Clementine- Are you serious? Are you going to lock me in here alone?

She asked, a little incredulous that she was going to be locked up in that shed, although relieved, and even a little grateful, that she had received medical treatment.

Carlos- We don't know you, we can't leave you near our loved ones, besides it's getting dark, you are in no condition to go out, especially at night, staying here is the best option.

Carlos said neutrally, taking the box with the medical supplies and getting up from his chair, walking out of the shed.

Luke- I'm sorry Carley, but, I hope you understand.

He closed and locked the shed door, leaving Clementine alone in her own thoughts.

"...Well, they helped me, I guess I have nothing to complain about."

She thought, sitting down on the chair and giving a weary sigh, reaching into her back pocket and picking up the small blade she had hidden.

"At least they didn't take the pocket knife, I don't know if it was out of oblivion, or because they don't expect much from a little girl."

She thought, rolling her eyes internally, she hated that other people just saw her as a helpless little girl, but at the same time, she knew it was one of her cards up her sleeve.

People have a tendency to underestimate her, which makes it easier to kill them if she needs to.

Looking around, she sighed once more, getting up and walking with some difficulty towards the corner of the shed.

The girl sat down and braced her back against the wall, thinking about what she would do the next day. If she was well enough to run (which she doubted) she would look for Duck.

The problem was that she didn't know where to start, or where to go. The forest was dense, her friend could have gone anywhere.

"...Fuck."

She mentally cursed, putting her head down and trying to concentrate on the sound of the rain that had just started.

Rain always gave her a peaceful feeling in her chest, she liked to stare for a long time at the drops falling from the sky.

She didn't know if this was something of hers, or if she had picked up this habit from Lee, who stood in the same way whenever it rained in that motel inn.

He would stand there in front of the window, sometimes for hours without being able to sleep. When she asked him why he stood like that, he gave a vague answer, saying that his ex-wife hated the rain.

And she always wondered, why did he like it so much if his ex-wife hated it?

She heard some muffled footsteps outside, assuming it was a zombie from the low moan she heard, so she just ignored it, remembering when she couldn't sleep at the motel inn, weeks, maybe months before she met the St Johns.

So she decided to climb into the RV and sit down next to Lee, who had his flashlight pointed at the forest after seeing the bushes moving.

She asked, "why aren't the zombies attracted to the lantern light?"

He looked at her with a small smile, placing his hand on her head.

Lee told her that, for some reason involving biology, or something like that, their eyes had become a bit cloudy, some might even have gone blind, since they could no longer absorb oxygen, or something like that, over the months, they would not be attracted to small movements, unless you made some sudden movement.

It was then that he took the flashlight and began to swing it from side to side rapidly, attracting the attention of the few zombies walking down the street.

She remembered when he said that he believed that one day, zombies would be nothing more than an inconvenience, over time they would become blind, deaf, and increasingly slow.

Although reanimated and very dangerous, they were nothing more than decomposing bodies. Maybe it depended on how active they were, or what the weather was like, but he believed that one day, the world could go back to the way it was before. Or at least, be better than it was at the moment.

"Peaceful" moments like these were when she thought about this, and about other conversations she had had, either with Lee, or with her parents, or with the other people she had talked to.

In a way, she agreed with Lee, that one day zombies won't be too much of a problem, but zombies were not deteriorating as fast as he thought.

Maybe it was the cold climate of that place, they had walked quite far north in the last few months, that preserved their bodies, but there was no way she could know the definite answer to that, so she could only cultivate that vague hope she had in her chest.

She liked to spend hours thinking about these possibilities, it was the only thing close to "entertainment" she had, plus it helped her remember valuable lessons she had learned from simple conversations she had had in the past, even more so in the few moments of "peace" she could get.

Sighing slightly as she remembered the past again, she concentrated on the sound of the rain, until she fell asleep without realizing it.

The girl awoke slowly after hearing the shed door open. Her sleepy eyes focused on Nick, who had a much less annoyed face than before, and looked a little dull in her presence. Next to him was Luke, who gave her a friendly smile.

Nick- Hey... err, good morning, I... I came to call you in for breakfast and... apologize for the way I acted yesterday.

He said embarrassed, walking a few steps toward Clementine and placing his hand on the back of her head.

Clementine would remember the way he acted with her, but honestly, even she knew it was a waste of time and energy to hold a grudge over something so trivial, it wasn't as if Nick was the first person who had ever treated her badly.

Clementine- It's okay, I understand. I... some of the people in my group would have acted the same way, don't worry.

She said in a "friendly" way, acting like an innocent little girl, it worked most of the time, and was a great way to lessen suspicions, because, as she already knew, people had a tendency to underestimate little girls.

Luke- Nick's been known to go off every once in a while. Don't hold it against him.

He said gently, leaning on the door and looking at Clementine.

Clementine- It's okay.

She said, getting up, still sleepy, and complaining softly about the pain in her leg, although it was much less than the day before. So was the wound on her head.

She left the shed, limping slightly, heading towards the cabin with Nick leading the way.

Her eyes ran around the interior of the cabin, finding the simplicity of the place oddly comfortable.

Luke- As soon as you're done, go out the back door, Pete is waiting for you. Oh, and don't worry about Rebecca, she might come down a little hard on you, but she's just stressed.

He said, opening the kitchen door and walking down the small hallway, up the stairs, accompanied by Nick.

"How trusting, leaving me alone downstairs...you really underestimate me, you wouldn't have survived this long if you did that to everyone you meet."

She thought, walking into the kitchen and focusing her eyes on a bowl on the table, with steam coming out of its interior and a spoon on top.

The girl walked over to the table and sat down, completely ignoring the gaze of the woman who was on the opposite side of the kitchen, concentrating on eating from that hot meal.

She was starving, the can of beans she had the day before was not enough, and she had gone all night without eating.

Rebecca- You are feeling quite "comfortable" here, aren't you?

She began, with a wry tone audible in her voice, getting annoyed at being completely ignored by Clementine once again.

Rebecca- Maybe you fooled the others, but not me. Those "innocent little eyes" of yours don't fool me.

She said again, causing Clementine to sigh in irritation and look, for the first time, into the woman's eyes.

The older woman was surprised at the coldness of the golden one staring at her, but didn't show it.

Clementine- If you're done with me, leave me alone, you're ruining my food.

The girl replied in a "gentle" way, trying not to stress herself in the morning. In her group there was already Carley, and now she had this Rebecca to test the limits of her patience.

" I can' t have a fucking peaceful moment?!"

Rebecca- Don't talk to me like that you little bitch! You don't know what I'm capable of.

She said louder, irritated, approaching Clementine at an irritated pace, who shifted her gaze to the nearly empty bowl in front of her.

Clementine- If I were you, I'd be kinder to me. I may be small, but I assure you that a pregnant woman is especially easy to hurt... maybe something worse.

She finished her food and stood up, looking deep into Rebecca's eyes.

Rebecca- Was that a threat?!

Clementine- I haven't done anything wrong, until now, you're the one who insists on testing my patience. That was a warning, I'm not staying long, so just leave me alone.

She said, trying to keep control of what little sanity she had. Since the apocalypse began, she had learned to keep control of her emotions, but there were still things she was easily angered by. One of them, being threatened.

Clementine ignored Rebecca once again, already thinking of several ways to kill that woman.

If it was necessary, of course.

(Author's notes- Just a reminder, the way I portrayed zombies is the way Lee thinks, this can change from author to author, person to person, as there is no game, movie or series, at least not that I know of, that has explained more about zombies, how they can see, hear, and smell with a dead body, that sort of thing)