- Did you get everything?
Clementine asked, looking at AJ just after closing the trunk, putting a backpack on her back.
- Yes... only four bullets in the gun, though.
He said, fixing the knife on his waist and looking at the abandoned train station ahead.
Clementine turned and picked up her machete, looking around, and focusing her eyes for a few moments on the bodies lying on the ground nearby.
- Firearms only as a last resort, remember. And always...
- Always keep a bullet for yourself.
The boy interrupted her, and Clementine looked up at him with a smile, walking towards the body ahead of her shortly afterwards.
She made sure the bodies were really dead, stabbing her machete into some of them while AJ dealt with the others scattered around.
There didn't seem to be any zombies nearby, the noise of the car would have already drawn them out, plus Clementine always honked the horn before going anywhere for supplies.
It was better to see all the dead walking towards her at once, than to be stuck in the middle of a herd. Although they were slow, they could corner them pretty quickly.
There were a few zombies pressing against the fence ahead, but they were too few and too weak to do any damage to the old wooden structure.
Clementine stabbed her machete into the heads of those who tried to grab her by the fence, she didn't want to take the risk of being trapped with zombies around, no matter how small that risk might be.
- There doesn't seem to be anyone.
AJ's voice caught her attention, and she turned toward him, looking at him reproachfully when she saw that he had opened the front door of the place.
- Hey, what did I say, huh?
she asked, looking hard at AJ, who shrank slightly and got a silly look on his face.
- Never go alone... Sorry, I was just checking the entrance.
He said, looking down at the ground and with his head slightly bowed.
Clementine softened her expression and sighed, placing her hand gently on AJ's head.
- That's fine, but in these cases, call me first.
She said, standing up and looking at the open door.
- This seems to be the only way out, there are bars on the windows. Better to leave the door open... right?
AJ said, and Clementine looked at him with a proud smile that he remembered what she had taught him. He was a smart kid.
- Exactly, take that big stone next to you.
She said, stepping inside the abandoned station and looking around, focusing her eyes on the two zombies tied together just in front of a window beside her.
Clementine closed her eyes for a moment, with memories flashing through her mind as she remembered her parents tied up in chairs.
There was always something that reminded her of that.
She walked over to them, focusing her eyes for a few moments on the letter, and on the flask of poison that lay at the feet of the two zombies.
She took the letter and ran her eyes over the words.
- They wanted to die together... asked us not to judge them and to leave them alone.
Clementine said, handing the letter to AJ, who looked at her curiously. She quickly killed the two zombies with her machete.
Wiping the little blood that remained on her blade. The more time went by, the less blood the zombies had, the less movements they made...
Maybe, it wouldn't be long before they were nothing but a nuisance.
- They said to leave them alone...
AJ said, looking a little doubtfully at the two dead bodies.
- Yes, and now they are at peace. They died a long time ago AJ... to leave them like this would be dishonorable.
She said, looking at the boy.
- I know, they are just monsters... but why did they decide to become monsters? It seems like a bad thing.
He asked, and Clementine looked at the two bodies, thoughtfully.
That place was just dust, those bodies had been left in that state for a long time... which means, no one had touched the supplies that were there... if there were any.
Something shined in one of the pockets of the zombie on the right, and Clementine picked up a small key.
Probably the key to the door to her left, since the front door was already open.
She walked towards the door and unlocked it, opening it slowly while checking the inside of the place.
As a precaution, she hit the wall three times with the handle of the machete, waiting for some reaction or some noise that would indicate zombie activity there, but heard nothing.
She took a book that was on the table beside her and opened the door all the way, putting the book right at the bottom, preventing the door from closing with the wind, or something like that.
They entered the place, and Clementine walked towards some cans of food that were on a table in front of them, sighing softly when she saw that they were already rotten.
- Sorry, buddy. These cans are long gone.
She said, tossing the can aside.
- Fuck.
AJ complained, crossing his arms and looking at the can that rolled across the floor.
- Hey, watch the swears!
She said, looking reproachfully at AJ, who uncrossed his arms and straightened his posture.
- But you swear.
He argued, and Clementine crossed her arms, arching an eyebrow.
- Because I'm old enough, you're still a brat... when the time comes, I'll let you swear.
She said, looking down at the mattress that lay on the floor a few steps away from her.
Clementine looked suspiciously at what appeared to be a trapdoor in the floor. She pushed the filthy mattress forward, and opened the trapdoor, her eyes widening as she saw the large amount of good food underneath.
- Holy shit... that's a fucking load of food...
She said with a sigh, putting an arm over his leg.
- See? You swear.
AJ said in an amused tone, causing Clementine to look up, smiling with her eyes.
A few footsteps echoed through the room. Aj turned quickly and Clementine stood up, both grabbing their guns at the same time while pointing at a man who was also pointing a pistol at them.
- Whoa, easy there... I'm just looking for food... and I see you found plenty.
He said in a rather awkward manner, not intimidated by the two guns pointed in his direction, walking to the side and grabbing one of the bags from under the table.
He had brown hair, was rather tall, wore glasses, and had a scar on his cheek.
- We found it first, get out.
AJ said, staring at the man, who smiled at him.
- Hey, kid. That wasn't very polite... I don't want to steal from you, I just want some of the food you found. I can see from here, there's plenty there...
The man said, but soon, the sound of something bouncing caught all three of their attention.
Clementine looked down, and her eyes widened as she saw a grenade just below the trap door.
- AJ!
she shouted, closing the trap door, grabbing the boy by the waist and throwing herself forward, covering him with her body.
The grenade exploded, and the impact shattered part of the floor, as well as throwing the trap door wide open.
Clementine felt her ears ringing, she was stunned by the impact, and the noise.
She looked to the side, her vision still slightly blurred. The girl watched as the man stood up with some difficulty, pointing a gun in AJ's direction.
She thought he was going to shoot the boy, and in one quick movement, she stood up, throwing herself against the man and knocking him to the ground, falling on top of him as she was still stunned.
She tried to take the man's gun, but he punched her in the face and threw her aside.
AJ also got up, and aimed at the man, firing once. However, the man kicked him in the face, causing him to miss his shot and be sent to the ground.
Clementine stood up with her machete and stabbed him in the leg, she had intended to knock him out. The man screamed in pain, dropping to his knees. He turned to Clementine and pointed the gun in her direction.
The girl ducked to the side, but was hit in the abdomen.
She cried out in pain and knelt on the ground, but she took advantage of the fact that the man was off balance, and grabbed her machete again, this time stabbing him in the chest.
The man's eyes widen and he feels the air leave his lungs. The girl then takes the machete from inside his torso and stabs him in the head, finishing him off.
She lowers her head, panting and feeling the adrenaline leaving her body. She falls down sitting on the floor, placing her hand over the wound in her abdomen.
It hurt like hell, but the bullet hit her side, it didn't seem to hit any organs, which was great, all she needed was to stop the bleeding, get the bullet out of her, and rest.
She even smiled faintly, she had been shot in the same place Kenny had been, back at the St John's farm.
- Clem!
AJ shouted, approaching her with a worried look on his face and looking at the wound on her adome. From the look in the boy's eyes, Clementine could tell he was going to start crying any minute.
- I'm fine, AJ. It didn't hit any major organs, I'll be fine.
She said, ripping part of the hem of her shirt and tying it around the wound. She looked down at AJ's face, watching the trickle of blood that ran from the boy's mouth.
- You're bleeding too.
She said, leaning on the wall and standing up with difficulty, groaning in pain. She takes the machete from the man's head and wipes it on her clothes, putting the blade back into the sheath on her back soon after.
- I'm fine. The pain is gone.
He said, still looking worriedly at Clementine, who smiled softly.
They turned and walked toward the front door, a little more slowly because of the girl's wound.
As they walked out the door, their eyes widened when they saw a person in the driver's seat of the car, and as soon as the person saw them, he started the vehicle and stepped on the gas, getting out of there almost immediately.
- Oh fuck!
Clementine cursed angrily, mentally cursing herself for leaving the key inside the vehicle.
But it wasn't as if she could foresee something like that... they hadn't met another person in weeks. Well, not one who hadn't been trying to rob them.
- The noise will attract the zombies around, we have to get out of here.
She said, groaning in pain as she walked towards the road. She looked around, noting the large number of zombies slowly approaching from the highway, and some coming out from between the trees in the forest.
That explosion probably drew the attention of zombies from miles away.
But anyway, even though she was wounded, she was still faster than the dead, so she had nothing to worry too much about.
All she had to do was not let them get cornered, and they would both be fine.
A few zombies were approaching from the front towards them, and AJ looked at Clementine with some hesitation, but soon he was advancing towards the zombies with his knife in hand.
Clementine had taught him the knee trick at a very early age, by the time he had learned to hold a knife, so in a way, he was already used to that trick.
The boy ran towards the first zombie and cut him behind the knee, making him fall, and quickly killed him with a stab to the head.
He did the same thing to the other two zombies that were approaching, running back to Clementine right after he had dealt with them.
- You did well.
She complimented him, placing the hand that was not soiled with her own blood on AJ's head, who looked up at her with a warm smile.
They walked through the forest for a while, until Clementine decided to take a break.
Getting shot hurt like hell, much more than she thought it would.
She soon remembered Kenny, how he had a pained expression all the way back to that motel...
And then she thought of Lee... obviously she would...
He was shot three times... how the fuck did he make it to Savannah after that?
She had only been shot once and it was a relatively "safe" place, she remembered well him being shot in the chest...
Clementine bowed her head and smiled slightly, that certainly increased her respect for him.
- Are you sure you're all right?
Aj asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
- Yes... it just hurts like hell... I'll be fine, relax.
She said with a groan of pain, looking at the wound. It wasn't bleeding much anymore, to her relief.
It wouldn't be today that she would die.
Their attention was caught by some bushes moving further ahead, and soon after, they heard some muffled voices echoing through the trees.
Okay, never mind, maybe today was the day she would die.
AJ pointed the gun in the direction of the people who came out from behind the bushes, and as soon as they saw them, they raised their hands.
- Whoa, easy, we don't want to hurt you.
A boy, not too old, maybe eighteen, said, slowly approaching them and focusing his eyes on Clementine's wound.
He had close-cropped blond hair, white skin and light eyes, and a small, still growing beard.
- And we don't want any trouble, just leave, and we'll be on our way.
Clementine said, standing up with some pain and looking at the two boys ahead of her.
- Y-you're hurt... we can help.
The boy said again, alternating his gaze between Clementine and AJ, somewhat surprised and curious.
- I can handle this myself, thank you.
Clementine said, looking with some intensity at the boy.
If he tried anything, anything at all, she would kill him in a heartbeat... and he could see that.
- Look...
- Don't take another step!
AJ said, pointing the gun precisely at the boy's head, who stared at AJ for a while, surprised.
- We don't want to hurt you, we could have done it before we got out of those bushes. We have supplies, someone who can take a look at this wound.
He explained, looking at Aj for a while before facing Clementine, who sighed thoughtfully.
She had had her share of communities go wrong, and was not about to set foot in another one, but on the other hand, help with that wound would be very welcome.
Besides, she had nothing she could use to get that bullet out of her abdomen, and the bandages had run out weeks ago.
- Where is it?
she asked after a while, straightening her posture and looking at the boy.
- Not far from here, we will be there in a few minutes' walk.
He said vaguely, and Clementine rolled her eyes inwardly. If this was an ambush, she and AJ would be screwed.
Those two boys could have more people around, they could have already surrounded her.
Sometimes she wished she could read other people's minds, it would be so much easier.
-You guys in front... if I see something I don't like, I'm out.
She said after a few moments in thought, sighing and shaking her head.
AJ looked at her for a moment, then lowered the gun slowly, still looking at them suspiciously.
The two boys lowered their arms and looked at each other for a few moments, a little more relaxed.
- I'm Marlon, this is Aasim.
The blond boy introduced himself, pointing to Aasim behind him shortly after.
-Clementine, AJ.
she said simply, watching Aasim turn and start walking back into the forest.
Marlon looked at her for a few moments and waved for them to follow, walking behind Aasim soon after.
Clementine and AJ looked at each other for a few moments before they started walking.
