A/N: This is awesome. I have reached 10,000 views for this story. You guys are awesome for reading up to this point.
I should also thank the people who have reviewed for this story. Just for future reference, I'm not going to do this every time. I'll only do this when I've reached a milestone. I have to give credit to Bubbles2k100 for this idea since she did the same thing at the beginning of every chapter of Baby Clementine. And if you haven't read that Fic, do so! It is an amazing read. Anyway onto the thank you's:
ZeroBullet0: Thanks for all the support. It's nice to have a fellow Christian and Walking Dead fan on this site. You have been absolutely amazing in your support throughout this FanFic. I'm glad that you like the relationship between Keith and Clementine. From the beginning, I tried my very best to make their relationship nice and steady, and then keep it strong in the later chapters. Anyway, you are just awesome for reviewing almost every single chapter.
I'm Omid: Love the username. I wish they kept that character alive. Damn you Telltale! Anyway, thank you for your support at the beginning. I have no doubt that you are still reading this FanFic. Thanks for the beginning support, bud.
Watchman1985: Thanks for reading my stories. As you know, I'm a bit of rookie, but I will get better. I hope you still enjoy this FanFic.
Darth Siren: Thanks for your support. I hope you still like this FanFic.
Sourmoebot: Thanks for the support. I wasn't very sure at first if I wanted Clementine's love interest to be the son of Carver, but then, I figured it might be good to add a bit of drama to the whole mix.
Magixben1124: Funny how we support each other. Reading each other's stories and reviewing. I guess I'm part of a FanFic gang now. Haha, just kidding. Anyway thanks for the support. I'm glad that you like the relationship between Keith and Clementine. And it's insane how you and I are on the same page on a lot of things. We both hate Troy, Carlos, and Arvo. And we could care less about Kenny and Jane. That's just crazy, man. However, I'm excited to go back to working on What's Left of Us, which is something I'm going to be working on after this story… hopefully.
Ananomous: You'll find out Kenny's and Keith's fate later on. Probably in Chapter 23 or Chapter 24. Anyway, thanks for the support.
Kell: Thanks for the support in the beginning. I would say it has been a pretty awesome journey through Season 2, but I'm glad it's coming to an end. I want to work on some other projects.
SonicMario33: Thanks for the support; however, I would say that you don't want to add to many exclamation marks throughout the story. Using exclamation marks should be used moderately. And I know I don't need to censor the f-bomb, but… it's still one of the worst words you can use in society. Sorry if that annoys you, but that's just how I do things.
Guest (Chapter 6): I can only go so fast bud. Haha, but I'm glad you like the story. Thanks for the support.
InfectedElite: Thanks for the support, and I already explained that Keith and Clementine were getting pretty close in a PM I sent you. Plus, there are some hints in Chapter 6.
Pyrojack25: Thanks for all of the support. I hope you are still enjoying this FanFic with all of the craziness that has been happening in it. Plus, cool name.
NN010: Sucks about the account issues. I hope you're doing alright now. Thanks for the support, and I would have to agree with you. Screw Carver!
IHazUsername: Thanks for the support. I'm kind of surprised that you think this is one of the best FanFics to read. Of course, I wrote this FanFic because I felt that Clementine needed a love interest in Season 2. Anyway, it means a lot.
CCAC18JUDGEUUSeC496: Dammit! Why did you have to get a long, complicated username for? Haha. That's hard to remember. Anyway, thanks for all of the support. Too bad I haven't done too many cliffhangers in this FanFic. Don't worry though, I'll squeeze one last cliffhanger before the end of this FanFic just for you. Haha. It may be this chapter.
Midnightviolet0: Thanks for your support. I hope you still like this FanFic, especially with all of the craziness that is happening now.
Santiago poncini20: Sorry that I couldn't save Sarah. I just didn't have plans for her in this Fic, which is odd because I have plans for her in almost every other FanFic. And yes, the group is together for now… but for how long. Muhahahaha. Sorry couldn't resist.
Lucyheartfillia123: Thanks for your support. I'm glad that you're enjoying this FanFic.
Xboxgamr42: I can see where you are coming from. Sarah was a little awkward at times. It would have made more sense to make Sarah younger than Clementine. I know Clementine's the main character, but it still bugged me that the Cabin Survivors would expect so much out of an eleven year old, while the fifteen year old did absolutely nothing. That doesn't make a lick of sense!
Jericho: Sorry, bud. Couldn't save her. I had no plans for her in this FanFic. But thanks for the support.
Solarsearcher: Yeah, I fixed it. You don't see Vitali or Buricko anywhere in Chapter 19. At least, I hope you don't. I have a bad history of leaving words out or forgetting to delete words. Anyway, one thing I didn't realize until you reviewed was that this story IS in Clementine's and Keith's perspective. I thought I was writing it in a writer's perspective. Good thing I wasn't though, that would have sucked.
AquaDestinysEmbrace: It sucks that I couldn't save Sarah, but I couldn't think of a way to add her in. But thanks for the support. Sarah's fate will change in Code Walker, Dead Man Walking, and What's Left of Us.
Guest (Chapter 19): Your wish has been granted within Chapter 20. Haha, thanks for your support.
Guest (Chapter 20): Whew, that's a tall order. I might make a one-shot out of that since Bonnie didn't want Keith to tell Clementine anything about sexual intercourse.
Secretist: Haha, heck man, I'm doing the best I can. I've been busy with college, work, and other FanFiction assignment. Thanks for the support. I'm glad that you like this story so far, and I do have plans for this FanFic to go into Season 3 territory.
Haha, anyway, you've all been very awesome. Now, on with the new chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. All rights reserved to their respective owners.
Clementine made her decision on who she should convince first to come and sit by the fire by approaching Jane. The loner stared blankly into the dark forest wrapped up in thought until she noticed Clementine out of the corner of her eye. Jane looked to the eleven year old as Clementine offered the bottle of rum to Jane. Jane looked to Clementine questionably and asked, "Do they expect you to lure me over there with alcohol? I wouldn't have expected a bottle could have lasted this long."
"Will it work?" Clementine asked.
"That depends. What is it?" Jane asked.
Clementine looked to the bottle to read the name of the alcoholic beverage, but the label was so torn up that it was illegible. "It's rum…" Clementine said.
Jane smirked and replied, "Probably." She extended her hand out to accept the rum to which Clementine obliged and gave the alcoholic beverage to the loner.
Jane looked to the bottle of rum with a look of remorse before she looked over to Keith, Nick, Luke, Bonnie, and Mike. It appeared that Luke was in the middle of telling a story to his fellow survivors. Jane looked back to Clementine with hesitation and reluctance traced in her features. "I don't know… it might be awkward." Jane said. "I wasn't expecting to… you know… come back."
"It'll only be weird if you make it weird. Just be cool. Hang out." Clementine said. "Keith and I got embarrassed earlier today, and you don't see us spacing ourselves from everyone else."
"It's not quite the same, Clem." Jane said. "It's never that easy."
"It is. People just love making it harder than it has to be." Clementine explained.
Jane looked down to the rum; she had no response to Clementine's statement. Her words rang true as the loner looked at the bottle of rum. "Why does this feel like I'm signing a contract or something?" Jane remarked as the cold air blew by making both the loner and the eleven year old shiver. The loner finally sighed and drank some of the rum. She finished her chug with a tangy bitter taste in her mouth which was reflected by her facial expressions. "That's good stuff. Have you had any? Want a sip?" Jane asked as she offered the rum to the eleven year old.
"Uh, I'm a kid." Clementine said.
"Uh, okay then. Suit yourself." Jane said as she lowered the hand that was offering the rum to Clementine. "I wasn't too much older than you when I had my first drink… I was so stupid back then." Jane said as Clementine looked to the loner attentively. With little entertainment in the current days, telling stories was the most interesting activity to participate in. "There was this time where I broke into my parents' liquor cabinet and drank a whole bottle of this really spicy, sweet liquor… what was its name… something stupid… Earthquake or something."
"Sounds like you were a bad kid." Clementine said with a smirk.
Jane thought of Clementine's statement and said, "Yeah, I guess I was. At the bottom of the bottle were these sugar crystals, and I got it into my head that I really wanted to eat a couple. So I got the bright idea to smash it on my parents' dining room floor to get 'em. And it shattered into a thousand pieces."
"That sounds pretty dumb." Clementine said.
Jane scoffed and said, "Yeah… I was pretty drunk at the time. The problem with glass is that it looks a lot like sugar crystals."
"That's never really been a problem for me." Clementine said.
"Keep it that way." Jane said with a serious stare aimed at the eleven year old. "My sister found me… drunk… blood pouring out of my mouth." The loner looked down obviously ashamed by the events that occurred several years ago. "Jaime thought I was dying, so she called 9-1-1. They pumped my stomach. And got grounded for six months."
"Maybe you shouldn't be drinking." Clementine said as she tried to reach for the rum.
"You're not the first one to tell me that." Jane said as she kept the bottle away from the eleven year old. "Trust me, I'm not as reckless now as I was back then."
A moment of silence passed by the two. "I haven't thought about that in a long time." Jane remarked. Jane looked over to the group at the campfire before having another drink of the rum. She finished her drink and looked to Clementine. "I guess a deal's a deal." Jane said. She handed the rum back to Clementine and continued, "Here. That guy needs a drink more than anyone." Jane looked over to Kenny with a somewhat sympathized look before looking back to the group at the campfire. "Time to not make it weird." Jane remarked, and she started to make her way over to the campfire.
Clementine watched the loner proceed closer to the group. Jane hesitated when she finally reached the group. From what Clementine could see, Bonnie tried to calm the loner's nerves by offering her seat, but apparently, Jane refused and took a seat next to Mike. She sent a thankful glance towards Clementine before looking back to the group as another conversation was about to start.
Clementine smiled to see that the loner was comfortable around the group, but she realized that Jane was right. Kenny needed a drink or at least someone to talk to. The eleven year old approached the older man who watched over Alvin Junior. Kenny analyzed everything about the baby; the infant must have spurred many memories of Duck when he was a baby. Suddenly, AJ started to cry as a cold wind blew by. "Sh… there, there, little guy. I got you." Kenny said to soothe the infant as Clementine approached the man and the baby.
"Hey." Clementine said to get Kenny's attention.
"Oh hey, Clem." Kenny said as he turned to look at the eleven year old.
"Do you want some… rum?" Clementine asked as she extended the hand with the alcoholic beverage.
"Nah, that's the last thing I probably need now." Kenny said as he looked out to the dark forest. Clementine lowered the arm that held the alcoholic beverage as Kenny continued, "Just, uh… needed some air."
"Kenny, there's air everywhere." Clementine said as she sat down next to the older man. She looked out to the cold, dark forest as well, allowing the two to bond quietly.
Finally, Kenny said, "I'm sorry for… for how I acted back there… after Sarita was…" Kenny said sympathetically. Clementine looked to him with her eyes widened in surprise. She wasn't expecting him to apologize; she had always thought that he was too stubborn. "I just… I couldn't handle it… I'm sorry. I mean you did what you could. You tried to help; you tried to save her. And I blamed you for it. I'm so, so sorry."
"We both said things that we regretted that day." Clementine said. "But Kenny, I do sometimes feel like you hate me. When I first saw you back at the ski lodge, I thought things were going to get better. I thought that it would have been just like at the motor inn with you looking after me instead of Lee, but that never happened."
"Darlin, I'm so sorry if I ever made you feel like I hated you. You have to understand that I didn't mean that. Things have been rough… And I don't know how to handle it. And I sometimes take that out on you." Kenny said. The older man looked to the fence and contemplated. Everything was going too fast for him. He wanted to return to the earlier days of the apocalypse. "I miss my boy. I miss him so much. I didn't raise him like I should have… I made mistakes… wasn't there a whole lot for a couple of years. Off on a boat somewhere or other." His voice was laced with remorse and regret as he continued, "I thought that I enjoyed that time away from them… from my family… But I'd give anything for just one more second with them…"
"I miss them too, Kenny. Duck was a true friend and I haven't had many of those recently. And Katjaa… she was one of the nicest people I have ever met. Above everything though… I miss my family." Clementine said. Kenny looked to the eleven year old as she reminisced on her old experiences. "…I wish I could see my mom one last time to tell her that I loved her. I want to see my dad one last time so he could tell me of his pranks when he was my age."
"I bet you miss them... Katjaa and Duck… they were my everything… and I took them for granted." Kenny looked down to the infant in his arms as AJ started to fall asleep. "It's going to be different with him. He's gonna get raised right. I won't make the same mistakes again. That's a promise." Just then, a cold, chilled air blew through which made Clementine shiver and hug her body for warmth. Kenny noticed this and said, "You should go back over to the fire. Ain't no sense in both of us being over here. I can handle watch on my own."
"You should come too." Clementine said as she got back up.
"I don't know…" Kenny said unconvinced that he should go and join the campfire given what happened earlier with Arvo and the group.
"Come on… it'll be good for everyone." Clementine said.
Kenny looked back out into the dark and cold woods. He released a sigh and said, "Yeah okay." The aged man got up and walked over to the campfire. Keith looked over to Clementine and gestured her to join him. Clementine smiled back and walked over to sit next to the one-eyed boy.
Some members of the group chuckled as Clementine rejoined them. She easily found a comfortable spot by sitting next to Keith and laying her head on his shoulder. The fire's warmth revitalized her body which had started to become slightly cold because of the environment. The girl soon found out why some of the group was laughing from earlier when Bonnie said, "Jane, you don't have to justify that with a response."
"Hey, I find that we just get this stuff out in the open. Less drama." Mike said.
"Yeah, don't be afraid to elaborate too." Nick chuckled as Luke's face was getting redder by the minute.
"There's a time and place for everything." Keith said as he gestured to the girl that was resting on his shoulder.
"Okay look, I'll just say this much." Jane said. "I can confirm there was no time for kissing." Luke scratched the back of his head nervously in response, while Mike and Nick started to chuckle.
"Then what did you do?" Clementine asked as she perked up from Keith's shoulder. Everyone grew silent as they stared at the girl. It's like as if she cursed someone out.
"Clem, you'll find out when you're older. Now that's enough on that subject." Bonnie said.
Clementine shrugged. She didn't understand why everyone was so silent around her when it came to what happened between Luke and Jane. She smiled and said, "It's nice to hear people laughing."
"Yeah, it is…" Kenny said sadly.
"You just spend so much time tryin to stay alive that… you don't get a chance to enjoy livin." Luke said sadly.
"Yeah… we need to make more time for that." Bonnie said.
"Alcohol helps." Luke said.
"For those of us who don't want to stay sober." Keith satirized.
"It's not too late to join us, Keith." Bonnie said. She turned to the eleven year old next to Keith and asked, "You still got that bottle of rum, right Clem?"
"Yup." Clementine said as she held up the bottle.
"Hah, no thanks." Keith said. "I don't want to wake up with an intense headache." The adults got their share of a chuckle from the boy's statement before it fell silent again.
The group then heard light sobbing that was a few feet from them which belonged to the Russian teenager, Arvo. Mike looked over to the boy with a saddened look and said, "Let me get that bottle." Mike got up and walked over to Clementine. She got up from her comfortable spot to hand the bottle to Mike as the man continued, "We got someone else that might need some help." Mike accepted the rum as Arvo's light sobbing continued.
"Sounds like a waste of good rum." Kenny said coldly as he looked up from the infant in his arms to Mike. In response, Mike looked to Kenny with a glare.
"I second that." Nick said coldly.
"Guys, he lost his sister today…" Bonnie said.
"And whose fault is that?" Kenny spat.
"That just makes it even harder to deal with… trust me." Jane said.
"It's alright to show him sympathy, but it's a mistake to trust him." Keith said as he got up. "He's human, and he made a mistake, just like we all make mistakes. But… we should not trust him."
"He needs it just as much as anyone else." Clementine said.
"I said my piece." Kenny spat as he went back to staring at the resting infant in his arms with a caring look.
Nick mumbled from where he sat and spat, "I don't trust that asshole. He almost got us killed today."
"Nick, that was hours ago. You got to let it go, brother." Luke said. "Aren't you the least bit sorry for what happened to him?"
"Hell no!" Nick exclaimed. "He tried to rob us, and if that didn't work, he would have tried to kill us! The way I see it, this is poetic justice at its finest!"
"Damn straight." Kenny agreed.
"That is not right!" Mike snapped. "How can you even say that? You know what? F*** you, both of you." Mike angrily left the group and headed over to the Russian teenager.
"Guys, I don't think that boy's a bad person. I just think good people do bad things sometimes." Bonnie said to the group as a whole; however, the message was intended for Kenny and Nick primarily. "And they do it a lot more nowadays with the world bein what it is. So… I think it's best to just…" Bonnie trailed off upon hearing a loud outcry that came from the area where Arvo was tied up.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Arvo shouted as everyone looked over to see what would have made the boy snap. Unlike everyone else, Kenny stood upright to get a better look at the situation. Clementine and Keith remained standing and looked over to see Mike trying to calm the Russian teenager.
"Sorry, okay? My fault. I shouldn't have…" Mike started to say to calm Arvo, but the teenager lashed out again.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Arvo shouted again. It was evident that pain and sadness were laced in his voice.
Kenny started to walk in the direction of where Arvo and Mike were with a scowl on his face but stopped when Clementine looked to him. She shook her head in a gesture for him to not go over to ridicule the teenager any more than he had done today. Kenny obeyed the girl's gesture and watched the interaction between Mike and Arvo.
Arvo lost his scowl as he started to mourn his sister in his native language. "It's okay… it's okay… she's in a better place." Mike said as he crouched down in front of the teenager. Arvo continued to mourn for his loss as Mike continued to calm the teenager. "It's okay… it's okay." Mike said to comfort Arvo.
"Maybe it's best if we all get some sleep." Bonnie said. "Who knows how long a walk we got tomorrow." The situation with Mike and Arvo seemed to have settled which gave Clementine and Keith the opportunity to sit down once again.
"Yeah… that's a good idea." Jane said.
"I'll take first watch." Kenny said, and he walked away from the fire. Kenny stopped upon hearing Bonnie.
"Thank you, Kenny, really." Bonnie said.
"I… don't mention it." Kenny said.
Bonnie watched Kenny walk away and sighed. She didn't want the friendly atmosphere from earlier to end, but that event had ran its course. Bonnie looked to Clementine and said, "Thanks for getting him to come over Clem. It was nice… while it lasted."
Clementine looked down sadly until she felt a comforting and supportive hand on her shoulder which came from her boyfriend. The rest of the night died down after that leaving the rest of the group to stare at the flames of the fire until they went to sleep.
It was mid-afternoon as the group continued to walk. Snow crunched under everyone's feet as they continued to follow Arvo.
Arvo led the way again with Kenny keeping an angry scowl directed at the boy. Clementine and Keith were behind Kenny. Clementine smiled at her one-eyed boyfriend as he smiled back. Despite the cold atmosphere within the group, she and Keith managed to remain happy in each other's presence. The cold atmosphere in the group was worse today thanks to the cold and gloomy weather. The sun had yet to show from behind the gray, dense clouds.
From behind Clementine and Keith was Mike holding AJ. "You sure you're good?" Mike asked Luke who decided to limp on his own today instead of accepting Nick's help from earlier.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm good. If I start to crap out, I'll let you know." Luke said.
"There is a thing called, 'overdoing it,' Luke." Nick said.
Luke chuckled in response and joked, "Never heard of it. Did you just make it up?" Nick chuckled at his friend's stubbornness and the group continued.
Mike even chuckled at the two, but he quickly became serious and said, "But seriously, Luke tell us when it gets to be too much for you. It's no trouble."
"How much further?" Kenny spat at the Russian teenager.
"Close, very close." Arvo said.
"You've been saying that every time I ask." Kenny spat.
The two passed by a pair of large rocks as Arvo said, "Please, come." Suddenly, Clementine and Keith could hear the infamous growl of a walker, which was followed by the source of the growl standing upright immediately and head for Kenny. Clementine gasped upon seeing the creature.
Kenny was too busy scolding Arvo to notice the approaching walker. "I'm really startin to think that you're full of shit."
"Behind you!" Clementine and Keith called out to Kenny.
Kenny turned around and exclaimed, "What the f***?" He was able to bring his arms up in time to keep the walker from biting down on him, but it didn't stop the walker from getting on top of him.
"Kenny!" Bonnie exclaimed.
He struggled with the walker as Clementine got closer to get a better shot with her handgun. She aimed the handgun and shot the walker in the skull. "Holy shit." Kenny muttered as he pushed the walker off of him. In the background, AJ was crying due to being frightened by the loud noise of the gun. Mike rocked the infant to calm him down as the group walked up to see if the older man was unharmed.
"That was close. Good shot, Clem." Keith said. Clementine smiled back in response to her boyfriend's compliment.
"F***** came out of nowhere!" Kenny exclaimed.
"That was real loud. Hopefully, there aren't many more of 'em." Bonnie said.
"Yeah, well, let's move." Jane said as she walked past the group. She was very nervous that the gunshot would attract unwanted attention in the form of more walkers. "We don't want to be around to find out."
"It is very close. Come." Arvo said as he turned to the group. He turned back to the path and led the group further to the forest's edge. The group followed the Russian teenager as he led them out of the forest to the shore of a lake. "There." Arvo said as he gestured to a house that must have been under construction before the outbreak.
"That piece of shit? It's half built." Kenny spat.
Keith and Clementine looked to the house with a questionable look. "Who knows? Maybe there's one completely built room in that house." Keith said optimistically.
"I f****** doubt it." Kenny spat at the boy.
"We're here for the supplies." Jane said to the older man and one-eyed boy. "Not the house."
"It's warm. Fireplace. Very warm." Arvo explained.
Clementine was less worried about the condition of the house and more worried about the medium that the group would have to use to get to it. "Is there another way to get there? Do we have to cross the lake?"
"We should've stuck to the treeline." Jane said.
"There's no other choice. We have to find another way across." Keith concluded. "Getting to the house through the frozen lake is too dangerous."
"The fastest way between two… things is a straight line." Kenny said to Keith. "We are not going to waste time in finding a different route."
"It's not wasting time. I just want to find a safer way across that lake." Keith said.
"It's not far, just be on the lookout." Bonnie said to encourage the group to pass over the frozen lake. The group approached the frozen lake to examine it more closely; they also looked for an alternate route, just as Keith had suggested earlier, but there was nothing within the area that they could use.
Keith sighed and said, "I don't see any other way across."
Arvo began to speak in his native language which made Kenny grumble. "Say it in American, asshole." Kenny said.
"It's okay. Walk. Ice." Arvo said to encourage the group to pass the frozen lake by walking across it.
Kenny didn't understand the meaning behind Arvo's broken English and spat, "No shit ice. That's the problem."
"He's saying it's fine." Bonnie said.
"I don't know. I don't like this guys." Nick said.
"I go first. I can be front." Arvo said.
"If we can go slowly and not clump together, maybe we can get across safely." Clementine suggested.
"She's right." Bonnie said agreeing to the young girl's logic.
"We definitely need to spread out." Jane said. "The less weight, the better."
Kenny acknowledged his group's input with a grunt and turned to Arvo. "Let the Ruskie go first… since he's so confident."
"It's okay." Arvo replied. The Russian teenager led the way to the frozen lake with the group close behind. Kenny and Jane followed the Russian teenager without too much hesitation, but Keith stopped right in his tracks. This was one thing that he didn't want to do.
"I don't like this. Talk about putting your life on the line and for what? Random supplies that we can find elsewhere?" Keith said. Panic laced his voice. He didn't like the course of action that group was taking now.
Clementine noticed her boyfriend's panic and said, "It's going to be alright. God's watching over us. He won't let anything bad happen to us."
"I hear you but…" Keith said as he looked down at the ice. The boy sighed and asked in a sarcastic tone, "Is it too late to become the tyrannical leader of a survivor community that was found in an abandoned hardware?"
"Yup." Clementine said with a smirk on her face.
"Ugh… I was afraid so." Keith said as he started to walk across the ice. Slowly, the rest of the group followed suit. Each member of the group looked down at their feet every few seconds as they crossed the frozen lake. None of them wanted to fall through the ice and into the cold water underneath. Despite his reluctance, Keith looked back to his girlfriend several times. He was more concerned on her safety than his. Nick was the closest person to Keith being a few feet from the one-eyed boy.
Clementine stopped upon hearing a crack under her feet. She looked down worriedly until she heard Luke. "We're okay. Don't worry." Luke said.
The group continued to cross the frozen lake. Each person was spaced out quite a bit from one another. It seemed as if everything was going to go smoothly until the distinct sound of the inhuman, gurgled growls of several walkers could be heard from behind.
"We got some walkers behind us." Jane announced as she looked back to the approaching undead.
"F***." Nick spat. "Can't anything ever go right?"
"Relax. It's only a few of 'em. We should be alright." Mike said.
"Let's just get to the house." Bonnie said.
As the walkers got closer, Arvo started to limp faster. "Hey stay with us!" Kenny exclaimed to the Russian teenager.
A couple of walkers, that had managed to limp into each other's paths, had fallen through the ice and disappeared into the water below. "F***!" Luke exclaimed.
The group looked back to see a hole in the middle of the lake where there were two walkers prior. "Well that's two less to deal with." Jane muttered.
"We'll just stay spread out, and we'll be fine." Bonnie explained.
As a result of Kenny taking his eye off of the Russian teenager, Arvo took off at the fastest that he could limp.
"F***, Kenny, Arvo's gettin away!" Nick exclaimed.
"Hey!" Kenny called after the Russian teenager. However, Arvo continued to ignore the older man and continued to limp away. "Motherf*****!" Kenny spat, and he chased after the Russian teenager.
"Shit!" Mike exclaimed as he started to run after Kenny. "He's gonna kill him!"
"Kenny!" Bonnie yelled after Kenny hoping that the older man would stop.
"You get back here, you piece of shit!" Kenny exclaimed as he continued his pursuit of the Russian teenager. By this point, the group was chasing after Kenny and Arvo. Arvo continued to run from the older man until he fell through the ice. He managed to grab onto some of the remaining ice that hadn't broken off to prevent himself from drowning. However, Kenny came up from behind and helped him back onto the frozen lake. "I should let you drown, you piece of shit." Kenny spat.
"Please, don't hurt him, Kenny!" Clementine exclaimed. The group watched on as Kenny helped Arvo out of the frozen lake and pushed him to the shore. Mike sent a glare at the older man which Kenny chose to ignore and looked out to the remaining group members that were on the lake.
"Well, they made it." Jane said as she continued to move forward.
"Keeping that Russian shit can't be worth it." Nick muttered to Keith as they continued forward towards shore. "We can always find supplies somewhere else, somewhere that doesn't have a f****** deathtrap in front of it."
"I don't like it either, but we're already almost there. Let's just finish it." Keith said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Nick said. He looked back to check on Clementine and Luke but immediately stopped. "Oh, f***." Nick muttered.
Keith looked back to see Bonnie and Clementine looking towards Luke. Luke looked down towards his feet. His feet were spread apart as if to balance himself. Keith knew what was happening. Luke was standing on thin ice which was starting to crack under his weight.
Clementine looked on in horror as the evident sound of ice cracking could be heard from Luke's direction. He was staring at his feet which made it even more evident that he was going to fall through the thin ice. Bonnie approached Luke to which the young man said, "Don't come over here." Bonnie stopped and looked over to Clementine. The woman didn't know what to do. She looked back over to Luke as he continued, "Okay, I can make it. It's fine."
"You sure?" Bonnie asked.
"Yeah." Luke replied. However, even he was stumped on how he was going to figure out a way across the lake. Luke looked back upon hearing the dreaded growl of the walkers approaching him.
"You got walkers on the way." Bonnie said as she slowly approached Luke. "Let me help you."
"It's too thin for both of us." Luke said. "I just… I just gotta be careful." Luke took a step forward which broke through the ice. He yelped upon falling through but he held onto the remaining ice that stayed in tack.
"Luke, no!" Bonnie exclaimed. She and Clementine rushed forward to help the young man.
"Hey, hey!" Nick exclaimed as he tried to chase after Clementine. He cared about Luke, but the last thing Nick wanted to see was Clementine falling through the ice.
"Stop, stop!" Luke exclaimed which stopped Clementine and Bonnie in their tracks. Nick stopped also and sighed in relief. "I'm fine. I'm fine." Luke said.
"No, you're not." Bonnie said.
"You need help, Luke." Clementine said.
"The ice is too thin. I got it." Luke explained.
"Clem, listen to him!" Nick exclaimed. The girl looked to Nick as he continued, "Luke has been in tougher jams. He'll figure something out!"
You're wrong, Nick!" Bonnie called back. The woman looked back to Clementine and said, "Clementine, you need to help Luke."
"No!" Luke exclaimed. "You're going fall through."
"Clem, go help him!" Bonnie exclaimed.
"No! Clem, just stay right where you're at! I'll be fine." Luke exclaimed.
"Clem, just go back for him. You're light. You can do it." Bonnie said.
Her words reached Nick's ears which made him shout, "Shut the f*** up, Bonnie!" Nick turned his attention to Clementine and said, "Clem, listen to me. Just let Luke figure it out. He can; he just needs time. Shoot those walkers, and he will get out of there."
"He'll die, Nick!" Bonnie argued. She looked to Clementine and continued, "You can save him but you need to go now." Bonnie grabbed her handgun from its holster and aimed at the approaching walkers.
"No, Clem. Listen to Nick. I just need a little time to figure this out." Luke said.
Clementine made her decision, and she started to walk over towards Luke. "Clementine, stop!" Kenny yelled from the shore.
"Clem, no!" Keith shouted. "Oh man, this is just going to get worse." The one-eyed boy muttered to himself, and he raced for the house. He remembered that Arvo mentioned something about a fireplace. He knew no matter what happened that someone was going to fall through the ice and into the water.
"Clementine, no! I'm begging you, please just listen to me for once!" Nick exclaimed. Nick has come to care about the young girl like she was his daughter. He didn't want her to put her life in danger like what she was doing at that very minute.
Clementine ignored Nick's pleas and slowly got closer to Luke as Bonnie shot any walkers that got too close to Luke. Luke was able to hoist himself out of the water as Clementine got closer.
Nick started to approach Clementine from behind. He had to get to her before the ice would break underneath her and Luke, but Nick was also nervous about falling through the ice as well.
"Just go back… please." Luke begged the girl.
"I…I got you." Clementine said as she extended her hand out to Luke to help him out of the water.
"Please… no." Luke said.
Nick looked up with his eyes widened in horror. "F***, no! NO!" Nick exclaimed.
"It's going to be alright." Clementine said to assure Luke. However just then, the ice broke through, sending both Clementine and Luke into the cold water underneath the ice.
…To be continued.
A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. Shitty time to call it, but whatever. You'll find out what happens in the next chapter. Anyway, once again, thank you to everyone who has favorite, followed, reviewed, and/or viewed this story. I didn't really think much of this story when I was first writing it, but you proved me wrong. So, thank you.