- You know, I've been thinking... I wish we could all go on a field trip together.
Brody said in a dreamy tone, turning back slightly as she walked, looking at the three people following her.
Clementine looked at AJ for a moment, confused by the girl's suddenness.
- Field trip? Why bother? It's not like there's anything worth seeing out there.
Violet said in her typical bored tone, concentrating only on looking at the dirt road.
- Oh come on, I'm sure there's still a lot to see. Maybe Clem can show us around.
Brody said, turning and looking at Clementine with a slight expression, causing the girl to arch an eyebrow.
- There are still many beautiful places out there, Brody. But, I don't think it's worth the risk just to enjoy the scenery... it's an awful world out there.
Clementine said, looking at the surrounding forest as she thought about the places she had been.
She didn't know how much of the country she had explored, but she had been to many places during those years. Some places beautiful, some not so much...
And others she wished she had never passed.
- But you survived, and so did AJ. I think it's possible.
Brody said, without taking the small smile off her face.
- It's different. I did what was necessary to survive, and that alone was hard enough.
She said, arching an eyebrow at the sad expression Brody had on her face when she heard that, making Clementine sigh softly.
- But... I guess I could show you guys around, if we had a car, and guns, lots of guns.
She said after a while, seeing the small smile that reappeared on Brody's face.
It was strange that she thought she was having a friendly conversation with girls her own age at that moment when two days ago she didn't even know where to go.
Or what they would have to eat.
- I wouldn't like it. I'm sick of the car.
AJ said softly beside her, causing Clementine to look at him with an amused smile on her face.
She was too.
They continued walking for a while longer, until they came to a small abandoned cabin up ahead.
- I wish this rusty old bucket still worked. We could jump into it and start driving.
Brody said, approaching an old pickup truck with broken windows, touching it lightly.
- Drive far away, you know? See the beauty that the world hides behind all this death.
- We would run out of gas eventually.
Violet said, crossing her arms and looking at Brody with an annoyed expression.
- Still. It's nice to imagine, isn't it?
Brody said, turning and looking at Violet, who just sighed and rolled her eyes, turning and walking towards the small river ahead.
- Where would you go, Clem? If you could drive anywhere without worrying about gas?
Brody asked, ignoring Violet's reaction and looking at Clementine with a slight expression.
The girl was thoughtful, she had no place in mind, she never really thought of any specific place she would like to visit.
- I don't know, I never thought about it. As long as it's safe, anywhere will do.
She answered simply, with thoughts racing furiously through her mind.
If she was really sincere, she would go through all the places she had been until that moment.
She would go through all the places in which she had sought refuge, all the places in which she had stayed in times of storm.
Through all the places where the people she cared about had died...
Through Savannah...
And finally, her home... her old home, which should now be abandoned, with broken windows and nothing useful inside.
She could spend hours thinking about her home.
The place where she lived, that sheltered her from so many bad things... and that probably served as a shelter for other survivors when she left there on her journey with Lee.
Going into her old room, lying in her old bed... thinking about what was, and what could have been.
To think what would happen if her decisions were different.
- It's a shame, I would love to drive around a winding mountain road. To get to the top and see the whole world from up there.
She said with a dreamy look on her face, lifting her head slightly and imagining what it would be like.
- Until you die from frostbite.
Violet said further ahead, mocking Brody's dreamy moment, who looked at her reproachfully.
- Come on, Vi. Would it kill you to live a little?
Brody asked, crossing her arms in anger.
Violet just stood there.
- I've lived here my whole life. Hell, I can say I know every part of this woods... I just, I'd like to see other places, that's all.
Brody said with a downcast expression, taking a few steps away from the car and looking at the ground.
- There's no point in daydreaming. We have shit to do. Come on, we have to catch some fish.
Violet said, turning and putting her hand on her waist, looking seriously at Brody, who just sighed at her manner, walking towards the old cabin shortly after.
Clementine alternated her gaze between the two girls, staring at the obvious conflict between them, but remaining quiet.
This had nothing to do with her.
She followed Brody into the cabin, looking around the messy interior.
- Hey... about Vi... I'm sorry she's being so mean, it's probably my fault.
Brody said with his back to her, and Clementine looked at her confused. She had nothing to apologize for, she hadn't been bothered by Violet's manner.
Besides, all that anger wasn't even for her anyway.
However, she couldn't help but be curious.
- What do you mean by that?
Clementine asked.
- I was there when those zombies killed Sophie and Minnie. They were pretty close to Vi, and I think she blames me for what happened.
Brody said, turning to Clementine with a depressed expression.
Clementine stared at her with an unchanged face. Being killed by zombies was quite situational, it was easy to deal with them when one was aware of their presence, it was another thing to be caught off guard.
- It wasn't your fault, it's not like you threw them to the zombies, it was just an accident. Violet probably knows that.
Clementine said, walking over to some wooden spears that were propped up against the wall and looking at the object in her hands.
It was not the same as the spears Lee had taught her, but it should do.
- Still. I was the one who had to give her the bad news, and Marlon went to talk to Tenn. Since then she has become more distant.
Brody said, crossing his arms and looking at the ground ruefully.
Clementine then looked at her, now slightly suspicious.
Four people left, only two returned.
With so many people in one group, there was no chance that they would be surprised by zombies, you could hear them approaching.
Maybe a herd? It was easy to get stuck in the middle of so many dead bodies.
- What were you doing the day they died?
Clementine asked, turning to Brody, and despite her suspicion, her face remained unchanged.
- We went hunting, looking for supplies, you know? That sort of thing.
"Right, no way in hell they' d be ambushed in this forest, especially with Brody knowing every corner, as she herself had said... they wouldn't keep their guard down while hunting" - Clementine thought, bowing her head slightly and looking at the ground.
- You ran into a herd? It's a real shame. I'm sorry.
Clementine said "innocent," feigning a sad expression.
Over the years, she had become a very good liar.
It was one of the reasons she could tell someone was lying. You couldn't cheat a cheater.
- No, we didn't leave the safe zone that day, it was the normal number. A few zombies, you know? It is strange to think how easy it is for someone to slip up and die. I was surprised to hear that you and AJ survived years out there. Thanks for caring.
Brody said, with a slight, gentle smile at Clementine, who smiled back.
"...Liar..." - She thought, she recognized a lie when she heard one.
But she wouldn't say anything, she wouldn't force anything else, it wasn't a good idea to stay on that subject any longer, Brody might start to get suspicious of her intentions.
- You know... Violet got a lot colder with the people around her... but, when you showed up... I don't know. I just hadn't seen her warm up to someone in a long time.
Brody said, and Clementine wondered where she was going with this.
- Do you... do you want me to talk to her?
She asked with a raised eyebrow, and Brody looked at her, surprised that she had noticed.
-It's not much, just to see how she really feels, you know? About all of this. She doesn't talk to me anymore.
Brody said, picking up one of the spears and turning back to Clementine, who was still staring at her with an arched eyebrow.
"What am i, a psychologist?" She mentally asked herself, rolling her eyes internally.
- Look, I can try... but I doubt I'll be of any help, I'm not the best person to have an... emotional... conversation with.
Clementine said, putting a hand on her waist.
- It's okay, anything goes. Thanks, Clem.
She said, taking a few more spears and leaving the hut.
AJ walked towards Clementine, looking at the spear in her hand.
- Are you up to settling our little dispute? If I remember correctly, the last time we did this, I caught two more fish than you did.
Clementine said with a mocking smile, looking at AJ's defiant expression.
- Only because I let you.
He said, leaving the hut shortly afterwards.
The boy picked up one of the spears from the ground in front of him and walked somewhere along the riverbank.
Clementine looked at Violet and sighed slightly, already regretting that she had agreed to do that.
She walked over to the girl and stood a few steps beside her, raising her spear and looking at the fish swimming against the current.
Violet stared at her for a moment, but said nothing.
In one swift movement, Clementine struck the spear into the body of one of the fish. It was big enough for two people to eat.
Violet looked at her with an arched eyebrow, surprised at how easy the girl had it.
Clementine had done that many times in those years. Hmpf, another of the things Lee had taught her, although slightly different.
He was more patient, while she was not so much.
- Look... My bad for acting so negative earlier.
Violet said after a while, and Clementine looked at her.
"Why are they apologizing to me? I had nothing to do with this little conflict" - she thought, slightly annoyed.
- It's not me you have to apologize to.
She said, returning her focus to the fish.
Violet sighed, bowing her head a little.
- Sometimes she gets on my nerves, as you could tell. It's not like I hate her, it's just...
Violet tried to say, looking down at some point of the small river.
- She definitely thinks you hate her.
Clementine said, looking at the irritated movement Violet made, resulting in a medium-sized fish on the end of her spear.
- I don't know what the problem is between me and Brody. I don't know why it's so strange.
Violet said, crossing her arms when she saw that there were no other fish around.
- Because you blame her for what happened to those twins. At least, that's what she thinks.
Clementine replied, watching AJ get frustrated at not being able to find any more fish.
It seems that the victory still remains with her.
- Well, that's what I used to think too. I just keep thinking that things might have been different if I had gone along that day.
The girl said with a sigh, looking down at the ground.
- I just can't stop feeling guilty about it.
Clementine looked at her, slightly curious.
- Why?
- Because I was supposed to go there that day, but Marlon put me to work in the greenhouse that day, so I asked Brody to go in my place. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye.
Violet said, and Clementine's eyes sparkled with a certain intensity.
It seemed that the whole thing was wrapped around Marlon, which meant that her instincts were right.
He is definitely hiding something, and apparently it is related to the two sisters.
- I wanted to talk to Brody, to tell her that I don't blame her... but every time I tried I remembered who we had lost.
Clementine couldn't care less about this story, it wasn't her that should be listening to this, it was Brody.
Her mind was busy thinking of something else.
"Marlon was tense when I mentioned that guy at the train station, and was relieved when I said I killed him... he was also nervous when I asked about the bandit attacks, and when Brody came to talk to me... maybe he knows someone he shouldn't relate to? And what does that have to do with the two sisters?" Clementine was trapped in her own thoughts while her body just listened to Violet talk about something she wasn't paying attention to.
- You know what? She seems really sad about this distance between you two, you should talk to her when you have time. You live in the same place, you can't avoid each other forever, and Brody seems to want to be your friend again.
Clementine said, picking up the spears from the ground and carrying them toward the cabin, meeting AJ halfway.
- I caught two fish. And you?
she asked with an amused smile, watching the boy's frustrated expression.
- Only one.
He said after a while, putting the spear back in place and turning around, not expecting some mocking remark from Clementine, who just smiled at the boy.
- We didn't get much. But no problem, we will have plenty of food anyway. But it's a pity we don't have any meat to go with it.
Brody said, looking at the bucket in Violet's hand, and started walking back down the dirt road shortly after.
- The Grand Canyon.
Violet said into the air, drawing the attention of the people behind her.
- What?
Brody asked.
- That's where I would go. If we had a field trip. Start driving until we hit the Grand Canyon.
Violet said, looking at Brody for a moment before turning back to the road.
Brody smiled at the girl, and then looked at Clementine, placing a hand on her shoulder gently in appreciation.
Clementine just arched an eyebrow; it wasn't even that hard.
Those two should have started talking to each other a long time ago.
The girl sighed and looked at AJ, just before concentrating on the road.
She would have to think of a way to find out what Marlon was hiding, and that would be difficult, since it was related to a rather delicate subject.
Clementine sighed, nothing was easy anymore in her life, and she would be surprised if it really was.
