Thanks to gaara king of sand for the help.


"Molly, my arm hurts, really bad." Clementine muttered, her voice sounding tired.

"I know, Clem. I know. I'm going to take care of it soon." Molly said as she continued walking.

"O-Okay..." Clementine said. "What happened to those bad people?"

"…Hopefully dead." Molly replied.

"You… you didn't kill them?" Clementine asked.

"I injured them. I wish I killed them." Molly said.

"W-Will they… look for us?" Clementine asked.

"I doubt it. If they do they have a death wish." Molly huffed.

Clementine fell silent for a minute, clenching her eyes shut as pain throbbed through her arm. She was starting to feel dizzy.

"Stay awake, okay?" Molly said.

Clementine just nodded.

"Next time I tell you something, you need to listen to me. Animals can get dangerous when it comes to food." Molly said.

"I-I'm sorry…" Clementine said.

"It's fine. You didn't know better. Sometimes it's easy to forget that you still have a lot to learn." Molly said.

"…I hope Sam's okay…" Clementine said.

"Forget the stupid dog, Clem." Molly responded.

"But…But he's all alone…" Clementine said. "That's… not a good feeling."

Molly noticed the child's speech was much slower than usually. The girl was losing a lot of blood, and barely had energy to engage in conversation.

"I know it's not. But we had no choice. That dog would've killed you, Clem." Molly said.

Clementine shook her head in disagreement.

"You don't think so?" Molly asked. "That's fine. I'm not going to argue with you, Clem. I don't regret leaving him."

"… He was nice at first…" Clementine said quietly.

"And then he turned on you. That's how animals are. People too nowadays. You can't trust anyone or anything." Molly said.

"I trust you." Clementine replied.

"That's different." Molly said. "I'm the one you can count on to throw you a lifeline. Too many other people will just leave you hanging. You know that by now Clem."

Clementine couldn't argue. Molly's words were true.

"Look, I don't mean to sound harsh, but… I just want you to understand why I do the things I do." Molly said. "The world isn't like it was a few years ago. And-"

Molly cut herself off as she noticed a few geeks up ahead. "Damn…"

"Molly?"

Molly put the child down, and noticed the look of fear that flashed in the young girl's eyes. "It's alright." Molly reassured the child.

Molly drew Hilda and started towards the geeks. There were more and more coming, Molly managed to kill several of them.

Clementine weakly leaned against a fallen tree. She groaned as her arm continued to ache. She noticed Molly struggling slightly as she took out the geeks.

Clementine looked around for an escape route, but an approaching geek caught her attention. The child gasped and tried to force herself to her feet. "M-Molly…" She called out, but her voice went unheard.

The child stumbled to her feet as the geek got closer to her. Clementine yelped as she was shoved to the ground by the creature and pinned beneath it as it tried to bite her.

Molly finally killed the group of geeks she was struggling with and glanced over to Clementine.

"Clem!" Molly exclaimed, rushing over. "Damn it!"

Before she could get there, a young man did, killing the geek that was attacking Clementine.

"Grab the girl and let's go!" An older man called.

Molly noticed the younger man pick the child up.

"Come on, kid. We gotta get." The younger man said.

"Whoa, hold on!" Molly called.

"We don't have time. We gotta move." The older man said. "Come on."

The men took off running and Molly had no choice, but to follow after them.

When they were a good distance away, they finally slowed down to catch their breath.

"I think… I think we're safe." The older man said.

They looked around the area before the younger man said, "Yeah…yeah. We're good." He glanced down to the barely conscious child in his arms and asked, "Hey, you alright?"

"She's fine." Molly answered for Clementine. "I'll take care of her."

The two men sent Molly a look.

"She doesn't look very fine to me." The older man said.

"Like I said, I'll take care of her." Molly stated.

"You weren't doing a very good job of that when we showed up and save her." The younger man huffed, hesitating to hand the child over.

"You saw how many geeks there were back there. I would've helped her if you hadn't shown up."

"Really, what's wrong with her then?" The younger man asked.

"Luke, that's enough… No need to be rude." The older man said.

"…Sorry, Pete… I just… The kid doesn't look too good." Luke said.

"What were you two doing out there?" Pete asked Molly. "You got a group or anything?"

"We're doing the same thing everyone else is doing. Surviving." Molly said. "It's just us. Been that way for a while."

"That must be tough…" Luke said. "Look, you girl's in bad shape. We're in a cabin not too far from here. We got a doctor with us who can take a look at her."

"I… I don't know." Molly didn't know these men. She didn't know how trustworthy they were. "Just hand her to me."

"She's not bit is she?" Pete asked.

"No. She's not." Molly said.

"Then come with us. It's better than being out here." Luke said. "The kid really needs some help."

Molly sighed before nodded. "Okay… You better not be lying…"

"We're not. I promise." Luke said. "Anyway, I'm Luke, and this is Pete."

"Molly." Molly introduced. "My girl's name is Clementine."

"Well, it's nice to meet you both. For now, we'll take you back to our group. We'll have our doctor look over your little one and maybe get her some food." Luke said, trailing his gaze to the child's bloodied shirt. "She looks like she could use some- OH SHIT!"

Before anyone could say a word, Luke dropped the young girl onto the group.

"What the FUCK is wrong with you?!" Molly snapped angrily at the man.

"I… You said she wasn't bit!" Luke shot her a look.

"What?" Pete said.

"She's bit! Pete, the kid's bit! FUCK! Fuck, fuck, fuck… What are we gonna do here…?"

"No…" Clementine muttered, clutching her arm. "It… It was a dog."

"I didn't see any dog, Clementine." Pete said.

"Come on, kid. Look, we just saw you with those lurkers back there!"

"Calm your ass down! It WAS a dog." Molly said. "I was there."

"That doesn't mean anything. You're probably just saying that to protect her." Luke said. "You expected us to believe that she was bit by a dog?"

"I can't remember that last time I saw a dog." Pete said.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. Just look at it." Molly said.

"Yeah, and have her sink her teeth into Pete's neck? No way." Luke said.

"My neck? Why am I the one?" Pete asked.

"Cause I don't know a dog bite from a mosquito bite from a lurker bite, man." Luke said.

"It was a dog… really. His name was Sam… I… I want him to be my friend." Clementine mumbled.

Pete hummed in response, looking at the little girl for any signs that she was lying. "Alright… Let's see it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, watch yourself." Luke said.

Molly rolled her eyes while Clementine sent Luke a glare.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. You're the one who's bit here." Luke huffed.

"Yeah, by a dog." Molly said.

Pete knelt beside the child and carefully rolled her sleeve up. He examined her wound.

"Is it uh… Is it like she says?" Luke questioned.

"Hmm…. It could be a dog. It's hard to tell." Pete said. "So… Where'd this dog go? The one that did this?"

"I left that stupid mutt at the camp." Molly said, crossing her arms.

"…Molly hurt him…" Clementine mumbled.

"Hurt him how?" Luke asked.

"She hit him… when he was biting me." Clementine answered.

Luke looked to Molly and asked, "You uh… You didn't hurt him too bad, did you?"

"All I did was get him off her. Clem comes first, not some stupid animal." Molly said.

Luke frowned at that.

"Clementine…" Pete called gently.

"Yes?" Clementine said.

"Are you telling us the truth? I want you to look me in the eye when you answer me." Pete said.

Clementine did so as she replied, "Yes."

After a moment Pete said, "Alright, Clementine. That's good enough for me."

"Well, what else was she gonna say." Luke sighed.

"I've got a good bullshit detector, Luke. That's why you can never beat me at poker." Pete said as he helped the girl to her feet.

"You don't always beat me at…" Luke trailed off and looked over to Clementine. "Alright, how can you be sure?"

"Well, I'm sure I ain't willing to leave a little girl in the woods to die when we got a doctor with us that can make a call. We can have Carlos take a look at it first." Pete said.

Luke frowned and said, "Nick ain't gonna like this. Not with what happened to-"

"You don't have to remind me of that, boy." Pete interrupted.

"Right… Sorry sir." Luke said.

Pete gave Luke reassuring pat on the shoulder before saying, "Come on."

"You good, Clem?" Molly asked as the child slowly stumbled after Luke and Pete. "You want me to carry you."

"N-No…. I can walk…" Clementine said.

"I don't think you should, right now." Molly replied.

"I want to…" The child said.

Molly sent her a concerned look as she noticed her sway a bit. "Clem…"

"I'm fine… I'm just… tired." Clementine muttered.

"Then let me carry you." Molly said firmly.

The child shook her head. "Don't worry about…" Clementine trailed off and Molly noticed the girl start to fall.

Molly acted quickly and caught the child.

"Shit… What happened?" Luke questioned.

"She okay?" Pete asked.

"She passed out. She lost a lot of blood." Molly informed.

"We're not far now." Pete said. "Cabin's right up ahead."

"Alright…" Molly said. She shifted Clementine into her arms so she could carry the girl and followed Pete and Luke in silence.

Before long they were standing in front of the cabin.

"I'll uh… Get Carlos." Luke offered.

"Good idea." Pete said.

"So…we can't come inside?" Molly asked.

"It's probably best if he checks the bite out here before we let you guys in." Pete said.

"Alright then…" Molly said.

Luke headed inside and Molly and Pete waited for him to returned.

Minutes passed before a few other people came outside.

"What the hell is going on? Who are they?" A pregnant woman demanded.

"Now calm down, Rebecca. I can explain." Pete said.

"Well, then get to explaining." Rebecca grumbled.

"Why the hell did you bring them here. Aren't we dealing with enough shit as it is?" A young man, armed with a riffle said.

"They needed help. The girl's hurt." Pete said.

"Hurt how?" A stocky man asked.

"She has a pretty bad wound on her arm." Pete answered.

"It's not a geek bite." Molly quickly said.

"Then what is it?" The stocky man asked.

"Like hell it's not!" The man holding the riffle snapped. "It's obviously a lurker bite, Alvin! Don't believe her lies."

"Nick, calm down." Pete said. "Everything's fine, boy. We need to give them the benefit of the doubt until Carlos takes a look at it."

"Don't you tell me that! Not with what fuckin' happened!" Nick hissed.

"Would someone mind telling me what the FUCK is going on here?" Rebecca inquired, looking annoyed.

"Now hold on, Rebecca." Pete said.

"We got this, don't worry." Nick said.

"Like hell you do." Rebecca sent Molly a cold look and asked, "Who are you working for? You're with Carver, aren't you?"

"We're not with anyone. My girl needs help, and they told me you guys had a doctor here." Molly said.

"She said she was bit by a dog." Pete explained.

"What, and you just believed her? You should've put her out of her misery right there." Rebecca said. "Dog bite my ass."

"I'd like to see any of you try. Because I won't hesitate to put anyone who threatens her out of theirs." Molly said.

"Excuse me?" Rebecca said.

Nick shot Molly a glare. "You want to say that again?"

"You heard me just fine. If anyone tries to hurt her, they'll regret it." Molly said.

"You should watch how you talk to a man with a gun." Nick said.

"You don't scare me." Molly took a step forward. "What're you going to do?"

Nick took a step back and aimed the weapon in her direction. "Stay back."

"Nick…" Pete said in a warning tone.

Nick ignored him. "Don't test me."

"Or what? You're gonna shoot me?" Molly said, drew Hilda while taking another step forward. "If you do, you better hope that gunshot kills me."

Much to their surprise, Nick did pull the trigger, however he redirected his aim to the ground by Molly's feet. "I said stay back."

"Keep your finger off the trigger, boy!" Pete snapped grabbing the gun from his nephew's hands. "She's got a child in her arms and you're shooting that thing at her."

"I shot the ground. I didn't hit her or the kid." Nick argued. "Anyway, she was threatening us!"

"Whoa! Whoa! What the fuck?!" Luke exclaimed, rushing outside.

"You idiot, every lurker for five miles probably heard that!" Rebecca snapped.

"You're the one tellin' me to fuckin' shoot them!" Nick said.

"Everybody just calm down for a second!" Alvin said.

Luke rushed up to Molly and quickly asked if she was okay.

"I'm fine." Molly said, putting her weapon back.

"What about Clementine?" Luke asked.

"She's needs a doctor... She's in and out of it..." Molly said.

"We got a doctor right here. He'll take a look. Now what the hell is wrong with you people? They just need help. This is a kid we're talking about." Luke said.

"Don't act like we're the ones being irrational because we don't buy this bullshit story." Rebecca huffed.

"Exactly. Their story makes no sense. Why are we even arguing about this?" Nick said.

"Let me take a look." Another voice spoke up.

"I take it you're the doctor?" Molly asked as the man stopped in front of her.

"That's correct." The man raised a brow for a moment the suddenly asked, "Where are the girl's parents?"

"They're not around... I'm all she's got and she's all I got..." Molly said. "It would mean a lot to me if you would make sure she's okay."

"I'll see what I can do." The man said.

He carefully rolled up the child's sleeve, causing the young girl to wince.

"Damn... That must've hurt..." Alvin commented.

Carlos looked at the wound. "Hmm…Whatever it was... It got her good."

Nick started pacing before huffing and approaching Luke, "This isn't how we do things man. When you're bit you get put down, end of story. I'm not going through this again."

"No one's suggestin' that." Luke said.

"We could take her arm off." Pete suggested.

"She's was bit by a damn dog. I'm not letting any of you lay a finger on her." Molly said.

"It's just a suggestion..." Pete said.

"Well, I don't appreciate it." Molly said.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to offend..." Pete said before turning back to his group. "Look, the kid weighs about as much as a sack of flour, we can take her if it comes to that."

Suddenly the door opened and a teen girl peeked out. "Who are they?" The girl asked.

"Sarah? What'd I say. Stay inside." Carlos grumbled.

The girl, Sarah, frowned and closed the door, heading back inside.

Carlos let out a sigh and walked over to the group.

"What do you think?" Alvin asked.

"Was it a lurker..." Nick questioned.

Carlos paused, almost as if he was thinking of what to say. "A bite like that… It... could be anything..."

"Hold up! Don't tell me you think a geek did this! You're a doctor." Molly said.

"I'll agree that it doesn't look like a lurker bite, but I don't want to take a risk on treating her just to have her die anyway." Carlos stated. "I need to look out for my daughter. And supplies are too valuable to waste."

"What are you saying?" Luke asked.

"I'm saying we have to wait." Carlos said.

"What?" Rebecca said.

"We put her in the shed and wait for symptoms of whatever is in her system to kick in..." Carlos told them.

"So, in other words, you want to wait for her arm to get infected? She's a kid. If she gets sick, she's going to have a hard time fighting that off." Molly said, eyes wide in disbelief at what she was hearing from this so call doctor.

"Carlos, the girl's in bad shape." Luke said.

"And we have all that stuff inside the cabin." Alvin added. "We could probably-"

"Alvin, she's not our problem." Rebecca said. "Carlos knows what he's doing."

"Right… We don't have a choice. We have to look out for our families first." Carlos said. "In the meantime, we can lock her in the shed."

"That's not happening. If you're not going to help, we'll just go." Molly said.

"We can't just take your damn word that the kid was bit by a dog. Who in their right mind would believe that?" Nick said.

Suddenly they heard a shuffling in the bushes. Everyone turned their attention to the area.

Luke drew his machete and slowly approached the bushes only to hear the bark of a dog.

"Well... I'll be damned." Luke said taking a few steps back as the dog moved from the bushes.

Clementine let out a little groaned and her eyes fluttered open, she looked around the area and her gaze fell on the dog. The child gave a tiny smile. "Sam..."

"Shit... I guess she was telling the truth." Alvin said.

"Yeah. That's the mutt that bit her. Does that settle things for you?" Molly huffed.

No one spoke for a while until Carlos sighed and said, "Come inside and I'll treat her arm." He glanced over to Sam. "The dog stays out here."

"I... stay with Sam..." Clementine mumbled.

"Clementine..." Molly said.

"Want Sam..." Clementine said. "He's... my friend..."

Carlos shook his head at the girl's innocent statement. He looked to Molly and said, "If he bites anyone, we'll do what we have to do."

Molly knew exactly what he meant by that. She nodded. "Fine by me."

Carlos nodded back in response. "Come on."

He turned to head to the cabin. Molly wordlessly followed.