Clementine opened her eyes slowly, blinking several times as she moaned softly in pain as she felt the side of her cheek throbbing.
Her vision was still a little blurry, but she could identify two silhouettes above her.
Violet's straw-blond hair was almost unmistakable.
The same thing for the glasses and black hair of Sarah, who was running a damp gauze over her face, wiping away the blood that was surely running down her cheek.
Clementine stood up with some difficulty, ignoring the protesting voices of the two girls and the pain spreading through her head.
- What are you doing here?
she asked coldly, her voice a little lower and huskier than she thought it would be.
She looked around in confusion, before staring into the heavy eyes of Sarah, who continued to wipe the blood from her face.
- I came to try to help, you see. Lilly gets a few fits of rage sometimes.
The girl, now a woman, replied.
Clementine pulled her arm away and stood up with some effort, picking up her hat that had fallen to the floor and putting it back on her head.
- Clementine, are you all right?
Ruby asked, and though the girl was relatively far away from her, it seemed as if she had shouted right next to her ear, and Clementine's head began to throb even harder.
- Yes... I'm fine, I can't say the same for Lilly in a few minutes.
She said, moaning softly in pain. Lilly hit harder than it looked, she had to admit.
- Clem, don't try to fight it. Delta is a good place, we have doctors, now we have schools, we are expanding... after the arsenal exploded, security became even tighter, it's a safe place.
Sarah insisted, trying once again to convince the girl that it wasn't a bad idea to be kidnapped and taken to some unknown place where she would be forced to fight.
Yeah, it sounded pretty good.
- Oh, for God's sake, Sarah. Talk that shit to my fucked-up face now. Safe place my ass!
Clementine said harshly, rolling her eyes.
Sarah sighed and lowered her gaze, this was not going the way she had planned, no one was to get hurt.
- Look, I just want to help, no one else needs to get hurt.
She insisted again, getting up and walking back to the door.
- Oh yes, Lilly still needs to be killed, along with her crew of lunatics. If you really want to help, Sarah, stay out of my way, get off this ship, go away, and this way, I'll let you live.
Clementine said, controlling her urge to override Sarah at that moment and go after AJ.
- God damn it, in other words, you want AJ to become a fucking soldier?
Clementine asked, leaning her elbows on her thighs and bowing her head slightly.
Bad idea, her head throbbed harder.
Sarah looked uncertain what to do for a few moments, she ran her hand through her hair in nervousness, and sighed, looking around with restless eyes.
-We've set up a small camp, outside the ship. There are still many supplies we have to bring inside. You have an hour, at most, to get out of here. AJ is at the top of the ship, with Lilly.
She said, looking down the hall and closing the door, but not locking it.
Clementine stared with a raised eyebrow at the girl walking away. She opens the door and unlocks the other cells, freeing her friends.
- Clem, are you sure you're all right? Your face is badly bruised, and you're still bleeding.
Louis asked with a worried expression as soon as he left the cell.
- I'm fine, I've suffered worse.
She said, looking ruefully at Tenn, who was crying softly in the corner of the cell.
Ruby approached the boy and tried to talk to him, saying things that might calm him down. But, it didn't seem to be working.
- What are we going to do now?
Omar asked, stepping out of the cell and looking down the hall. There didn't seem to be anyone around, but they had to get out of there fast.
- I'll get AJ, you guys find a way out of here. If there are people near the exit, create some distraction, kill them if necessary.
She said, unable to think straight. Aside from the throbbing pain in her head, she was still nervous, and worried about AJ.
- Are you going after him alone?
Violet asked, checking the corridor every few moments, and like Louis, looking at her with a worried expression.
- Better that way. Too many people would just draw attention, and some of us aren't fighters. Get them out of here, I'll go right after.
She said, taking the knife that was in her boot and walking to the end of the corridor, peeking around the edge, checking to see if anyone was there.
Clementine continued walking down the ship, looking for any stairs that would take her to the top floor of the ship.
Her eyes focused on the people outside, chatting about something as they placed some boxes on a cart. If she was quick, she could take those supplies.
Footsteps approached from in front of her, and Clementine ran back, hiding behind one of the boxes scattered around the place.
She gripped the handle of her knife tightly and waited for the person to get close enough.
As soon as the opportunity arose, Clementine kicked the woman in the leg, causing her to fall and groan in a mixture of surprise and pain. Quickly, Clementine stabbed her in the back of the head, grabbing the woman's rifle soon after.
She took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes, Lilly's hand was really heavy, her head felt like it was going to explode.
She walked back down the hall, watching the stairs ahead with some intensity.
She climbed a few steps up the stairs and looked at the situation ahead.
AJ was surrounded by a blond woman with short hair, and two men. He seemed to be speaking something in an angry manner, and was not intimidated by his disadvantageous situation.
Clementine liked AJ's courage, but, it was very easy to mistake courage for stupidity. She rolled her eyes internally, she should have taught the boy that difference earlier.
The girl climbed the stairs and walked crouching to a few boxes ahead. She could shoot from that distance, but she ran the risk of hitting AJ.
She sighed, she would have to get a little closer.
Clementine stepped out from behind her cover and walked towards a few more boxes ahead of her, throwing her body to the side quickly when she saw the woman turn in her direction.
She didn't seem to have seen her, so it was all right so far.
Moving a little closer, Clementine put a small box to the side and leaned her rifle on the wooden structure she was covering and aimed the rifle at the people ahead.
As soon as she had an angle, she pulled the trigger and shot them. As soon as the woman was hit and the shots were heard in sequence, AJ dropped to the ground and Clementine was able to shoot the other two men without worrying about hitting the boy.
As soon as their bodies hit the ground, she stepped out of cover and walked over to AJ, who smiled as soon as he saw her.
Something moved in her peripheral vision, and Clementine threw herself backwards just as Lilly shot in her direction, hitting the rifle she had in hand before she ducked behind the crates.
The woman ran towards her and jumped over the boxes, landing a kick to Clementine's face as she did so.
The girl fell to the side, her hand over the spot hit by the blow, feeling her head hurt even more.
In one swift movement, she kicked Lilly in the leg, causing the woman to lose her balance, giving Clementine time to kick her again, in the stomach.
Lilly staggered backwards slightly, but recovered quickly, moving towards Clementine again, leaping over the girl.
The woman began to squeeze her throat tightly, looking deep into the girl's golden eyes.
- I knew you would come out of that cell, Clementine. So predictable.
Lilly said, looking with a certain pleasure at Clementine's desperate expression as she struggled for air.
However, Lilly's somewhat amused look disappeared from her face as she felt Clementine stab her in the stomach.
Clementine pulled out the knife and stabbed her in the side of her torso soon after, looking with some disgust at the woman's pained expression.
She groaned in pain, but didn't get off the girl, instead she punched Clementine in the face and choked her harder.
A gunshot echoed through the place, and Lilly groaned in pain again as she felt a bullet go through her shoulder.
She got off Clementine and jumped on the boxes again, dodging the bullets AJ was firing in her direction.
Clementine breathed heavily for a few moments, recovering.
She looked at AJ and stood up, running towards the boy.
- Come on, AJ, we have to get out of here!
she said breathlessly, starting to run towards the stairs. However, her shoulder was grabbed hard, and Clementine was thrown backwards as she received another punch from Lilly.
AJ tried to shoot the woman again, but she stopped him, pushing the boy's arms to the side and kicking him in the side of the head.
Lilly advanced towards Clementine again and punched her in the face, followed by a punch to the stomach and a kick to the side of her abdomen.
Clementine's eyes widen and she coughs a few times, spitting out a certain amount of blood.
- You know, the last time I saw Lee, he had a gun to my head, and said he would kill me if I went after him.
Lilly began, dodging a punch from Clementine, and countering with a kick, again, to the girl's stomach.
- And I knew that he would really do it, if he really wanted me dead, I would have been dead long ago. And I couldn't help but find it ironic. All the good things we had were just lies. But, he tells the truth when he threatens to kill me.
Lilly pulls Clementine's hair, forcing the girl to look deep into her eyes.
- You have the same eyes as that bastard. You are identical to him. So I thought, if I can't hurt him, then I'll hurt what he considers important.
She said, and was taken by surprise by Clementine's headbutt, hitting her nose.
The woman screams in pain and grabs Clementine by the hair, however, AJ rushes up to her and stabs her in the thigh, giving the girl enough time to break free of her grip and punch Lilly's wounded abdomen one more time, causing the woman to stagger backwards.
- Lilly!
A man shouted, shooting toward Clementine just as he came up the stairs.
The girl grabbed AJ and the two ran to the opposite end of the ship, hiding behind some crates.
Clementine looked at the weapons of the people she had killed, and sighed a few times, running towards them and picking up one of the rifles that were on the floor.
She goes back to the cover of the box and shoots, even though she has no sight, toward the sounds of the gunshots that echoed, hoping to hit them.
She looked to the side, and signaled to AJ, and they both began to circle the boxes.
By reflex, Clementine pulled the boy back, preventing him from being hit by a few more shots fired by a woman, the same one AJ had ripped off her ear.
- Clementine!
Violet's voice caught the girl's attention. She leaned to the side and watched as Violet fired at the woman, then ducked as the man shot at her.
Clementine took advantage of the distraction and stepped out of cover, shooting the woman in the head.
As she aimed at the man, her rifle was knocked from her hands violently, and she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.
AJ punched Lilly in the abdomen and she moaned softly, but it was not strong enough to make her let go of Clementine.
The woman looked at the boy, and Clementine stuck one of her fingers in Lilly's eye, ignoring the blood that stained her hand.
A high-pitched scream escaped the woman's throat, who punched Clementine in the face and stepped away, placing her hand over her bleeding eye.
Clementine threw herself to the ground and picked up the rifle, turning and aiming at Lilly.
She fired, hitting the woman in the stomach. Lilly groaned loudly in pain and turned around, jumping off the ship, dodging a few more shots.
Clementine curses softly for failing to kill the woman, and gets up with some difficulty.
- Clem!
Louis' voice caught her attention. She looked up, watching him and Violet approach her with haste, and concern palpable on their faces.
- I'm fine... still alive, at least.
She said breathlessly, leaning on one of the boxes as she breathed heavily.
Her whole body hurt, she didn't even know how she was still standing, her head was the worst of all, it hurt like it had never hurt before. At any moment she really thought her brain would explode.
- What... what are you doing here?
She asked, walking with some difficulty towards the stairs, feeling Louis holding her around the waist and putting her arm around his neck.
- We weren't going to leave you alone here, especially in this state.
He said, helping her down the stairs.
- The others are outside, we dealt with those outside the ship, we came back as soon as we made sure it was safe.
Violet said, stopping walking as soon as she heard some footsteps approaching.
Brody turned down the hallway, and looked surprised at the three of them, staring at Clementine for a while.
- Brody? Where have you been?
Violet asked, lowering her gun and looking at the girl with a mixture of anger and relief.
The girl didn't answer, she kept staring at them for a while, until she raised her rifle in their direction.
They widened their eyes and looked confused at the girl, who seemed a bit uncertain about it, but trying to convince herself to do it anyway.
- What the fuck are you doing?!
Louis asked irritated, looking incredulously and surprised at Brody, ignoring the slow movement Clementine was making beside him.
-... Delta seems like a good place for us. I talked to Minnie... we can start over, all of us, in a better place.
She said, a little shakily, still a little in shock at her own actions.
- Are you fucking kidding me?!
Violet shouted, pointing the gun again at Brody, who shook her head for a moment.
- Please, Violet, think. We wouldn't have to worry about food, we'd have real rooms, real baths. A real place to live, all of us, we could be happy there, forget all this.
The girl insisted, looking ruefully at Violet, who had not listened to a single word she had said, as she still stared angrily at her.
- Look, guys...
Brody tried to say something else, but a shot to the head prevented her from continuing.
Violet and Louis were startled slightly and looked at Clementine, who was pointing her rifle at Brody's body, still being held at the waist by Louis.
She sighed and lowered the gun, looking down at the ground and shaking her head.
- Let's get the hell out of here.
She said, slowly pulling away from Louis and walking slowly down the hall, ignoring Brody's body on the floor.
Louis and Violet looked at each other, and Violet just shrugged, following Clementine shortly after.
As soon as they stepped off the ship, they were pushed forward forcefully. A huge explosion happened inside the ship, and the impact sent them crashing to the ground.
Clementine coughed a few times, her ears were ringing, her vision was blurred, and her body felt like it would collapse at any moment.
She tried to stand up, feeling arms wrap around her shoulders to help her up.
Clementine turned around, looking at the now burning ship in surprise.
- We have to get out of here!
Violet said, walking across the wooden deck, as she helped Clementine to one side, and Louis to the other.
They walked as fast as they could, feeling the heat of the fire getting closer and closer.
The ship fell to the deck, and they were again knocked to the ground by the impact of the new explosion, smaller than the previous one, but still strong enough to send them to the ground.
They were panting, and looking at the burning ship a few meters away.
-Okay... I didn't really like sailing anyway.
Louis said, looking at Violet, who rolled her eyes and sighed slightly, looking at Clementine.
- Are you alright?
She asked, kneeling down beside the girl lying on the ground and looking at her wounds, all the blood that stained her face, and her body.
- Yes... I will live.
She said, looking up at AJ, placing her hand gently on the boy's face.
- I know you told me not to shoot people, but, I had to.
The boy said, looking at her with a mixture of concern, and relief.
Clementine smiled slightly at him.
- You did well... you did very well.
She said, sitting up with difficulty, letting out a few groans of pain as she moved.
- Whoa, Clem, you're beat.
Mitch's mocking voice echoed behind her, and Clementine just pointed her middle finger in the direction of where his voice had supposedly come from.
- You should have seen the other guy.
AJ said, smiling slightly at Mitch's playful expression.
- Was this your idea? Blow up the ship?
Clementine asked, not taking her eyes off the flames that spread further and further in front of her.
-... No... I thought it was you guys.
He said, and Clementine looked at him for a few moments, slightly confused.
"Maybe Sarah?" she thought, looking around and searching for the girl, getting more confused as she found nothing but bodies there, and none of them looked like Sarah's.
- Don't fucking move!
Aasim shouted suddenly, drawing their attention to himself.
Clementine's eyes widened slightly as she saw Minnie holding Tenn by the neck, and placing him in front of the gun that Aasim pointed in her direction.
- Look what you've done!
she said, looking up at the high flames ahead.
- Minerva, let him go!
Mitch shouted, standing beside Aasim as he took one of the guns from the people they had killed.
The girl didn't even seem to hear him, her eyes were fixed on the wrecked ship.
- We could have a home, all of us... we could be together again, but you destroyed everything.
She said, closing her eyes and resting her chin on Tenn's head, who was static, not knowing what to do, even the tears on his face seemed confused whether they should go down his cheeks or not.
Clementine stood up with difficulty, looking slightly worried at the zombies coming out of the forest. They weren't much of a problem, but more and more of them were approaching, and in her current condition, she wasn't any faster than them.
The noise of the explosion certainly attracted zombies from miles away.
It was only when the zombies passed Minerva without attacking her, or caring about her presence, that Clementine realized that she was covered with zombie guts.
- Minerva, let go of Tenn!
Louis shouted, standing right next to Mitch, looking at the zombies that were getting closer and closer.
Violet said nothing, she didn't even want to look at the girl, her gaze was focused on Clementine beside her, worried, and with a strange glow inside.
Minerva just ignored them, and still holding Tenn by the neck, she walked slowly towards the forest, disappearing into the darkness.
- Oh, shit! Tenn!
Mitch shouted, shooting at some of the zombies that had gotten too close.
- Guys!
Willy shouted as soon as he had shot an arrow through the head of one of the zombies, and pointed at a cart up ahead, with the horse still tied to a fence.
- Well, we found our way out of here! We'll go after Tenn later!
Aasim shouted, running toward the cart while shooting in the direction of the zombies.
Violet reached down between Clementine's arm, grabbing her around the waist and helping her walk toward the cart.
Clementine looked back toward the ship, looking around.
Sarah was not there, so she must have left the ship soon after their little conversation.
And there was no sign of Lilly around. The woman was injured, and with an explosion like that, she would probably be dead by now.
She sighed again, and concentrated on walking towards the cart.
(...)
Groaning in pain, the woman collapses on the floor, exhausted, wounded. She had already lost too much blood, had pushed her body beyond its limits for too long.
She propped her back on a tree and looked up into the sunrise, panting, pale.
Her body was numb, she didn't know if what she felt was really pain, or something else.
She was already a long way from the ship, and had managed to sneak past the zombies that were attracted by the noise of the explosion, but apparently death had followed her the whole way.
She looked at her blood-stained abdomen, a bullet lodged inside, and her flesh torn by the blade of a knife.
Lilly laughed humorlessly, so many ways to die, it would soon be at the hands of a brat.
Fate was indeed something curious... and peculiar.
Even though she was not in that state by Lee's hands, she was by the hands of someone related to him.
It seemed that everything involved him in her life, no matter how far away she was, or how much hatred she had for him, he wouldn't leave her.
Some bushes moved further ahead, and Lilly looked at the person who was approaching with quiet steps.
Lilly stared at him for a few moments, and then she smiled.
A wry laugh escaped her throat and echoed through the trees.
Of course it was him, it always had to be him.
- Of all places... of all situations, and we meet again... like this.
She said weakly, leaning better on the tree, and staring again at the horizon.
Lee crouched down beside her, looking for a moment at the wounds on her abdomen.
- These wounds are deep... you should have received treatment some time ago.
He said, his voice a little huskier, a little more tired than she remembered.
Lilly lowered her head and closed her eyes, a small smile present on her lips.
- Yeah... I should. Why are you here, Lee?
She asked, looking at him, although she already knew the answer.
Lee stared at her for a few moments, in a neutral manner, looking deep into her eyes.
-I'm looking for Clementine.
He answered, ignoring the woman's mocking laugh.
- Still looking for her... do you really believe that? That's a lie, Lee ... you're nothing but a liar. You're such a good liar, you even deceive yourself.
She said with a laugh, coughing up some blood soon after.
Lee's face remained unchanged, still looking at her.
-Who did this to you? Did you try to kidnap someone you shouldn't have, again?
He asked, lightly teasing the woman, but feeling bad inside. He always knew that she would end up dying if she continued to do what she does, she just reaped what she sowed, nothing more.
One day, the same thing would happen to him.
-... Why do you pretend that you care? I killed all of them, anyway. And in a little while, I'll be next.
Lilly said, not looking into Lee's eye, because she knew he would notice her lie.
She would not tell him who had hurt her like that, she had no reason to, and if that lie resulted in him wandering the world forever without finding the girl he was looking for, great.
Lee sighed at the woman, also looking at the sun on the horizon.
He always liked sunrise, it gives him different pleasurable sensations.
Although, at that moment, it gave him a feeling of melancholy.
- What we lived together... all the time... was it really a lie to you? Were you really just taking advantage of the situation?
Lilly asked after some time in silence, the mocking smile had left her face, and her expression became more serious.
Lee bowed his head, and stood up, thoughtful.
Those thoughts occasionally came back to his mind.
He could not forget the woman he had used and deceived.
- Not all of it... I really enjoyed your company. But we had different ideals. I didn't plan on using you, but the more we got involved, the harder I found it to tell the truth.
He said, leaning against a tree ahead, feeling the cool morning breeze against his face.
Lilly stared at his back for a moment, not knowing what to think.
She never knew what to think about Lee.
She didn't know if he was telling the truth, or if it was just another one of his lies.
He was an enigma, and she couldn't figure him out.
- Well, it doesn't matter anymore.
She said softly, propping her head against the tree and looking up with a distant gaze, thoughts racing furiously through her mind.
- How about doing one last favor for me? Do something nice, for both of us, for a change.
She said, and Lee turned around, looking at her with an arched eyebrow, already knowing what she was going to ask.
The situation was ripe for such a request.
Lilly stared at him, and smiled.
- You already know what I'm going to ask... of course you do.
She said, and looked deep into his eyes as he took the knife from her waist.
Lilly didn't say anything, she didn't move a muscle, the only thing that moved, were her eyes that followed every move Lee made.
And she kept staring at him, until he finally stuck the knife in the side of her head.
He stared at her body for a few moments, and sighed, putting the knife away again soon after.
It was a shame things had ended this way, maybe, they could have stayed together, if things had been different.
But, deep down, he knew that neither Lilly, nor himself, deserved anything like happiness.
Lee stood up and looked around.
With a sigh, he turned, and walked through the forest, returning to his search for the ghost that always appeared in his dreams.
