Clemenitine ran her hand through her hair for the tenth time that morning alone. She hadn't been able to sleep very well; she hadn't been able to close her eyes for more than two hours. And after they had passed right in the middle of a horde a little while ago, she couldn't fall asleep anymore.
She was worried, a little distressed, nervous. Many feelings that she was trying hard to hide were fighting fervently inside her, making her emotions messy.
Maybe it was a good thing she hadn't slept, she was sure she would dream about something bad happening to her friends, especially after what she had seen the night before.
She didn't care much for Carley, nor did the woman care for herself, but things were different when it came to AJ, Kenny, Duck... and even Luke, although he had changed for the worse.
- You sound worried.
Gabe's sleepy voice caught Clementine's attention, and she turned her face away, watching the boy scratch his eyes as he yawned.
- Considering that we're going up against an entire community, I think I'm pretty calm, to tell you the truth.
She said, looking with one eyebrow arched at the boy. Although he was also distressed, Clementine had a slight feeling that he wasn't taking it too seriously.
It was just a hunch.
From what little she saw of the boy, he didn't seem the type to control himself in the heat of the moment.
-Is your father, or someone from your family there?
He asked after a while, crossing his arms and looking curiously at the girl next to him.
- No... my father died a long time ago.
She answered simply, turning her face to the window. She hated to touch that subject, it still caused her feelings that she wanted to forget. With each passing day, she remembered fewer of her parents' faces, and more the image of their dead bodies permeated her mind.
This was how she remembered the people who had cared for and loved her for years, with their decaying dark skin, rotting organs exposed. Dead.
- So, who took care of you?
He asked again, apparently oblivious to the girl's discomfort.
Clementine took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a while, not wanting to be rude to the boy, she wouldn't gain anything by having an enmity with him, and it was bad enough having Sarah to annoy her.
- Someone else... but he's not around anymore. I've been taking care of myself ever since.
She answered after a few moments, looking out the window again as she felt her mind being flooded with memories and her chest burning with already familiar feelings.
-No one tells you what to do? Do you make your own choices? Do you do what you want?
He asked with a strange glint in his eyes, causing Clementine to look at him with an arched eyebrow, slightly curious about what he meant by that.
-In a way, yes. I do what I want, as long as it contributes to the group.
She answered, watching the boy sigh slightly and look away.
- Lucky girl...
She answered, watching the boy sigh slightly and look away.
- Lucky girl.
He said softly, causing Clementine to look at him in surprise, even a little incredulously.
- What?
she asked, and the boy looked at her, slightly embarrassed.
- I wish I could be like that too, not have anyone dictate what I have to do, treat me like a child. I love Kate and Javi, but they're a pain in my ass, always telling me what I can and can't do. Sometimes I just wish they weren't around.
Clementine's expression became more incredulous, repeating the boy's words over and over in her mind. She had never met someone like him, and that was a fact.
She had never heard someone say that they wanted the people who took care of him to disappear, this was something new.
Something new, and extremely stupid.
Clementine sighed and turned her head to the window again, pretending she never heard what the boy had said.
"And he still has the audacity to call me lucky..." - She thought angrily, remembering everything she had already lost up to that point, and everything that she was in danger of losing.
After a while, Tripp stopped the van and sighed lightly, stepping out of the vehicle.
Javi woke up as soon as the car stopped, looking out the window at the blocked road ahead, getting out of the van soon after.
- Be careful, guys. I saw a trap just like this some time ago.
Tripp said, walking to the next building with his rifle in hand, and checking the inside of the place.
Conrad, though still affected, walked to the gas station. Clementine looked at the man with a slight scolding look for all the noise he had made, but remained quiet.
Everyone deals with grief in their own way.
She took the pistol from her waistband and walked with cautious steps toward the alley, right next to the gas station. She found a few bodies on the ground, some lying in front of the dumpster, and others further back.
She took her machete and stabbed the blade into the heads of the corpses on the ground, making sure that none of them got up.
Clementine stabbed the last body and stood up, looking slightly confused at Tripp and Javi, who were crouched just behind one of the cars blocking the passage through the tunnel.
As soon as Javi looked at her, he put his index finger over his mouth and pointed to the tunnel.
Clementine nodded, understanding what he meant, and walked slowly toward the gas station, where Conrad was still inside.
Javi and Tripp crouched away from the cars, walking slowly towards the van, and it was then that Clementine could see the large number of silhouettes walking inside the tunnel, just beyond the cars.
Gabe crouched down and waited for Javi, who got into the van and woke Mariana up, exiting the vehicle with the girl at his side shortly after.
Clementine looked at the girl with a sympathetic look. She had a pure appearance and aura, despite not being intimidated by looking at a zombie, or getting desperate when shot. Unlike a certain girl Clementine knew.
Too bad Sarah wasn't there at that moment.
A gunshot caught the group's attention, and everyone turned toward the gas station.
Clementine cursed softly and walked through the open door, glaring angrily at Conrad as the man fired one more shot with his shotgun at a zombie on the ground.
- God damn it, Conrad! We have to go!
She said nervously, turning and leaving the gas station, watching as the zombies began to crawl over the cars. They were slow, but they were many, enough to fill that tunnel.
- Oh, shit! Let's go!
Tripp shouted, running back to the van. However, he and the rest of the people widened their eyes when they saw the horde that had passed by earlier approaching them from behind.
- That's all we need!
Tripp said angrily, looking around as he looked for some way out of there.
- Well, that's it.
Clementine said, shooting at some of the zombies that had already passed through the blockade, hoping that the others would act quickly and look for some way out of there.
She saw Conrad out of the corner of her eye, firing his shotgun toward the dead as he carelessly approached. She understood that he was frustrated, but that would seriously get him killed, or someone else killed.
- God damn it, Conrad!
Tripp shouted, stomping hard on the head of a zombie that was crawling towards him, looking at Conrad immediately afterwards.
- This way!
Javi shouted, pushing the garbage can forward and climbing over it. He crouched down and supported Mariana and Gabe onto the roof of the gas station.
Conrad was soon after, reloading his shotgun and firing again in the direction of the zombies, even though they were already on safer ground.
Clementine was third, shooting at the zombies around Javi, who were trying to grab his legs. As soon as she was up, she knelt on the edge of the roof and continued shooting, giving Tripp enough time to climb up, and Javi to follow soon after.
Clementine stood up and looked at her pistol, now out of ammo, and rolled her eyes slightly annoyed. She still had a magazine with a few bullets in her pocket, but that was all, nothing more. At most seven bullets, and that was it.
She looked at the people around her. Javi and Tripp looked relieved, and nodded to each other in thanks for helping themselves. Gabe was looking at the zombies from the edge of the roof, reloading the pistol he had in hand. Mariana was right next to Gabe with her hand on her shoulder, the wound didn't seem to hurt anymore, not as much. Conrad was further away, looking at the zombies with murderous eyes, not even noticing where he was walking.
- Conrad...
Clementine tried to warn him to turn forward, but the zombie that was lying on the ground without both legs and with a rusty chainsaw beside him grabbed his foot.
Conrad was pulled with some force, and he fell backwards screaming in surprise.
Clementine grabbed her machete and ran towards him, but a shot echoed through the scene, causing her to stop.
A hole opened in the head of the zombie clutching Conrad, and the man stood up panting slightly, still surprised.
Tripp pointed his rifle at the man who approached with his arms up while holding a small pistol, indicating that he was the one who had shot the zombie.
- I apologize for the sudden appearance, but he would have been bitten if I hadn't shot him. The dead are weak, but being taken by surprise by one is not a very safe experience.
The man said, and Clementine looked at him with an arched eyebrow. He was wearing a black overcoat, gloves, and shoes of the same color. He had a full beard and long hair partially covered by a black cap, and he had a friendly expression on his face.
- You better not move, partner.
Tripp said in a dangerously serious tone, putting his finger on the trigger.
- Wait a moment, Tripp.
Javi said, walking towards the man and picking up his gun, then checking his body for any marks.
- He's not one of them, he's not marked.
He said, placing the pistol in the back of his waistband and walking away from the man.
- How can we be sure? Him not being marked might not mean much.
Conrad said, pointing the shotgun at the man's head and giving him a cold stare.
- Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I don't like the new frontier one bit either. In fact, I think that at the moment, this community and I are enemies. That's one of the reasons I'm going to Richmond.
He said in a light tone, not feeling bothered by all the guns being pointed in his direction.
- What do you mean "enemies"? And why are you going to Richmond?
Javi asked, putting his hands on his waist and looking at the man with a slightly suspicious expression.
- Well, in short, I lost contact with some good people there when the new frontier took over. And a group from my community was attacked and everyone was taken by them, so I'm going to Richmond to look for my friends.
Javi looked strangely at Tripp, and Clementine looked at him with an arched eyebrow.
Either the communities attacked by the "new frontier" were all unlucky, or the new frontier was made up of a bunch of imbeciles who couldn't take care of loose ends.
" There are a lot of people after them..." - Clementine thought, trying to imagine how many people there must have been in total in that community.
- Well, what a coincidence... we are going there for the same reason. They took some of our people.
Javi said, placing his hand gently on the barrel of the rifle Tripp was holding and lowering the gun.
- Well, nobody's going anywhere with this horde down here.
Conrad said, spitting at the zombies below just after he lowered his gun.
- There is an old train tunnel that runs under the James River. From what I hear, it should lead directly into Richmond...or close to it, at least. I can lead you there.
The man said, pointing to the tunnel ahead.
- And why should we trust you? We'll tie you up here and check if your story is true.
Conrad said, looking around for something, maybe a rope to tie the man, who arched an eyebrow, but didn't seem intimidated.
- I don't think that's necessary, Conrad. I mean, he could have killed you, or just let you get bitten.
Javi said, looking at Conrad with a slight expression.
- I don't know, Javi. We just met this guy.
Tripp said, still suspicious, and Clementine could see how much he was controlling himself not to run out of there. Eleanor must be very important to him, it seems.
- We've all just met, Tripp. I mean, you and Javi have only known each other a few hours, same with both of us.
Clementine said softly, walking past the man, who she still didn't know the name of, and looking at the small passage ahead, just down the tunnel.
Tripp looked at her for a few moments, and sighed in defeat, straightening his posture, but still maintaining his suspicious expression.
-Thank you. To both of you.
The man thanked him, looking at Javi and Clementine, who just nodded at him.
- What's your name, man?
Javi asked, looking down the path that supposedly led to the tunnel ahead.
- Oh, sorry. It's Paul. But my friends call me Jesus.
He said, turning and starting to walk down the small passage.
Clementine looked at the others for a moment before following Jesus right behind him.
(...)
It didn't take long before they reached the tunnel. The place was dark, and they could hear some grunts echoing further inside.
Jesus pulled a small flashlight from his pocket and walked forward, illuminating the way.
Javi took the flashlight he had in his small bag and walked further back, with Clementine walking right beside him.
- So... I'm sorry about the other girl, Sarah. I heard you talking to Gabe, and I know you lost sight of her, but, you know...
He said a little awkwardly, but Clementine was grateful for his good intentions, even though it wasn't necessary.
- Don't worry, Sarah can take care of herself. She knows where we're going anyway, she can meet us on the way, or whatever.
Clementine said, watching the people ahead turn down a corridor to the left.
- Yes, I realize that you two are not normal girls. At first, I thought she was looking out for you.
He said, and Clementine looked at him incredulously, feeling slightly offended.
- So what are you two? Sisters?
The sweet voice of the girl next to Javi caught Clementine's attention, and she looked slightly curious.
- No. We met some time ago, we've been together ever since.
She replied, looking back at Javi with a disgusted frown.
- Hey, I'm sorry. But she's older than you, you know. How old is she? She looks like an adult.
He explained himself quickly when he saw the look on Clementine's face, putting his free hand behind his head as he looked at the girl a bit blankly.
- I don't know, but when we met she was about fourteen, fifteen. That was some time ago... two years ago, I think.
She answered, mentally thanking Luke for always remembering his own birthday. She remembered when he had said he had turned twenty-nine some time ago, in a not very cheerful tone.
- In a little while she will become an adult, don't judge me for thinking she was taking care of you.
Javi said with a mischievous smile on his face, causing Clementine to roll her eyes slightly.
- So, these people of yours, your group... how long have you been with them?
Mariana asked some time later, looking at Gabe's back ahead of them, just after they turned down another hallway.
Clementine stared at her for a while, she felt a certain level of sympathy towards the girl, not quite sure why.
- With most, since it all began, others, from the very moment I met Sarah.
She said, concealing several other details they didn't need to know at the moment.
- Wow, since it all started? So they are the ones who took care of you?
Mariana asked, turning her body slightly and looking at the girl.
- Not exactly. Another guy took care of me... whenever he went out to get supplies or keep watch, they spent some time with me, we played a little, but that was it.
She answered, looking at the ground for a few moments before looking forward again, watching Jesus pass through the door ahead that led to the train tracks.
- Oh... what happened to him?
Javi asked, stopping in front of the door and looking at Clementine, who sighed and looked at the floor again.
- Lots of things...
She said vaguely, stepping through the doorway and looking into the surrounding darkness.
- Shhh... do you hear that?
Tripp asked in a whisper, and everyone was silent, listening to the numerous moans echoing through the abandoned tunnel.
Javi turned to the side, his eyes widening as he illuminated the hundreds of zombies standing in front of him. The sudden movement he made with the light caught the attention of a few zombies around him, who stood up and began to walk towards them.
Clementine took her machete and killed the approaching zombie in front of her, then she turned to the side and kicked another one in the leg, making him fall and killing him by stabbing her machete into his rotten skull.
Clementine looked to the side and watched Javi kick a zombie that was approaching Gabe backwards. He turned around and killed another that was approaching behind him.
Glancing over, she watched Mari take down a zombie with a kick to the leg, and arched an eyebrow in the girl's direction.
Clementine walked over to Javi and killed the zombie he had knocked out, turning to the side and killing the corpse Mari had kicked. She looked at Gabe, who stood there pointing his gun at one of the surrounding zombies.
She scanned the ground with her eyes, until she focused on a specific point.
- Gabe, use this.
She said, bending down and picking up a piece of pipe from the ground. It would pierce a rotten skull quite easily.
Gabe took the pipe from Clementine's hands and stared at it for a while, watching her back as she killed another of the approaching zombies.
Javi looked back and widened his eyes slightly when he saw Jesus leaping up the wall, grabbing momentum and kicking one of the zombies hard in the head, knocking him to the ground and stomping on his skull.
- Wow...
He said impressed, and Jesus just looked at him with a slight smile.
The sound of gunshots caught the group's attention. They turned back and saw Conrad firing his shotgun at some zombies, and the rest of the horde that had been standing still began to move toward him.
- God damn it, Conrad!
Tripp shouted angrily.
- We have to go!
Javi shouted, killing a zombie that was approaching behind Clementine, who hadn't even noticed. He then turned and ran in the opposite direction of the herd. They ran after him, stopping as soon as they met a train on the way.
- What the fuck is this?!
Tripp asked, still annoyed.
- No one ever mentioned a train on the way.
Jesus said quietly, as if in thought.
- Maybe we can go through it.
Javi said, trying to open the door. Seeing that it didn't work, he began to throw his body hard against the metal structure, until he managed to open it.
- I got it! Let's go!
Javi shouted, pointing the gun inside the train and turning around as he saw that there were no zombies around.
- Daylight ahead! Thank fucking God!
Tripp said, running in front of Javi and opening the door ahead.
Clementine was the last to pass, and she, with Javi's help, placed a metal bar in front of the door, preventing the zombies from opening it.
The girl sighed with relief, looking at Javi, who had his fist extended in her direction.
She arched an eyebrow, but responded to the fist bump.
- We make a great team.
He said, turning and exiting the train, ignoring the look Clementine sent him.
They exited the tunnel and looked at the abandoned and destroyed buildings around them.
- Is their community nearby? Jesus Christ.
Conrad said with some derision, starting to walk down the deserted street.
- I don't think we should go that close.
Clementine said, drawing curious glances her way.
- We don't know the situation here, or what their community is like. I'll go around, go through the alleys, climb on the roofs of some buildings if I have to, and get a better look around. I suggest you do the same in different places, but close to each other.
Clementine said, wiping on her clothes the little blood that was on her machete.
-Jesus, where is the compound, exactly?
Javi asked, turning to the man.
- A few streets down the block. It's not too far now.
He answered, turning and looking at Conrad further ahead, slightly concerned about the way he was acting.
- I'm going down this alley, around the community.
Clementine said, pointing to the next alley.
-Okay... we'll get a little closer, and...
Javi tried to say, but a gunshot interrupted him. They turned and looked at Conrad, who was shooting at something or someone ahead.
- Jesus Christ...
Tripp muttered softly, picking up his rifle and running towards his friend.
Clementine thought about going to help, but she knew it was a bad idea for everyone to stay together in a place with several dangerous people scattered about. If one was caught, they all would be.
She took Mari's hand and turned away, ignoring the girl's protest. She walked down the alley, looking for any passages nearby that could serve as a path to flank whoever was attacking them... although, she already knew very well who they were.
Javi crouched behind an abandoned car, looking at Conrad, who was still standing.
- Holy shit, Conrad...
He shouted, trying to get closer to the man, however, he was forced to duck again when a bullet shattered the car window in which he was hiding.
- Conrad calm the fuck down!
Tripp shouted, crouching behind a garbage can a little further away from Javi.
- Calm down?! No fucking way! They fucking killed Francine!
Conrad shouted back, running forward.
Javi and Tripp cursed softly as they lost sight of Conrad.
- Gabe, stay behind me!
Javi said, stepping out from behind the car and looking around, spotting Conrad running ahead.
Javi ran after him, with Tripp and Jesus catching up with him shortly, Gabe running right behind, but looking over his shoulder a few times, searching for something.
They heard a loud groan of pain, and hurried up the pace.
As they reached the street, their eyes widened when they saw Conrad lying on the ground with a hole in his chest, and a row of armed people pointing their guns in his direction.
- Don't move!
The people said, and soon, seven of them approached Javi and Tripp, pointing their rifles toward their heads.
Tripp cursed angrily as he saw Conrad lying on the ground, blood pouring from his chest. He tried to resist as he felt his rifle being taken from his hands, but was forced to his knees as he felt a strong blow to the side of his head.
Javi looked back, and felt his chest tighten slightly as he didn't see Mari standing next to Gabe, or even Clementine.
Javi turned forward as he felt the cold barrel of the gun pressed against his forehead, and he dropped to his knees as he raised his arms.
- What the fuck is going on here?
A familiar voice made itself present, and Javi looked up wide-eyed.
