Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help.


Clementine had been fishing a time or two with her dad… She missed it. She missed her parents. She missed normalcy.

"Clem… Clementine?" Molly called.

The child was startled out of her thoughts. "Huh?"

"Pay attention. I was talking to you." Molly said.

"Sorry…" The child replied.

"It's alright." Molly shrugged. "Like I was saying, tie the twine around the stick."

Clementine followed the woman's instruction with a bit of trouble. "Like this?"

"Yeah." Molly said. "If you don't have rope and you need to fish you can use other things too."

"Like what?"

"Well… A shoelace for instance." Molly said.

Clementine frowned, glancing down at her own shoes. "Would that really work?"

"Yeah. Sometimes you got to improvise." Molly told the girl.

"I think we do a lot of improvising nowadays." Clementine commented.

"That's definitely true…" Molly said. "Here, let me see your rod."

Clementine allowed the woman to look over her make shift fishing rod.

"Not bad, kid." Molly said. "You're a quick learner."

Clementine smiled, "Thanks."

"No problem." Molly said.

Clementine watched as Molly picked up an object off the ground. It was a paper clip. "What's that for?"

"It's our hook." Molly responded.

"A paper clip?" Clementine asked, furrowing her brows.

"Yep." Molly tied the twine to the paper clip, before bending the paper clip so it was shaped as a hook.

"Oh, wow!" Clementine grinned. "That's a really good idea."

"Thanks, kid." Molly handed her the rod back.

Clementine smiled, examining the makeshift rod. The child paused for a moment, "What about bait?"

"That's easy." Molly motioned towards the ground.

"What?" Clementine asked in confusion.

"We're going to dig up some worms." Molly said.


The two started digging. Clementine wanted to find a worm, but no matter how much she kept digging, she didn't find a single worm.

"This is stupid." Clementine suddenly huffed.

"No, it's not." Molly said. "This is survival."

"Well, it sucks." Clementine replied.

"You'll get used to it eventually." Molly said.

"I doubt it." Clementine sighed.

Molly continued her digging while Clementine sulked for a bit.

After a few moments, Molly had managed to find a couple worms.

"You try to find some, then we'll start hooking some trout." Molly said.

"Okay…" Clementine said with the frown. The girl started to once again dig in the dirt. After several moments she finally found a worm. "I found one!" The little child squealed in excitement.

Molly chuckled, "Keep it down, kiddo."

"Sorry…" Clementine lowered her voice.

"Good job." Molly praised causing the child to smile.

"Now let's start fishing." Molly said.


"I caught something!" Clementine exclaimed as she felt something tug on her line.

Molly let out a small chuckle. "Alright kiddo, keep it down or you'll scare the fish away."

They had been at it for a while now. Molly had been patient with Clementine all day, as she taught the child how to fish.

"Reel it in like I taught you…" Molly said to the girl.

Clementine tried, but was having trouble. "H-Help." The girl said, thrusting the rod towards Molly.

"Nope, you're going to do this on your own." Molly said.

"But what if I let it go again?" Clementine asked, sounding worried.

"Then you let it go." Molly shrugged. They had managed to catch a couple fish. Well… Molly had managed to catch a couple fish. It was quite an accomplishment for young Clementine despite letting three fish go.

The first fish she let go was on purpose. Molly had reeled it in and then commented about how delicious the fish was going to be and Clementine started to fret over killing the creature.

Molly told the girl to calm down, but Clementine refused to, telling her to let the fish go back.

Once Molly had the fish in her hands, she made the mistake of handing it to Clementine, who let it loose.

Molly huffed, and scolded the child. Reminding her that they couldn't just go buy groceries anymore.

Clementine pouted for about fifteen minutes after that before Molly offered her the fishing rod.

Clementine happily accepted it.

Now the girl was worried. She didn't want to lose this fish too. She didn't want Molly to get angry at her.

"Come on, Clementine." Molly said. "Just focus."

Clementine gulped nervously, but nodded.

She started to tug the fishing rod, pulling the fish in. It was a struggle, to do so. Clementine glance at Molly who just gave her an encouraging smile.

"You're doing good." Molly said.

Clementine nodded and continued to pull the rod. Before long, she had managed to reel in a large bass.

"Nice catch, kiddo!" Molly said, surprised by the size of the fish.

"Thanks, Molly." Clementine said.

"Let's get these fished cooked up." Molly said, picking up the fish.

"Do we have to?" Clementine frowned. When she used to go fishing with her dad, he would always let her release the fish back. Clementine knew things weren't simple anymore, food was hard to by.

"Clementine, you already know the answer…" Molly said.

The little girl sighed, and trudged alongside the woman.


Molly led her a bit away from the river. The woman placed the fish down and started up a fire.

"Alright, I'm going to show you how to do this." Molly said.

Clementine shook her head. "I don't want to watch."

"You have to, Clem." Molly replied. "You need to learn."

"Okay…" The girl said with a frown.

Molly frowned as well, she felt slightly bad for the child, but Clementine needed to know how to cook, in order to survive. If something were to happen to Molly, it was important for the little girl to know how to take care of herself.

Molly pick the fish, which was still giving a slight struggle as it clung to life. Picking up a rock, Molly used it to deliver a hard hit the fish's head.

Clementine cringed, covering her eyes. The tiny child dared peek out again to see what Molly would do next to the now dead fish.

With a knife, Molly began cleaning the fish- a job which she had hated before... Holding the fish with one hand, she raked off the scales with some quick strokes of the knife.

She put the knife down and took the head, broke the backbone and pulled the head and entrails free with a strong yank.

Clementine slouched a bit, a sad look in her eyes. She didn't want to see this.

Molly didn't pay the child any mind, she just continued to gut the fish. Molly then cooked it, Clementine didn't say a word to her for the rest of the night.


The next day, Molly and Clementine got cleaned up in the river.

After that, Molly taught Clementine how to spear fish, which proved to be a tiring task.

The child of course, didn't want to kill the fish, but Molly refused to leave the river until Clementine caught at least one. Molly knew she was being strict, but she wanted Clementine to learn.

When Clementine finally caught a fish, they returned to camp. When they arrived back at camp, Clementine was so tired, she could barely keep her eyes open.


By the time they left the area, Clementine could clean and cook fish. Molly also taught her how to find edible plants and berries.

Molly was proud of the child. The little girl was a fast learner.

Molly was glad that she was able to teach the girl so much… Maybe she was an okay guardian afterall.

Sure, she'd never compare to Lee, and she had no clue how to deal with kids, but at least Clementine was still alive and kicking. That had to count for something.


The area was quiet until, suddenly a gunshot rang out.

A rabbit hit the ground, having been shot.

"You've gotten good at that." Molly commented.

Clementine was happy to hear that. "I'm glad. It was hard at first." She still felt somewhat sad killing those poor animals, but she knew it was necessary to survive.

"I know, but you've come a long way." Molly said.

It was true. Clementine was becoming a splendid hunter and fisher.

"I got something for you." Molly told the child.

"What is it?" Clementine asked.

Molly reached into her pocket, pulling out a knife. "This is yours..."

"Really?" Clementine smiled accepting the blade.

"Yeah. Use it to protect yourself." Molly said.

"Okay. Thanks, Molly." Clementine said.

"Don't mention it..." Molly said. "Now... I want you to attack me."

Clementine was taken aback by those words, "What?

"Come at me." Molly said. "Go on."

Clementine looked to the ground, "Do I have to... I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't..." Molly said.

"I don't want to attack you... Why are you making me do this?" Clementine asked.

"You know how to protect yourself with a gun, now you need to know how to do so with a knife." Molly said.

Clementine sighed, "Alright..."


Clementine wanted to show Molly that she was capable of taking care of herself, but it wasn't easy.
The child took a moment to catch her breath, a frown on her lips as Molly sighed.

"Nobody should ever be able to knock your weapon from your hand." Molly said, she adjusted the child's hold on the weapon. "Hold it like this."

Clementine nodded. "Okay."

"I want you to come at me." Molly said.

Clementine groaned, "I'm tired, can't we take a break?"

Molly didn't say anything for a moment before nodding, "Alright."

"Why do we have to do this?" Clementine asked.

"Because not everyone is nice. There are some bad people out there. People who might want to hurt you.

"But why?" Clementine asked. "What did I do?"

"Nothing. You did nothing wrong..." Molly said. "Some people are just evil."

Clementine frowned. "I wish people could be nicer..."

Molly didn't reply. This was how the world was now... Clementine needed to get used to it.

"Let's get you some food." Molly said, changing the subject.

"Okay, Molly..." Clementine agreed.


Molly continued to make the child train day after day. Clementine didn't like it. The little girl just wished everything could be peaceful. But Molly needed the child to know how to protect herself, and sooner was better than later.

"Come at me." Molly ordered.

Clementine lunged at the woman, but was quickly restrained.

"You gotta do better than that." Molly said.

Clementine broke from Molly's grasp, switching the blade to her free hand.

"Ouch!" Molly suddenly uttered.

"I'm sorry!" Clementine cried, dropping the knife. "I hurt you… I so sorry…"

"It's alright, it was just a prick…" Molly said. "Which means you're getting better."

"Really?" Clementine asked.

"Really." Molly said. "Now you need to learn how to actually avoid being grabbed, and what to do if you are grabbed."

"Okay…" Clementine replied.

"Enough with the knife for now. I think you know how to use it pretty well." Molly said. "Are you tired?"

"Not really…" Clementine said honestly.

"Good. We're going to practice breaking from grapples." Molly said.


As the weeks went on Molly taught Clementine everything she could think to teach the child. From cooking to self-defense. She made sure Clementine knew it all. She wanted to mold the girl to be a survivor.

Clementine liked being able to protect herself it made her feel safer. She was also happy that Molly was proud of her.

Clementine felt strong, brave. At least, until it got dark. Like most children, Clementine was frightened by the darkness. It was unknowable, hazardous. She never knew what was waiting in the darkness.

So of course, when Clementine woke up in the middle of the night she was scared. She was even more terrified when she found Molly was nowhere to be seen. Her first instance was to panic, she tried to remain calm, patiently waiting for Molly to return.

Moments passed by and Clementine decided to go look for her guardian. As she walked through the darkness, she jumped at every little sound she heard.

Fear clutched her, she didn't know what to do. Holding one of their flashlights, she walked on, in search of her guardian.

The nine-year-old swore she heard someone behind her, but she didn't turn around. She was too nervous to.

She picked up her pace, a shiver snaking down her spine.

"Molly?!" She called.

There was no response.

Scared, the child broke into a run. Whoever was following her, ran after her.

Clementine yelped as she tripped. She quickly scrambled to her feet only for someone to grab her.

She thought it was a walker, but when she shined her light at them they shielded their eyes. It only took Clementine a second to register that this person was an unknown man.

She took the opportunity to break from the man's grip, giving him a firm kick in the balls, like Molly had told her to do if she was grabbed by a guy.

The man immediately released her and Clementine broke into a run, wondering where Molly was and if she was okay.