A/N: Fixed the mistaken name in chapter 2.
Original artwork done by BenteJam. Check them out!
Disclaimer: I do not own Telltale's The Walking Dead, only my character.
Zoey's Room, Travelier Motel
October 12th, 0902 Local Time, 2003
Zoey pulled her green fingerless gloves over her hands before putting on her jacket. Nearby, Clementine was drawing something on one of her sheets of paper, her stuffed dog sitting next to her. She had an intense look of concentration on her face, as if what she was drawing was the most important thing in her life.
The little girl was no longer wearing her skirt and tank top, but instead a yellow t-shirt that she had packed, a pair of grey children's sweatpants that they had managed to find on one of their supply runs, and black tennis shoes. Even with the change of clothes, she still wore her now dirty hat.
Zoey chuckled at the sight. It comforted her to no end knowing that Clementine was doing what she had hoped she would do: Be a kid. There would eventually come a time when she would have to grow up, but for now, Zoey wasn't about to force her to abandon the last of her innocence. That didn't mean she was complacent however, as she made sure Clementine was doing a few basic exercises a day.
It's trying times like these when everyone needs something to fight for. I chose mine a long time ago. Zoey thought as she checked over her M4 for any discrepancies. Luckily she hadn't been forced to use it much so far, so she still had plenty of spare ammo. Combine that with the lucky supply run to Macon's police station a month back, and she had plenty of spare magazines.
Her Glock shared a similar fate. Although the 9mm bullets had to be shared amongst everyone who had a pistol that was able to take that caliber, it still left her with a full magazine and one that was half empty.
Clementine looked up from her drawing just in time to see Zoey put her bat in its slot in her backpack. The little girl hated when Zoey had to leave, as it meant she would be left alone talking to Duck most days. It wasn't that she didn't like the boy, far from it actually. Rather, she just found him annoying at times.
"Do you have to go?" Clementine asked as she set her pencil down.
Zoey chuckled at the complaining tone in Clementine's voice. "Yes Clem. We have to go out and look for more supplies if we want to stay here." She explained with a light smile.
Clementine pouted which caused Zoey to chuckle slightly harder. "It's just that, Kenny and Mark are already going, so why do you? Why can't you stay here and play with me?" The little girl inquired.
Oh Clem, you have no idea how many times a day I ask myself that. Zoey thought. "Well Clem, it's because I have to contribute to the group, which means helping out where I can. And we've planned on going out today for the past two days, so I can't back out now." She calmly explained.
Clementine looked dejected at Zoey's explanation, something Zoey knew she had to fix. In response, she put a hand on Clementine's shoulder. "Hey, how about this? When we get back, we can do whatever you want, alright?" She bargained.
Clementine's face lit up with excitement as she gleefully held onto her stuffed animal. "Ok!"
"That's a spirit kiddo." Zoey optimistically stated.
The sounding of knocking came from the door with Kenny's voice quickly following. "Zoey, you ready yet? Mark's already waiting by the gate." He informed her.
"That's my cue Clem. I'll cya later." She said before making her way to the door. "Coming!" She announced. Opening it, she flashed Clementine one last smile before leaving her alone in the room.
The cool autumn wind helped alleviate the heat of the sun, making it feel colder than usual in her opinion. All around were signs of the fall season being in full swing, with everyone who was outside wearing a jacket of some kind.
"So, how's she doing?" Kenny asked as he leaned on the wall.
"Honestly? She's holding herself pretty well all things considered. " Zoey replied.
Kenny smirked. "Yeah well, she's under the guidance of one of the best the world has to offer." He complimented as the two began walking down the stairs. "Speaking of which, thanks for having my back the other day. I don't know what Larry's problem is, but it seems like each day he becomes more of an asshole."
Zoey nodded when they reached the base of the stairs. "No problem. At this point, I'm willing to kick him and Lilly outta the group. They've been almost nothing but pain's in our asses."
"Amen to that." Kenny replied, sharing her distaste for the father - daughter duo.
Zoey followed Kenny as they made their way to the gate Mark was waiting at. On the way, she took in the sight of their current situation. Lilly was on top of the van with one of the rifles they had found while out scavenging a month prior. She made sure to keep an eye on the Air Force Captain, as the littlest thing seemed to affect her attitude for the worst.
Carly was sitting on the couch they had set up outside and was in the middle of talking to Doug about something. The technician now donned a brown jacket and blue jeans. He and Carly seemed to get along incredibly well with each other, so much so that they announced their relationship only a few weeks after the group initially came to the motel.
Zoey was happy for the couple. Like her, almost everyone else believed they were meant for each other, even if they didn't have much in common.
"Morning Zoey." Mark greeted as she and Kenny reached the gate.
Zoey waved at the man with a pleasant smile. "Morning Mark. How've you been?" She asked.
When they first found Mark at Lilly's old place of work, Robins Airforce Base, he had managed to lock himself inside to avoid the walkers. Thanks to his clearance capabilities, he had given the group access to all the food the commissary had left that hadn't perished. That alone put him in Zoey's good faith, as it showed her that not all military members were dicks.
"I've been alright, just eager to find some food." He answered with a slightly downcast look.
"Aren't we all." Kenny said. "Well, we better get a move on if we wanna find anything, lest we stand around all day and risk not catching anything." He remarked.
"Right." Zoey said. She gave him a determined look as Mark opened the gate to let themselves leave.
Kenny was a man that Zoey held nothing but respect towards, having shown himself to be a truly capable leader over the past few months. He kept a relatively cool head when it came to making decisions, at least when he wasn't being bombarded by Lilly or Larry about something. By now, everyone besides the two had effectively dubbed Kenny as the overall leader. Even then, he still made sure to get everyone's input before coming to a conclusion on what to do next.
Lilly on the other hand was always butting heads with him, saying that he wasn't doing enough for the group and that she was the only one there who could make the hard calls when necessary.
Good thing we let Doug ration the food. Who knows just how selfish Larry or Lilly would be if they had control over it. Zoey thought. It was no secret that Zoey hated them, which was reinforced by her constant siding with Kenny on what would be the next best course of action. This led to multiple fights nearly breaking out between her and Lilly, something that Doug, Carly, and Katjaa were quick to defuse.
With the gate closing behind them, the trio readied their weapons and walked into the forest, the safety of the motel vanishing from sight.
Forest
October 12th, 0947 Local Time, 2003
The autumn trees swayed gently in the wind as their red, yellow, and brown leaves fell from their branches. It was so perfect in fact, that you could almost forget about the walkers that roamed the golden forest.
The fallen leaves crunched underneath Zoey's boots. Kenny was slightly ahead of the group with his rifle trained on the area in front of him, while Mark stayed in the back to watch the rear with his axe. The melee weapon had gone through a lot in its time with the motel group, having been used on and for numerous occasions. From a makeshift hammer, to chopping wood, to killing walkers, Zoey was surprised how well it still worked.
Kenny suddenly halted and raised his hand, indicating for the others to stop as well. Crouching next to him, Zoey looked around to see what he had them stop for.
"What is it?" She asked as she turned her head towards his.
"Look over there." Kenny said. Looking in the direction he was pointing in, she could barely make out the outline of an adult red fox sniffing around. Within a few seconds, Kenny took aim, steadied his breathing, and pulled the trigger, hitting the fox just behind the shoulder and causing it to fall over dead.
"Woah, nice shot!" Mark complimented as he stood up.
"Yeah, good aim Kenny." Zoey added. "C'mon, let's get this thing and get outta here before the walkers come."
Kenny and Mark nodded at the idea and jogged over to the dead animal. Mark picked it up and slung it over his shoulder, its blood slowly dripping from the bullet wound. The three were extremely excited to have finally caught something, even if it had taken nearly an hour to do so. It was completely justified though, as their luck so far had been so shitty that they either only found birds or animals that had already been devoured by walkers.
"I reckon that should give us maybe a few more days worth of food. Maybe just long enough for me to finally get that damn RV fixed." Kenny confidently said.
"If you want some help Kenny, I'm all down for it. I'm no mechanic, but I'll see what I can do." Zoey told him.
"Thanks, but I can do it myself. Besides, you need to keep your focus on Clem. That little girl is gonna need you now more than ever, especially once we get on the road." Kenny replied, giving his own input on their situation.
Zoey nodded understandingly. Kenny was right after all, since she was starting to prepare Clementine for the future. On top of that, when compared to Kenny, she knew nothing about parenting and was winging it on some days, while going to Kenny for help on others.
A sudden blood curdling scream caught them off guard and made them alert as they raised their weapons. The voice it belonged to sounded eerily similar to Kenny's, but Zoey knew it was someone else as Kenny was with them.
"Who the hell was that?!" Kenny exclaimed.
"I don't know, but it sounded like they need help!" Zoey pointed out. "We gotta be fast though, that noise is gonna attract walkers!"
"Let's hurry then!" Mark shouted before taking off in the direction of the painful screams, Kenny and Zoey following close behind.
As they continued to run, walkers began stumbling out from behind the trees and foliage. The mixture of screams and walkers gave them the incentive to run even faster towards the source. When they eventually found who was screaming, the sight made Zoey gag. An older man who looked roughly Doug's age with a high school letterman had his leg ensnared in a bear trap and was bleeding profusely. From her angle, she could see that the razor sharp trap had sliced right through certain areas in his leg.
"Oh my god!" Zoey yelled in shock as she looked away.
"Holy shit! What the hell happened?!" Kenny asked.
The other two people with the trapped man turned to face the trio. The blonde individual looked relieved at their arrival, whilst his partner seemed more worried about their arrival than anything else.
"Mr. Parker wanted us to stay off the roads, that maybe we would've been safer if we weren't seen! Please, you have to help us get him out of there!" The blonde shouted in a panic.
The three survivors looked at each other before Mark spoke up. "We'll help however we can. Zoey, Kenny, cover me! I'll see what I can do!" He instructed.
Kenny and Zoey nodded and raised the rifles at the incoming undead. Although they were slow, there were simply too many of them for the two to focus on. That was quite the recurring theme when it came to walker attacks. They were slow as easy to kill, but sometimes they would come in such large groups that it would be impossible to fight without running out of ammo.
Zoey aimed her M4 and shot one of the walkers that had gotten too close to the group. Now that a shot had been fired, more walkers were most definitely on their way. Lining up two walkers, Zoey squeezed the trigger and let the 5.56mm round explode out the barrel and fly straight through one walker's head and into the one behind it, killing both.
"Mark, hurry up!" Zoey shouted as she shot another walker. She knew if he didn't get the teacher out of the trap soon, then they would have no voice but to leave him behind.
"I can't get him out! Someone removed the release on this thing, there's no way to get it open!" Mark replied as he began using the axe as a makeshift crowbar.
Kenny racked the bolt back to load another round. He had already killed about four walkers and was beginning to run low on ammo. "Mark, I'm sorry but we can't stay here, we gotta leave him!" He said.
Seeing as he had little success in prying the trap open, Mark looked up at Kenny and Zoey before looking back at the teacher with a sorrowful face. The teacher's eyes went wide as he knew that they were about to leave him for dead. Fear surged through him as the walkers began closing in, causing him to cry out for help again.
"Please help! For the love of god don't leave me!" He shouted in a panic.
"I'm so sorry." Mark eventually said before getting up.
Seeing that as their cue, Zoey waved for the two teenagers to follow them, one of which was nearly surrounded. Zoey shot three of the walkers before running over and grabbed him by the arm. "We gotta go, come on!" She shouted at him as she pulled him towards her friends.
With the two in tow, the trio of survivors ran away from the scene, hitting any walkers that were in their way. As the cries of help from the teacher rang out in the distance, they eventually turned into screams of pain and agony before ultimately going silent.
Travelier Motel
October 12th, 1004 Local Time, 2003
Clementine kept her gaze focused on the forest, her coloring book and stuffed animal off to the side. She refused to go outside for the time being, with her reasoning behind her decision being that it was cold and she just wanted to draw. In actuality, it was because Lilly was on watch duty, and the military woman scared her.
Ever since she had first threatened Zoey and Kenny to help Larry, she had a severe distaste for the woman. Combine that with Zoey's growing hatred for her and her constant arguing with nearly the rest of the group, and Clementine could safely say that she had a reason to avoid the woman all together.
Admittedly, she was also anxious for Zoey's safe return. When they had first met back at her house, Clementine was worried about what the older female would do. She had seen so many people fight and steal from each other in those first two days, so when Zoey entered her house, she initially believed she would just take from her home and leave. That was, until she had found the radio. The way she spoke and acted around her made her feel safe, just like the way she imagined a big sister would act.
If I ever had a big sister at least. Clementine thought.
"Clementine, you there?" Zoey's voice suddenly said over the radio. Her breathing was somewhat heavy, but other than that she sounded ok.
Clementine scrambled for her radio to respond as fast as possible, relieved to hear her caretaker's voice. "Y- yes, I'm here. Are you ok?." She answered.
"I'm fine. I need you to go tell everyone else to have the gate ready to be opened, ok? We're bringing some company with us that could use some help." Zoey explained.
Knowing that Zoey would tell her more when they got back, Clementine got up, put on her purple hoodie, and went outside. The wind sent a shiver up her spine which led her to zip up her hoodie before making her way downstairs. When she reached the parking lot, she quickly walked over to where Doug and Carley were sitting.
Seeing her come over to them, Doug gave Clementine a bright smile and wave. "Hey Clem, what's up?" He greeted. His actions were quickly copied by Carly do also waved at the little girl.
Clementine waved back but didn't smile. "Zoey just told me that they'll be back soon. She said to have the gate ready for when they do."
Doug looked to Carly for a moment before giving Clementine a nod. "We're on it. Carly?" He addressed the reporter.
"Yep, come on." She said as she got up. The couple went over towards the gate and waited for their friends to return. They didn't have to wait long, as a few minutes later, running could be heard in the trees.
Hearing the footsteps, Doug and Carley pulled the dumpster out of the way just in time for Zoey, Kenny, and Mark to appear out of the forest, but they were not alone. Lilly was the first to see the two teenagers following close behind the hunting party. She climbed down from the RV and strolled over to the trio, ready to confront them.
"Who the hell are they?!" Lilly shouted, pointing at Ben and Travis. This attracted the rest of the group's attention, most of which were confused by Lilly's outburst, at least until they saw who she was talking about.
Kenny aggressively stood in her way with his rifle in hand. "They're people Lilly! People who needed our help! Can't you fucking see that?" He angrily countered.
Lilly glared daggers at him with a deep scowl. "Oh fuck you Kenny, you're always against what I say!"
"Yeah, because you only care about yourself and your shithead of a dad!" He exclaimed.
"Don't speak to my daughter like that you lousy pile of crap! She's the only one willing to make the hard decisions when everyone else can't!" Larry butted in in his daughter's defense.
"Oh really old man?!" Zoey joined in. "I saw someone's fucking leg torn to shit in a bear trap! We were forced to leave him behind because if we didn't, we all would have died! So tell me Larry, who here is making the hard calls?! You and your bitch of a daughter?! Or the people who actually stick their fucking necks out for the group?!"
The growing tension between both pairs seemed like it was about to explode. By now, Doug was standing in between the fighting groups whilst Katjaa was holding onto Kenny's arm and trying to talk him down. Carley haphazardly led the teenagers they found away from the stand off.
The stand off luckily ended when Kenny eventually slowly walked away under the direction of his wife. This left Zoey alone for a moment with Lilly, which gave them a chance to tell her one last thing.
"You may think you have a say in what we do, but compared to us, you're still just a fucking kid, got it?" Lilly insulted before turning and making her way back to the roof of the RV.
With the situation broken apart once more, the divide within the group grew ever wider. Now left alone at the gate, Zoey took a deep breath to calm herself down before pushing the gate closed.
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Zoey said, more disappointed in herself than anything. She knew it made Clementine worry when she and Lilly argued.
"It's ok. You just wanted to help them, and Lilly wanted to kick them out. She's… not a good person." Clementine softly stated.
"Yeah, she's not." Zoey replied as she began the slow walk back to her room. The sight of the teacher's leg haunted her, it having been one of the most horrific things she'd seen.
Killing walkers is one thing, but that was a person with his leg completely shredded. Zoey thought as she forced it to the back of her mind.
Zoey twisted the knob and pushed the door open to her and Clementine's room. On one end of the room, Clementine's art supplies were collected around her backpack which sat at the base of the bed. On the other end, Zoey's sleeping bag was laid out against the wall.
When the group had initially gone over which rooms people would have, Clementine was adamant that she be with Zoey, giving the excuse that the teenager made her feel safe at night. Zoey wasn't about to dismiss the little girl's claims as nonsense, rather, she agreed to it almost immediately, citing that it was Clementine's idea and not hers.
Zoey set her backpack down near her sleeping back and took a seat against the wall. The situation at the motel had been dwindling for weeks, something that she and Kenny had been expressing for some time now. And every time they tried to explain, Lilly would always refute saying they were safer here.
Sure, we're safe for now, but what about when the food runs out? It's not like any of us know how to grow it, and I doubt there's enough local wildlife to sustain us. Zoey thought.
Clementine was worried for her caretaker, having heard what she told Larry. She sat next to Zoey and rested her head against her arm. "That must have been scary." She said in a quiet voice.
Zoey sighed as she wrapped her arm around the girl, knowing what she was referring to. "It was. Scariest thing I've ever seen."
"Will you be ok?" Clementine asked.
Zoey slowly nodded and let out another deep breath. "Yeah, I'll be fine." She replied before going quiet for a minute. Clementine simply sat there, as she knew her presence helped Zoey remain calm when something got tough. "How about we do something to take our minds off everything?" She suddenly suggested.
"Like what?" Clementine asked with a tilt of her head, curious as to what Zoey had in mind.
"How about... we do our daily exercises? We haven't done that yet." Zoey said.
Clementine smiled and nodded. When it came to exercise before the apocalypse, the furthest extent she went to was when she used to go to the neighborhood playground and mess around. She always found adult exercises to be boring and nowhere near as fun, but somehow Zoey had managed to change her perspective. Sure, pushups, mountain climbers, and sit-ups weren't exactly something she would call a fun pastime, but she and Zoey always made a competition out of it.
The two went about setting up for the training regiment. Clementine took off her hoodie while Zoey did the same with her bomber jacket. With her jacket off, it was clear to both of them that that had grown in strength. Clementine no longer had the incredibly thin arms that she did at the beginning of the apocalypse, but now if one took the time to look, they would see that she had a small amount of muscle in her arms. While it was nowhere near enough to help her fend off a walker, it was certainly a start for the future.
Zoey on the other hand had a noticeable amount of strength in her arms, as was evident with her already somewhat toned body becoming more defined over the past few months. Being the daughter of a cop, her father had wanted her to follow in his footsteps, or if possible, go beyond his own career. That meant making sure she was well trained in firearms and kept a well built physique over the years.
"Ready Clem?" Zoey asked as they got into pushup positions. Clem gave her a nod and 'mhm' as she set up beside her. "Ok, in three. Two. One. Go."
For the next half hour, the duo kept themselves occupied with various exercises that both of them could accomplish. Zoey had made sure to go easy when it came time for their little competition at the end of each exercise.
By the time they were finished, both females were a sweaty mess. Zoey sent Clementine to shower first so that she would know she got a chance to use the limited water supply. After the both of them had showered and changed into similar sets of clothes that they had worn, they put their jackets on and opened the door just in time to see Doug in the process of knocking.
"Oh, hey Doug." Zoey greeted. Behind her, Clementine waved at the man.
"Hey guys, I was checking in to let you know I'm distributing food. Want any?" He asked. Zoey and Clementine nodded in response. "Ok, let's see here. We have… an apple, some chips, and a bag of beef jerky. What do you guys want?"
"Can I have the apple? Pleeease?" Clementine asked, her tone not hiding how hungry she was.
Doug chuckled and handed her the fruit. "Sure thing. How about you Zoey?" He asked.
Zoey shrugged and studied her options for a moment before ultimately taking the jerky. "I guess I'll take this. Who're you going to give the chips to?"
Doug pointed a thumb down towards Kenny who was currently working on the engine of the RV, something that Zoey nodded in agreement with. "He really needs a break sometime." Doug commented. "Anyway, I'll catch ya later Zoey. Should probably go give this to Kenny." He said as he held up the chips.
Zoey and Clementine waved the man a friendly goodbye as he walked away from the door. As he vanished down the stairs, Zoey was about to close the door when Lilly suddenly stood up from her spot on the RV. Zoey and Clementine watched as she raised her rifle towards the street, her finger on the trigger.
"Stay right there! No sudden moves!"
Her shouting alerted the rest of the group who acted quickly. Katjaa took duck behind the RV with Ben and Travis whilst Kenny, Carley, and Mark grabbed their guns. Zoey rushed over to where she dropped off her stuff and grabbed her pistol before returning to the door.
"Clem, stay down just in case something happens." She instructed, her voice leaving no room for discussion.
Clementine nodded and retreated further inside the room. Looking over at the street, Zoey saw two men, one of which was holding a jerry can while the other had his hands raised in surrender.
"Woah woah, take it easy, we aren't here to harm anybody! My brother and I are just lookin' to see if y'all can give us some help!" The bigger man shouted back.
"If you have any weapons, drop 'em! Then we can talk!" Kenny ordered. The brothers glanced at each other for a moment before they both reached behind them and slowly set their pistols on the ground.
"What kind of 'help' do you need exactly?" Carly then asked.
"W- we're outta gas and need some more. You see, we own a dairy farm not too far from here that's protected by an electric fence, which in itself is powered by some generators. I'm sure we can strike up a trade if y'all are willing. Gas for whatever y'all may need if we have it." The same brother bargained.
Everyone looked at each other with hope, the good news sounding almost like they had found gold. "Give us a minute to talk about it first." Kenny said.
Both brothers nodded. "Sure, go ahead."
With their approval, the group began convening in the parking lot with Mark keeping an eye on the brothers. Zoey told Clem to stay put as she hastily made her way towards the stairs to join the group discussion.
Hopefully they're telling the truth and this isn't one giant trap. Zoey thought. Regardless, whatever decision they came to, she could only hope that it would be the right one.