Okay everyone, happy Christmas! This chapter will be the last one before Christmas and I thought it would be fitting to have this chapter be the birth of a child, maybe not Jesus but Sarita's baby and I can say this chapter will cover everyone's viewpoints!
Now I'll answer some of the reviews here, (again not individually) but in general (I'll get back to answering reviews individually by next chapter) now for where the survivors are now... I would say in West Virginia, as (back at the Hardware store, they were near to state border) they drove the truck to North Carolina (where the cabin is located) and they have been heading north going through Virginia (where the ski lodge in the game is located) I can imagine by this point they are near to (or over) the border between Virginia and West Virginia. They have been walking onwards for weeks and the weather has been getting colder so I'm going to confirm it here that they are in West Virginia at the moment and the plan is to get through that state onwards through Ohio and then they'll hit Michigan.
As for my dream teams I would have to say the Motor Inn from Season 1 as they were the original survivors and I would liked to have seen more of them last longer, they were all flawed but all interesting and I agree that my favourite group from Season 2 would be the cabin survivors. Like the motor inn survivors, they were all flawed but interesting and I couldn't wait to learn more about them, however while the Motor Inn survivors got amazing arcs and fitting ends, the cabin survivors were killed off just for the hell of it.
Also Mike, Jane, Kenny three survivors considered "bad-ass" all end up bringing Clementine down in some way. Although it's made out the cabin survivors are the one's to do this, it's actually the opposite Pete can die saving Clem, Alvin can die saving Clem, Carlos was trying to protect Sarah and Clem when he died, Nick tried to save Luke and Sarah by getting help, Sarah in death never got Clementine injured or bitten she was just looking for help, Rebecca died trying to look after her child and stay strong and Luke died saving Clem. They all have your back, so for that reasoning it would be the cabin survivors for me. Sorry for rambling on but the cabin survivors and motor inn survivors would be my dream team.
and I'm sorry if you happened to be eating while reading last chapter, yeah it was pretty gruesome.
Anyway, happy holidays! and I hope this chapter entertains (P.S. This chapter will make a few references to the anime Clannad and Clannad: After Story, if you've watched those anime I think you know what's going to happen this chapter, as the title of this chapter also links back to the anime, which is probably the saddest but one of the best anime I've ever seen)
"Did you ever have a family then?"
Marisol blinked she was still lay still in the truck, Nate had been talking to himself once again as the silent Spanish woman had managed to dress herself (in a plain white T- shirt and jeans) and grab a few bites to eat and get some water down her dry throat, her big brown eyes kept flickering back towards Nate nervously expecting him to protest or flare up violently again, yet the man kept his eyes on the road until night fell and the bags under his eyes grew heavier and he finally brought the truck to a halt in the middle of the road. They hadn't been speeding down the highway on the contrary they had been moving very slowly, which was a sensible thing to do considering that swarms of walkers would sometimes clog the roads and driving through them could damage Nate's truck. The man had killed the engine waited for such herds to pass before proceeding on.
This little fact struck Marisol as odd, Nate seemed like a completely reckless man to her but the fact he was willing to protect his truck was very out of character for him. Yet Marisol wondered if it had something to do with this "Russell" he kept speaking too, or this "Dennis" or "Timmy" or "Heather" those names stood out to her, figures from Nate's past. Yet she didn't enquire in fear of what he could do to her, if he saw her as nosy.
Now she was trying to silently get some sleep, she assumed Nate had done the same as he went quiet in the front seat, but his sudden question to thin air made Marisol's head perk up, was he talking to her this time? She looked over at him to find that he was indeed, she gulped before replying
"I had my parents and my sister, my boyfriend and cousins and aunts and all, we were a big family"
Nate inspected his finger, too Marisol it didn't appear as if he was listening, yet he replied with "Were?" as Marisol sadly looked at the seat below her.
"Yeah" Marisol replied solemnly, there was no need for explanation in this world, practically everybody had lost their families. Nate offered her an look impossible to read, before he blurted out the next obscure question, "So... were your family into child porn and all that?"
"Wha... no!" Marisol shouted, offended by the question as Nate grinned and muttered "Just askin' seeing how you set those guys to rape a teenager, I just wanted to know if you were like that before" he mused as Marisol rolled her eyes. She seriously regretted telling Nate's chunks of atrocities she had committed, Marisol thought he was mostly interested in "Wyatt" and "Eddie" but it seemed he payed more attention than she gave him credit for.
"Why are you bringing this up?" she snapped at him again, forgetting her earlier rule of not too upset him.
"Because I'm bored baby!" He mused in delight.
Marisol grunted and gave him the cold shoulder as he approached her, he muttered "Oh come on don't be so touchy, you can speak to me..."
"Speak to Russell or your other imaginary friends" she snapped back at him, her hot head returning to her as she remembered who she was, she took no crap. She was a leader, she was...
WHACK
...on the ground once again, with Nate's face hovering inches above her own.
"Listen here missy! Russ was my boy, he was real same with the rest of em, the way you are you can't exactly go around calling me mad...!" Nate snapped, as Marisol found her voice once again.
"YOU ARE MAD!" She screamed, unable to control herself as Nate's eyes widened, it was then she realised looking at Nate... she may not have spoken to the dead, but she was just as bad as him, so much so she mumbled "Were both mad" as Nate blinked and his green orbs focused on the Spanish woman below him once again.
"It wasn't losing Timmy and Heather that finished me, you know?" He began in a sadder, deeper tone. Maybe Nate needed someone to open up too, maybe Marisol could somehow help him as she nervously muttered "Timmy and Heather? Who were they?"
"My son and my wife" he replied back in a deadpan tone, this surprised Marisol, she never considered Nate a family man the way he went on about woman, but if that was the truth... he seemed to sense the surprise that Marisol had upon learning this news as he told her "I bet you can't believe it, bet you think I'm lying" yet Marisol knew this was the truth as she managed to say back "You know, you would ever believe me If I said I went to church every Sunday? That I was a devote catholic? That me and my boyfriend waited a full year before we had sex, because we wanted to take thing slow?" she asked of him as he burst into fits of laughter, for some strange reason Marisol laughed as well.
"I wouldn't believe a fucking word you just said, had I not been the same before all this shit..." Nate gasped, before he managed to calm himself down before he muttered "Losing Dennis, that broke me, he always made sure I was fine and that was coping after my family bit the bullet than the fuckin' idiot Eddie just goes and shoots him. I lost it, I only wanted revenge and I still do, it's the only way to make things right don't ya think?" he asked of Marsiol as the image of Anne lying dead flashed in mind and then of the crying teenager on the floor, that was her revenge.
It didn't feel all too good.
"Maybe, maybe not" she replied as Nate continued to stare at her, before he sighed, placing his hands on his head he clenched his eyes shut and violently shook his head, as if trying to bat off a demon in his brain.
"Help me" he croaked.
"I'll take first guard"
"You sure?"
"Yeah" Molly replied dryly to Stephanie as both women looked out into the black night. They were close to the road so Molly confirmed (earlier that day) that they had reached West Virginia through a few sings on the road (aided by a worn old map she had with her) so they were getting that one step closer to Wellington.
"Molly look, I'm sorry about earlier... I shouldn't have" Stephanie began apologising for her earlier actions, as Molly shook her head and smiled, obviously she had calmed down since the incident earlier today as she told Stephanie "It's fine. Besides I have to applaud you in a strange way, the fact you're a klepto may come in handy..."
Stephanie's eyes widened as she gasped "How did you...?"
Molly only smiled and held up a photo, it was taken back at the Hardware store and it showed Nick and Stephanie smiling at the camera. Stephanie always liked that photo and kept it close to her, seeing it in another person's hands. She turned beet red before (rather than charging at it) she realised what Molly was getting at.
"You're a klemo too aren't you?" Stephanie concluded as Molly nodded, a small smile playing on her face.
"First it's Klepto, don't know where you got Klemo but I won't judge and secondly ain't nothin to be ashamed of, hell in the world today it's a handy little disorder to have" she muttered while casually flicking through more photos taken at the Hardware store she must have stolen from Nick and Sarah when they weren't looking, Stephanie didn't stop her as Molly's eyes washed over Clementine's image as she smiled and muttered "She still has the hat then and the same hairstyle" she store at the photo for a while before she lowered it and looked back at Stephanie.
"You haven't told anyone that you're a Klepto, have you?"
"I told Nick, his the only one who knows" Stephanie replied as Molly grinned from ear to ear, Stephanie smiled to herself and looked over at Molly "Look, I know what you might think, but he is a just a friend..."
Molly cut her off as she spoke up "That's bullshit Stef, look me and Sarah aren't exactly going to rip you two apart and I think he needs you, his so damn overprotective of Sarah, if something happens to her then he'll lose it, but you need to be there for him. To keep him stable I know might call him an asshole every time the opportunity arises but I know his okay guy" Molly lectured as Stephanie found herself turning pink as Molly added "Don't tell him I told you this" as Stephanie nodded.
"And what happens if he loses both of us? Would you stay with him, or would you leave?" Stephanie asked of Molly, whose reply was instant.
"I'd leave"
She said no more as Stephanie accepted this information, she slowly started to walk away before she turned back to the blonde woman who stood against a tree overlooking the road.
"Molly?"
"Huh?" she grunted.
Stephanie chucked Molly's pickaxe back at her as Molly caught it in surprise, but she laughed and shouted over to Stephanie "You're good at this!"
Stephanie grinned "Would Hilda want you to be alone Molly?" she asked, as she had read the name scribbled onto the handle of the pick axe. Molly's eyes seemed to soften at the mention of the name of her deceased sister, as she murmured sadly "Hilda is the reason I'm alone" and after this she said no more as Stephanie walked on next to Nick's sleeping bag and Molly continued to stare into the darkness. Keeping her ears peeled for any indication of approaching danger.
Nick himself had been dozing peacefully when he felt some sort of pressure dig into his back,his eyes fluttered open as he felt the form of a woman slide into his sleeping bag. He turned over to find Stephanie smiling shyly at him, he ran a hand through his messy black hairs and muttered groggily to her "What you doing Stef?" her lips moved but no sound came out as Nick leaned in closer, until his ears were warmed by her breath as she whispered "You know what I'm doing" as Nick suddenly became alert as he glanced around him. Sarah was fast asleep, curled up in her sleeping bag and Molly was just out of sight, now he and Stephanie were truly alone.
"A-are you sure about this?" he asked nervously, not for himself but for Stephanie who he noticed was shaking once again, she smiled up at him and pressed herself closer to his form, as Nick felt himself go stiff, he crossed his legs over themselves (too not make his sign of arousal so obvious) as he managed to ask again "After what happened with Stan, Stef we don't have to kiss or anything like that, not if you don't want too" he muttered as he waited for Stephanie to reply as her mouth finally opened "You know you're right Nick, I don't want to kiss guys, it's the last thing I would want to do in the world. But ironically enough, the thing I want to do most in the world right now is kiss you" upon this statement her hands cupped the sides of Nick's face as she pulled herself towards him.
They were both nervous, but Nick finally steeled whatever inner courage he had and kissed Stephanie deeply.
The two of them stayed like that for a while, Nick felt his heartbeat slow down, as a layer of sweat began to coat his face he felt Stephanie's arm explore his face and back, he was nervous to move his own hands to far down Stephanie's back (in fear of being slapped by her, or trigging a bad memory for her) Stephanie herself was just as nervous as she constantly asked herself "Does it like it? Am I good kisser?" when they finally broke apart (panting slightly) they simply gazed at each other, inspecting each other's faces as Nick mouth finally twisted into that of a heart-warming smile.
"That was nice" he muttered.
"Yeah" Stephanie agreed, before she gulped and muttered "Was it any good Nick? I didn't ruin it for you did I? You were okay with me..."
"Stef" Nick cut in.
"Yeah"
"Shut up" he mused as he leaned in to kiss her again.
"CLEMENTINE! CLEMENTINE STAY DOWN DAMMIT!"
"SHE'S GONNA DIE IF WE DON'T STOP THE BLEEDING, SHE'S REOPENED HER WOUND!
Clementine looked around, she was back in the cave again. The cave from her very first dream, blood coated her cheeks as she had rubbed it on. Why had she rubbed it on again? Why couldn't she remember much? Who were the two black figures in her blurry vision?
They weren't cultists were they? Clementine had seen enough of Cultists especially after...
She gasped as she remembered everything, it hit her like a ton of bricks as..."
"WAAAAHHHH!"
Clementine eyes snapped open as she muttered an angry curse she remembered the dream this time, she was in a cave, two figures were above her and then... "Damn it I can't remember the rest" she muttered to herself as she looked over to see that AJ was crying once again as Eddie tried to soothe the agitated infant, his brown eyes met Clementine's. "Sorry he woke you up, kid must be having teething pains" he explained as Alvin wailed again. Running out of options Eddie resorted on letting AJ chew on his (hastily wiped) finger as AJ seemed to calm down slightly, his green eyes became locked on the leafy canopy above him.
"His getting bigger, according to Rebecca he turned 1 a few weeks ago. It's a shame we didn't get a small birthday party" he muttered as Clementine nodded her head and looked around the forest, looking for wherever Luke was.
"I never knew Bonnie's birthday" Eddie mumbled bringing Clementine's eyes back too him, as the bearded man looked up at her "It's strange isn't it? I thought I knew her so well, but when they die you realise there's so much more you should have said or asked them. So many opportunities you realise you miss" he muttered as Clementine simply nodded.
"I know" the 12 year old said quietly as she looked around and finally asked "Eddie, where's Luke?"
Eddie looked around himself before answering Clementine "I dunno Clem, said he went down to the stream to go and get water but his been gone for hours" Eddie said as Clementine sprang up, somewhat alarmed "I'm going to go look for him, stay here and guard our stuff!" she instructed of Eddie, who kept his head low as AJ continued to nibble on his finger.
"Sure thing, don't go off to far" he warned, although he knew the 12 year old could look after herself just fine.
Clementine was expecting something dramatic, she expected to find something horrible, she didn't expect to find Luke after running for less than a minute, he was crouched by an gushing stream, sat with his legs apart, his back was bent over and he didn't seem to move, nervously she called out "Luke..." in which he suddenly seemed to spring to life. He fumbled with his trousers for a second before he managed to turn his head towards Clementine, he wasn't crying but his eyes were still red.
"Hey" Clementine muttered taking a seat next to him, as he sniffed from next to her.
"Hey, you okay?" Luke asked of her as Clementine looked at her own reflection in the broken water of the stream, she didn't reply as Luke muttered emptily "I was just... um..." he wanted to use the words relieving stress but he had a feeling Clementine would catch onto what he was doing, she was smart enough. So he trailed to a halt and kept silent before he muttered again "I, miss her already Clem, it was all my fault if I hand't thought about that stupid lake idea than we mighta still been together" he sighed before he muttered
"I just thought I was doing what was best, but I had to do something differently, otherwise Vince would have killed us all..."
"What?" Clementine asked, something about that sentence sent a shiver up her spine and reminded her vividly of her dream, Luke shrugged her off with a "It's nothin' Clem I'm just feeling sorry for myself, I made a bad choice and now people are dead, I mean what I have done that's right?" he criticized himself as Clementine flashed him a small smile. "You saved me, I'm still alive. You have done something right" she encouraged him as Luke managed to muster a small smile.
"Thanks Clem" he muttered as they simply continued to stare out into the black night, as Luke finally said "It's crappy isn't it Clem? Bonnie loved me I treat her like dirt, I don't even acknowledge her I was so busy thinkin' about Jane that I didn't even notice she was there until she was gone" his confession of survivor's guilt is something Clementine experienced, thinking of her parents, who were already long gone and failing to acknowledge Lee who was there with her. She felt the tears fall, she was given a second chance! She should have valued the others' lives more than she did, she should have saved Bonnie! Luke pulled her to his chest, he didn't need to mutter any words, his hug was enough as Clementine sobbed "I'm no good Luke, things weren't meant to turn out like this!" as he tried to shush her.
"Hey come on Clem, don't be so hard on yourself, hey come on look at this" Luke said pointing upwards as Clementine wiped the tears away, Luke was pointing at a single star, brighter than the others that surrounded it, as Clementine hazel iris' locked upon the bright thing as Luke muttered "See that Clem, that's the north star. We follow that it will take us north, so if we lose our maps we can always rely on mother nature..."
"What's this got to do with anything Luke?" Clementine asked him, as he looked down at her.
"It ain't, I'm trying to make you forget Clem. You've been having nightmares, I've heard you, tossing and turning in your sleep I didn't want to bring them up with you because I thought you'd shrug them off Clem. But I want you too know that if anything is bothering you, then you can talk to me..."
Clementine would have instantly cut him off with "I'm fine, really I mean everyone has nightmares, right?" but she couldn't muster herself to say it, she realised she was ready to open up even further to Luke, by telling him "They're weird dreams Luke" she admitted as Luke listened in instantly not expecting to get such an honest reply, as Clementine continued "I'm always in a cave, I'm surrounded by people I think... but when you have a dream it's always something you've seen before, or something bad you've seen, but with these dreams it's always the same one. It's as if..." she paused there before she chose her next words very carefully.
"It's as if I can see what's going to happen"
Those words were the closest Clementine had ever come to admitting her second chance to anyone, no one would believe her if she told them now. But Luke remained silent for a little bit too long than what was natural, it was as if he was having some inner debate before he finally muttered
"That... is kinda creepy Clem, (after these words his voice became lighter as he continued) "but it ain't real Clem, just remember that and Remember me and Eddie are around, like I proved back at the lake I ain't gonna let anything or anyone hurt you. Understood?" he told her as Clementine nodded.
The dango that were spread across the wooden floors of the old house had many different faces.
An dango with drawn on wrinkles had squinty eyes, a plump red dango had eyelashes and a small smile on her face, a blue dango next to it had heavy eyebrows but a small smile played on his face, as both the red Dango and the blue Dango looked down at a small white dango who had big black eyes, coloured in cheeks and a happy smile playing on it's face, surrounding this core family were hundreds of other dango's all with drawn on faces, ranging from happy to sad, to confused, to angry, to any other expression that could be thought off.
All of them, they all had a face, they all had a colour, they were all together.
The Big Dango Family.
Rebecca herself couldn't find any supplies as her hands cut through the old pieces of Dango, acknowledging that the girl in the basement who had the marker pen probably played with these bits of food as toys. It made Rebecca sad to see so many of them gathered up all in one place, they were so many of them and they were all so different. Without any success in finding anything of use in this room she walked out and nearly tripped on a few lonely pieces of dango lying in the corridor.
She looked down at them, a lone red dango with a frown on it's face was her, she was outside the main room where all the rest of the dango were together and happy. She was still alive, she wasn't in the room with all the other dango, with all the others who had reunited in a better place than simply being left to be stomped on in the corridor.
With a sigh Rebecca proceeded back towards the room where Sarita screamed from, her face was drenched with sweat, her legs were spread apart as Rebecca peered into the space between them, seeing the small bump of the baby's head poking out.
"His coming out Sarita! Just a few more pushes!" Rebecca shouted, as Sarita groaned, and threw her head back, panting at Kenny "I-can't Kenny... I can't... do this..." as Kenny held on tighter to her hand which was locked around his own as she squeezed tighter and muttered softly at her "It's alright Sarita, it's alright just a few more pushes and it will be all over" he encouraged her, but this was a different story to what was going on in Kenny's head. White, hot panic soared through his veins, this labour had been going on all night and Sarita had lost so much blood...
"REBECCA SHE CAN'T TAKE MUCH MORE OF THIS! SHE NEEDS MEDS NOW!" He roared, desperate to find some painkillers, or some more bandages he had already used his old one's that he once had draped around his eye to try and stop the bleeding. But the soggy bandages had proved no good as blood continued to pour through them. Now all Kenny had was Sarita's old bandages that she used to wrap around her stump as a back-up. Despite Rebecca's warnings not to use those bandages Kenny was desperate to save Sarita, so he'd be willing to do anything to save her.
"REBECCA GET MEDS!" Kenny roared at the curly haired woman in anger, the only supplies she had found were a metal tub that she filled with some of the remaining water the group had, it wasn't freezing water, but it wasn't ideal either. Other than that Rebecca had found nothing, no meds, no bandages, not even a blanket or pillows for Sarita to crop herself up on. So Kenny had removed almost all of his clothing to try and make a make-shift pillow for Sarita (and extra bandages if need be).
"I'VE LOOKED KENNY, THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE!" She screamed back at him, as he was about to roar a response before she gasped "OH MY GOD! SARITA THE BABY'S COMING OUT! ONE MORE PUSH AND...!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sarita's cry almost tore her vocal chords apart, as she threw her head back in agony, the baby squeezed itself from her body and landed into Rebecca's outstretched hands, as Rebecca instantly used a knife she had on her, to cut the umbilical cord, she was up in an instant as she dunked the squealing infant into the water wiping the layers of blood off the child.
Kenny was also instantly to work, using every bit of bandages and clothing he had to try and cover where Sarita bled, he tried applying pressure to the spot to stop the heavy bleeding, his bare chest and arms were drenched in Sarita's blood, the new found father knew these supplies weren't enough to stop the bleeding, he had covered the wounds up but the blood was already seeping through the layers of clothing, pretending not too notice this Kenny instantly checked on Sarita, who now looked very pale.
"It's alright hon, look! You did it! There's our child right there!" he pointed at where Rebecca held onto the red skinned infant as Rebecca looked at the child and happily muttered "Congratulations it's a girl" as Sarita lifted her weak arms and held the child in her arms as a few tears fell from her eyes, as she blinked at the infant who managed to calm herself down, as she opened her eyes a fraction and Sarita laughed as she gazed into her daughter's blue eyes.
"She's beautiful" Sarita sobbed, as Kenny joined in on the waterworks as he held his new daughter in his arms, he was expecting a son so now he had a daughter, his mind was blank on what to call her. What had he agreed on?
"Lilly" Sarita croaked out, as Kenny looked down at her in surprise as Sarita muttered "I always like that name... and Lilly... deserves to be honoured... for saving our lives, our baby girl wouldn't be here without that woman" Sarita reasoned, Kenny finally swallowed whatever sort of pride he had left, as he accepted the name with a gracious smile and muttered "Lilly, we'll call it Lilly then" he sobbed as Sarita smiled weakly at him, her eyelids beginning to droop as Kenny looked on helplessly as he placed the child towards her and muttered "Sarita! Sarita look! She has your nose alright, she looks a lot like you" he mused happily through his tears as Sarita coughed as she laughed weakly.
"Indeed she does, I'm... happy" she muttered as she began to slip away as Kenny shook her and bellowed "SARITA!" as the Indian woman opened her eyes once again, "Please... you made a promise" he wept as Sarita smiled at where the man she loved held onto her daughter, as he began to talk on "We'll raise Lilly here together, we'll go to Wellington just as we planned. We'll be a big family Sarita! We'll all be a big family! We can take her to school, watch her grow up, watch me kick her first boyfriend's ass, you can count on it! We'll all be there to make our little girl happy" he reasoned as Sarita's weak hand rested in Kenny's stronger one.
"I love you Kenny"
and then her hand went limp falling to the floor opposite her, as Kenny shook her again "Hey Sarita! Come on Sarita our little girl needs you, you're not going to leave me like this? You can't leave me helpless me with her, she needs her mummy... she..." he paused there, Sarita's fingers were cold, she didn't breathe anymore as Kenny's tears fell at a faster rate as the truth hit him, his very worst fear had come to life.
"SARITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! He screamed in grief as he wept his very soul out.
Lilly began to cry again as she rested on her father's chest, as Kenny himself wept into Sarita's chest. Rebecca who had watched the scene sadly raised a nearby gun, they were nearly out of ammo, but she had at least one bullet on her, enough to do the job. A tear fell from Rebecca's eye as she fired.
BANG
Sarita was now truly dead, Kenny had done everything in his power to save her, to get the meds she had needed to survive the birth.
He had failed.