looked up to Garrett. "Is it okay if these two come back with us?"

"As long as you vouch for them, the Levee will make room. We are a people of pride, dignity, and above all, we strive for a better-"

"Oh my god, can we go?" Kace scoffed in annoyance and began to walk in the direction we had came from.

Garrett shrugged, not taking the hint. "Hmph. I suppose I'll tell him some other time."

"I don't think he likes you." I muttered, trying not to let Kace hear me.

"Well why not?" Garrett replied.

I felt myself smile, something I haven't done genuinely in a while. Garrett's confident oblivion was amusing and somehow very human. "You did give him a bloody nose."

"Perhaps if speak with him later he will be more forgiving."

"Who knows, Garrett. let's just focus on getting home."

Later

Kace's POV

This place is crazy. Violet wasn't lying, not that I though she was to begin with. The walls were high, and the people looked friendly. She led me to the front doors of the sleeping quarters and stopped, looking me dead in the eyes.

"Before we go in, there's something you need to know." She told me.

"What is it?"

"It's the others, they all think that you're an enemy."

"Yeah, you already told me that."

"No." She sighed in frustration. "I mean like... They really, really don't like you. I'm just telling you this now because I'm not sure how they're going to react."

"I can handle it, don't worry."

She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes as if to say 'Don't say I didn't warn you'. She pushed open the doors and led me to where their bunks were. The inside of the sleeping quarters was fairly empty, however the amount of bunks in the room was enough to keep me feeling claustrophobic. As soon as I saw them, I froze. There was no Tatum, or Aasim, or anyone else besides Louis and Clementine.

"Guys." Violet mumbled.

The couple glanced up, both sitting next to each other on a bed. At first, they looked at her, then their eyes darted of to me. There were no words said, just an uneasy silence. There was nothing but hatred radiating off of them. I had to think of something to say before one of them gets up and tackles me to the ground.

My mouth opened slightly as I muttered the quickest thing in my head. "Uh... Hi."

A/N - Let's get some reviews. Tell me what you guys think about the story.