- So... you two have become friends now?

Violet asked as she watched Mitch walk away from Clementine, after the two of them had talked for a while.

- I wouldn't say friends, but at least now we're not going to try to kill each other.

The girl replied, watching Ruby hand the barbed wire to Aasim near the cemetery.

- So I think it was a good idea to have you two work together. The hardest part is already gone, the ones who voted you out were just afraid of you, so they'll be easy to deal with.

Violet said, crossing her arms and looking at Omar further ahead, who made a disgusted face as he looked at the fertilizer.

- Do you have somewhere in mind where we can get some weapons?

Clementine asked.

Apart from her pistol and AJ's, the place had only one other firearm, and that was the pistol that had been in Marlon's office, which now belonged to Violet. The pistol she took from the man she killed at the train station.

- No idea, so we'll have to rely on our plan.

Violet said, looking at her somewhat hesitantly.

- I have a plan to take them all out at once when they arrive, but for that, we would need weapons. I'm thinking about going out, searching their camp, seeing how often they come out, how many people. If possible, kill some of them and get the weapons.

Clementine explained, crossing her arms and looking intently at the gates.

- What? Clem, this is too risky. If they catch you, we're screwed, and who knows what they'll do to you.

Violet said in a worried tone, and Clementine arched an eyebrow at this. Usually, when she decided to do something risky, no one tried to stop her... well, at least, that's how it was in the groups she stayed in.

- Everything is risky. But if we get some more weapons, we can kill everyone who comes, all at once. Maybe leave one of them alive, ask some questions. Get the weapons of those who died, and finish the job.

Clementine said, looking deep into Violet's eyes. She knew the risks, but she also knew the advantage they would have if they could get some weapons.

They didn't need many, just a few for specific people to use, from specific places.

Violet sighed and bowed her head.

- Look... we can discuss this later. Maybe we can find something that can be useful to us...

Violet said in a low tone, evident that she didn't want Clementine to do that.

Maybe because she was afraid that the plan would fail without her...

Or maybe because she was genuinely worried.

And Clementine believed more in the first option, she always had.

- Do you have any alcohol?

She asked after a while in silence, looking curiously at Violet.

- Ahm, the director had some wine in his office, some bottles, I think they are still there, stored somewhere. Why?

Violet asked, confused by the sudden question.

- Molotov cocktails. Even though they are not made of the ideal components, they might be useful for Willy, who will be hiding over the walls. It will burn some of those assholes at least.

She said, and Violet looked at her somewhat enigmatically for a while, making Clementine look a little confused by her gaze.

- You and Mitch look a little alike, you know?

- Oh, fuck you.

Clementine said, rolling her eyes, and Violet laughed softly.

- I'll take care of some things, see you later.

Violet said, walking towards Aasim, who was waving at her.

Clementine glanced at the girl's back, until she turned and walked toward the dorms.

(...)

She opened the door to her room slowly, looking at AJ, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed in front of her, despite his slight expression of pain.

She walked over to the boy's side and placed her hand gently on his face. A small relieved smile was born on her lips, he would be fine, he just needed to rest.

She sat up in the same bed, still looking at his face, remembering the despair she had felt when she saw him being shot, and the anguish that ran through her body when she saw all that blood flowing from his wound.

That was by far one of the most horrible sensations she had ever felt. She couldn't even think of anything at that moment.

The only reason she could think of a plan to fight Lilly, was because of her anger for Abel.

The beating she gave him won't seem like anything close to what she will do the next time she sees him.

She soon thought of AJ again. She still didn't know where she would leave him the day they were attacked, he was her priority there, and although she knew he was a good shot, and can take care of himself, she couldn't help but feel worried about the boy.

She sighed and propped her elbows on her thighs, looking thoughtfully at the ground.

How did Lee feel when he saw her being kidnapped? The same way she felt when she saw AJ get shot? Maybe in a different way?

Kenny said that the anger Lee felt toward the man who kidnapped her was what enabled him to ignore the pain and fear...

And now she understood how he felt about it, although she was nervous, she was not afraid.

The bedroom door was opened, and she looked with an arched eyebrow at Louis, who entered with some clothes in hand.

He was surprised to see her there.

- I... I brought this for him. His shirt got a little messed up after... you know.

He said, somewhat awkwardly, walking over to the next table and placing the clothes on it.

- Where did you get them?

She asked, they were quite a lot of clothes.

- They were Tenn's, back when he first got here. Should be about AJ's size.

He answered, turning to her and putting his hands in his pockets, a bit nervously.

Clementine put her hand behind her head, she didn't need to hear an "I'm sorry" from anyone, she didn't care about such things.

- Thank you for, you know, picking him up when he was shot.

She thanked him, also a little nervous, she was not used to saying thanks, in fact, it had been a long time since she had thanked someone sincerely.

- Don't worry about it, I couldn't leave him behind as if I didn't care.

He said, looking at AJ's peaceful face.

- So, we have a greenhouse again. And bombs.

He mentioned, crossing his arms and looking at the floor.

- Mitch's idea.

She said, putting one of her legs over the bed and resting her arm on her knee.

- Yeah, I figured. Violet said that in the morning we are going to start turning this place into a fortress.

He said, a little unsure whether to look at Clementine or not.

- That's good. There's a lot for us to do.

She said, taking the hat off her head and putting it beside her.

- They all seem okay with letting you stay. For now, anyway.

He said, looking at her with restless eyes.

- Good, AJ will be thrilled to know that he has been forgiven.

She said, looking with a warm smile at AJ, who mumbled something in his sleep.

- I said that they were fine with letting you stay, at least until those guys are gone. It doesn't mean that they'll like you again.

He said, alternating his gaze between Clementine and the floor a few times.

- Louis, I don't care if they like me or not. If we have to leave when this is all over, so be it, we' re going to take what's left of those guys and go. The road is already almost becoming a home to me anyway.

She said, getting up and taking the sheath of her machete off her back, placing it on the corner of her bed.

- Really? You're not the least bit... affected by what you did? About what AJ did?

he asked softly, trying not to wake AJ.

Clementine turned to him, staring deep into Louis's conflicted eyes.

- I didn't want AJ to pull that trigger, I admit it. But, Louis, Marlon tried to kill me, I would have killed him the moment he pointed that gun at me, if I hadn't unloaded the gun.

She said, picking up her gun and placing it under her pillow, looking at Louis' somewhat twisted expression.

As if he was still having trouble accepting this fact.

Clementine sighed and shook her head slightly. She sat down on the bed and patted the side of the bed.

Louis arched a confused eyebrow, but sat down beside her shortly after.

- Look, I said this same thing to Mitch earlier. I taught AJ to shoot for a reason. I told him to kill anything that threatens him, or threatens what he cares about. Out there, Louis, we don't have the luxury of stopping, and talking to people.

She started to explain, she didn't want them to keep blaming AJ, without at least having an idea of what things are like out there. Without at least trying to understand it.

- Outside, people kill others just for looking at them the wrong way. People steal, kidnap, kill, rape, heck, there are even some who are cannibals.

She almost felt a slight urge to laugh at Louis's incredulous expression.

- Yeah, I've had the pleasure of meeting some cannibals. What I am trying to say is, try to understand why AJ shot Marlon. For you guys, maybe it wasn't the right thing to do.

She lowered her head, reaching into her pocket and gently squeezing Lee's photo.

- But for AJ, it was a way to protect what is important to him. Because he and I have been through a lot. Things that, no offense, many here wouldn't survive, or have the courage to do what we did.

She finished saying, staring at Louis, who was silent.

He looked even more conflicted, thoughtful, and even a little more guilty.

- I...

He tried to say something, but he couldn't. He didn't know what to say after that, he had been thinking about that situation all day, but he still didn't really know what to think, especially after that little conversation.

- I am not angry with you, or with them. I am just saying this so that you will stop judging AJ, he is a good kid. He was just born into a fucked up world.

She said, climbing a little higher on the bed and leaning her back against the wall, looking at AJ on the other bed.

- I'm sorry. I didn't even think about it, to tell you the truth.

Louis said, after a moment of being trapped in his thoughts. Clementine looked at him, and smiled slightly.

- Like I said, I'm not angry with you. And neither is AJ.

She said, leaning her head against the wall and closing her eyes.

Louis looked at her for a moment, confused about what to do, what to think, or what to say.

-Cannibals, huh? How was it?

he asked after a while, and Clementine opened her eyes.

- It was right at the beginning. We were literally starving to death. They showed up, offered food in exchange for gas, said they had plenty. Some of our group went to check the place out, to see if it was really true.

She drummed her fingers against each other, a little nervous as she remembered that place, those people.

It was there that things began to change drastically.

- The place was beautiful. A farm, surrounded by an electric fence. They seemed nice, you know? And they baked delicious bread. Those kind smiles, those sweet words, all lies. They took the legs off one of our group members, Mark, and tried to make us eat them.

Clementine let out a nasal laugh at the look on Louis' face, that was something fucked up even to mention.

- Lee found out, and warned us. At that time we weren't used to killing yet, so I guess he didn't even think to do it at the moment. We were surrendered, and thrown into a meat locker.

She took the machete from beside her and looked at the blade, she liked to lose herself in the metal of her weapon every now and some reason it soothed her, just like her hat.

- The father of that woman I mentioned, Lilly, he had a heart attack. Lee tried to help, but another guy smashed his head in, afraid he was going to come back. I helped them out of there, Lee beat the two men to near death, and we got off that farm.

She finished saying, looking at Louis with some intensity, expecting some reaction from the boy.

But the way she had thought, he didn't know how to react to it.

-... Jesus...

That was the only word he could say, even with all the questions in his head, and Clementine smiled slightly, bowing her head and sighing.

- Because of this, I taught AJ to always be wary of kind smiles, and friendly words. It's not something I wanted to teach, especially killing, but it was necessary.

She said, placing the machete in her lap, and looking back at AJ.

- I understand now.

He said, getting up from the bed and walking towards the door, leaving the room soon after.