After some time walking, they finally arrived at the meeting place. Clementine sighed with relief to see that everyone was there.

Well, almost everyone, Pete had died, and she didn't see Luke or Nick anywhere.

Kenny was the first to notice her approach, and he stood up, smiling relieved at them as he watched them walk.

- Glad you're all right. Luke and Nick came out looking for you. We thought you were lost in the herd.

He said, with a genuinely relieved tone, which made Clementine look at Carley, exchanging a few accomplice looks.

Despite her apparent "amusement," the conversation she had with Carley still lingered in her mind, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that Matthew and Walter were wrong, or how hard she tried to ignore those thoughts, they insisted on sticking in her mind.

Clementine turned around, seeing Sarah running towards her father and hugging him. She watched them for a while.

Although she was always a bit rude to the girl, in some ways she was envious of Sarah.

She still had her father, someone who would take care of her no matter what the situation.

Clementine didn't show it, but she missed it. The hugs she gave her parents, the hugs and kind words from Lee. It was almost torture for someone else to receive this while she could only stand by and watch.

- Thank God you're all right Sarah - Carlos said, crouching down and hugging the girl tighter.

-Where's Pete? - Sarita asked, causing Carlos to give her a heavy look, sighing a little as he shook his head.

The woman lowered her head and put her hand on her forehead, while a cold atmosphere spread around the group.

- Good to see you're doing well, Clem - Duck said, approaching the girl and giving her a slight smile.

Clementine looked up at him and smiled mischievously, causing Duck to look at her in confusion.

- Don't talk to me like that, Sarah will be jealous," she said amused, laughing lightly at Duck's incredulous look.

- What? Me and Sarah...

- You're two sweet lovebirds in love. No need to explain, I saw the whole thing - she continued, crossing her arms and amused at the boy's clumsy manner.

- It's not like that and you know it!

- Do I know? It felt different to me - she teased again, laughing a little louder as she saw Duck sigh heavily and complain softly.

Her golden eyes focused on Sarita further ahead, who was talking to Kenny. Her smile died as she remembered her conversation with Carley.

"Sarita is the person he talks to the most..." - She thought, walking slowly toward the woman.

- Hey Clem. It's a shame that guy Pete died - Kenny said, turning to the girl and giving her a sympathetic look.

- Yeah, I know. It was kind of unfair, after all he's been through. - She answered, bowing her head and looking at the ground, and then looking strangely at Sarita.

- Can I talk to you? Real quick - she said, ignoring the surprised looks from both adults.

- Sure... - The woman said, with a slightly strange tone, probably still affected by Clementine's decision to watch a man being beaten to death.

They went to a far corner, and Clementine leaned on the wall, looking at the floor, searching for the right words.

-Kenny told you something about the past?

She turned her face away, looking at the woman next to her, who seemed a little surprised by the question.

Sarita also leaned on the wall, looking in the same direction as Clementine.

- Not much. He avoids talking about before we met. But he told me some things... He seems... different to you? - she answered after a few moments of silence.

- Well, yes, he is quite different, in a good way, but it's not about that. Did Kenny ever tell you about the times he went out to get supplies? With a man named Lee? - Clementine asked, lifting her head and looking up at the sunrise.

-Yes, a few times. He told me about the time you met up with a family of cannibals.

- Any more? Did he tell you when he went to an abandoned airport, for example? - Clementine bowed her head, staring at a point further ahead.

- Yes, but he didn't say much. He told me that he went to an abandoned airport in search of supplies. A helicopter had crashed through the roof and the place collapsed, he barely got out alive.

- Did he mention anyone else with him? - Clementine looked at her again, staring into the woman's caramel eyes, who seemed confused by the questions.

-... A man named Lee. The same man he went out with for supplies back at the motel inn.

Clementine's heart raced. Anger, relief, anxiety, all these feelings clashed in her chest. Her legs and hands began to shake and she began to breathe harder.

But she tried to control herself.

"Don't get your hopes up... don't get your hopes up..." - She thought, taking a few deep breaths. But it didn't seem to help much, that mix of sensations wouldn't go away from her chest.

- He... - She tried to say, clearing her throat as she realized that her tone was more whiny than she meant it to be.

- He said... when he did that?

Sarita noticed the girl's state, which only made her a little more confused and even a little worried. But she decided not to ask anything, it was obvious that this was something delicate for the girl, so she just concentrated on answering her questions.

- He didn't say exactly when... He just said that... It was a few weeks before he met me.

She answered, and Clementine moved away from the wall with some violence, walking in an even more distant direction. Sarita thought about calling for her, but gave up, the girl seemed to need some time alone. And as long as she didn't go too far away, she would be fine.

Clementine's mind was a mess. She was agitated, trembling, crying, happy, anxious, angry, hopeful, all at once, which made her mental state that much more fragile.

"He said he walked alone for a long time before he found Sarita!" - She shouted in her mind, pacing back and forth as she ran her hands over her head, staring intently at the ground.

"He lied... why did he lie?!" - She mentally asked herself, killing, somewhat brutally, a lone walker that wandered down the empty road.

The girl felt her legs weaken, still trembling, so she crouched down, putting her arms behind her head and looking at the ground near her face.

"... Lee is alive...?!" - It was more of a statement than a question, all indications pointed to yes.

Which made no sense, she vividly remembered Lee, pale, missing an arm, missing an eye, injured in several parts of his body. She had abandoned him in a walker-infested building, and all this time she thought he was dead.

He himself had taken a pistol from his waistband and told her that he would take care of himself.

The girl stood like that for some time, not caring whether the others would notice her delay.

Still crouching down, she moans softly as she sees her tears touching the ground.

-We need a safe place for Rebecca. Water, clean towels, blankets, disinfectants. Shit, in the current situation we need everything useful - Carlos said, helping Rebecca, who groaned in pain beside him.

- That map shows some buildings nearby. That's something - Mike said, stepping closer and looking at the map.

-The museum might be a good place to start. I'll go - Crista said, standing up, drawing a few surprised glances since this was the first time she had ever said anything to them.

- I'll go with you - Mike said, walking towards the road beside Crista, who didn't seem to care much who went with her.

- I'll check the building by the river - Jane stood up, walking in a random direction.

- I'll go with you - Carley said, walking right behind Jane.

- Duck, Kenny, Sarita, can you guys stand guard while Luke and Nick aren't back? Rebecca will make a lot of noise, and they'll probably be able to smell her too - Carley said, letting Rebecca lean on him.

Kenny and Duck looked at each other, and smiled together. They didn't really have the time to catch up, and some time alone would certainly do them both good.

Before leaving, Kenny turned to Sarita, running his eyes over the surrounding area.

- Where is Clementine? - He asked, turning around and looking for her.

- She... went to wash in the river. She said she couldn't stand the smell of death on her any longer. - The woman made up an excuse, not convincing enough, apparently, as Kenny gave her a strange look.

-Okay.

He said, not very convinced, but didn't ask any more questions.

After a while Carlos could see Clementine approaching with a... fake face? He didn't quite understand, but the girl seemed to have put a mask over her face, her expressions were so... lying, and her eyes looked red, a little swollen, as if she had been crying for some time.

-Are you all right, Clementine? - he asked, turning his eyes to Rebecca.

- Why wouldn't I be? I'm alive... I'm fine." She answered, distantly, sitting down in some random corner and looking down.

Carlos looked at her with a strange glint in his eye, it was obvious that she was different, but he didn't bother to ask. Everyone had their own problems to face.

- Ah, there they are!

An anxious and somewhat relieved voice caught Carlos' attention, and he turned to find Luke and Nick running toward him.

- Man, I thought you guys were gone! We looked everywhere, we were getting scared.

Luke said relieved, approaching Carlos and smiling warmly in his direction.

- Where's Pete? - Nick asked, alternating his gaze between Carlos and Clementine, fearing the worst.

-... He was shot in the chest. I saw it, I was right beside him. There was nothing that could be done in that situation - Carlos replied, his tone heavy and his eyes downcast.

Nick looked at him wide-eyed, shaking his head slowly in denial. Luke was shocked by the news and approached Nick.

- No... no... no way - he said softly, refusing to believe it.

- Oh Nick... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry - Luke said, touching Nick's shoulder gently, watching as the boy's thick tears began to stream down his face.

- Alvin... Pete... Fuck... - Rebecca said in a low tone, controlling her moans of pain.

Further back, Clementine watched them with a neutral expression, staring at Luke hugging Nick in an attempt to comfort him, at the heavy, dark stares of Carlos and Rebecca. She stared so intently that it seemed she wanted to fix that scene in her mind.

But she wasn't looking at the scene itself, her eyes might have been watching them, but her mind was far from that place, far from her body.

Her thoughts were still focused on the conversation from earlier, both with Carley and with Sarita.

"... Kenny had plenty of things to explain..." - She thought, trying uselessly to extinguish that flame of hope that was only growing in her chest.

But she would wait. She had already waited for two years, she could wait a little longer.