Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help.
Steven belongs to G0nna6of4rk1d. Thanks for letting me use him in this.
Warning: This chapter contains an underage sexual encounter. And mentions of child sexual abuse.
"Not a sign. Not a fucking sign of them." Kenny growled. He
"Calm down, Kenny…" Christa sighed.
"How the hell can I calm down…?" Kenny inquired. "I can't lose them too…"
"How long are you willing to look?" Christa asked.
"Until my last breath." Kenny said.
"Good." Christa said. "Because I'm not ready to give up yet. I know they're out there. I know they're alive. We just gotta find them."
Clementine felt Terrell grip her, deepening the kiss. The young girl was surprised, maybe even a bit startled. "T-Terrell?"
"Shh… It's okay…" Terrell whispered. "You said you love me right…?"
Clementine gave a tiny nod.
"Let me show you how I feel about you. Show me how much you love me." Terrell said.
"I…" She could feel her heart pounding, she was nervous.
"Let me do this…" Terrell whispered.
"But…But…"
Terrell cut the girl off with another kiss.
Danielle sat a bit away from the group, much like before. She didn't want to be around them. She kept to herself for most of the day, playing innocently with Flopsie. The girl was content just being alone with her stuffed bunny. However, when Bonnie approached her, she didn't protest.
"Hey there..." Bonnie greeted.
"Hey," Danielle said back.
"I made some dinner…" Bonnie said. "For you and Flopsie."
"Flopsie and I aren't not hungry." Danielle replied.
"Well, I'll save you some. In case you changed your mind..." Bonnie said.
"Okay…" Danielle said, keeping her gaze on her stuffed toy.
"You've been so quiet today. Is everything alright?" Bonnie asked.
"I just wanted to be alone..." Danielle replied.
"We heard you yell at Luke earlier…." Bonnie said.
"...Did Luke hurt Clem?" Danielle asked after a moment.
"What?" Bonnie wasn't expecting that question.
"Did he hurt Clementine?" Danielle simply repeated.
"What would make you think that?" Bonnie asked.
"He said he was the father of the babies. I know how babies are made. I knew a woman who was pregnant before. Plus, Miss Staton talked about that stuff at school... you have to do that nasty stuff to make a baby... Did Luke do that to Clementine?" Danielle asked.
"Of course not! He would never!" Bonnie exclaimed.
"Then how is he the twins' father?" Danielle asked.
"We… We don't know for sure if he is. He could possibly be, one or both of their father, but we don't know for sure." Bonnie said.
"How? If he's their father, he did that bad stuff with Clem!" Danielle said.
"You don't understand the situation… Luke was… he was forced into doing that with Clem. Neither of them wanted to do it." Bonnie explained.
"How was he forced…?" Danielle asked.
"Bill… Bill had him tied to a chair." Bonnie said.
"Who's Bill?" Danielle inquired.
"He's the main person who was hurting Clementine…" Bonnie said.
"And you people let it happen…?" Danielle asked.
"We didn't let it happen! We… We didn't know." Bonnie said. "She wouldn't say anything… We couldn't have known…"
Danielle shook her head in disbelief. It sounded like Bonnie was blaming her friend. "I don't want to talk anymore."
"Dani…" Bonnie frowned.
"I said I don't want to talk anymore…" Danielle said.
"That's fine… I… I'll leave you and Flopsie alone…" Bonnie said.
Danielle said nothing as the woman walked away.
She didn't know what to think of these people now.
Clementine awoke early the next morning, she felt a slight ache between her legs. Her face flushed as she recalled what happened the night before.
"You're awake. Good. I made some breakfast." Terrell said, kissing her lips.
Clementine pulled away and frowned. "W-Why didn't you stop?"
"Hmm?"
"I… I told you to stop. You were hurting me…" Clementine said.
"You say you're an adult, right? How do you think adults prove their love?" Terrell said.
"It hurt… It still hurts…" Clementine mumbled.
"You'll be fine. Come on. I made you breakfast…" Terrell said.
"I'm not hungry…" Clementine said.
"Don't be like that, babe." Terrell sighed.
Clementine perked up at that. "Babe?"
"You don't mind if I call you that, do you?" Terrell asked.
Clementine shook her head. "Um… Does this mean… we're dating?"
"It means whatever you want it to mean."
Clementine couldn't help but smile at that.
The next morning Danielle approached Bonnie while everyone was gathered for breakfast. "Bonnie…"
"Hey, Dani, I made breakfast." Bonnie said.
"Thanks, umm… Bonnie, can we talk?" Danielle asked.
"Of course, Danielle… What's up?" Bonnie said.
Danielle took the woman's hand and led her a bit away from the group.
"I've been thinking about what you said. About Luke…" Danielle started, with some hesitance.
"And…?"
"I… think I believe you… He's been nice. I don't think he would want to hurt Clem." Danielle said. "At least, I hope he wouldn't."
"He would never try to hurt anyone." Bonnie said.
"I want to believe that…" Danielle said.
"You've been so distant. Everyone was worried. We thought you had finally warmed up to us." Bonnie said.
"I thought I had too. But then when I heard about Luke being the twins' father… It was scary. I was worried he hurt Clem. I know some people are bad and like to hurt other people for no reason." Danielle said.
"Luke's not like that, sweetie. And Clementine really trusts- well trusted him and cared about him." Bonnie said.
"I was hurt by people who my mommy thought were nice. People mommy trusted and cared for…" Danielle said.
"I'm so sorry to hear that, sweetheart. But none of us would ever harm any of you kids. No one in our group would hurt little Clementine either. Luke was forced into what happened between them. He didn't want to do that with her." Bonnie said. "All we wanted to do was protect her."
"I wish she was protected better." Danielle said. "I wish she was here right now."
"I do too…" Bonnie frowned. "You two must've been pretty close, huh?"
"Clem was my best friend. She was always standing up for me if someone picked on me. I kept wishing I could be as brave as her…I tried to stand up for her like she always did would me. She was my first friend when I got to Wellington. She was the first one to play with me, she wanted to be my friend even if I was mean to her. She felt like family to me, like a sister." Danielle said. "I can't believe she's gone… It's just so… so horrible… She should be here with us…"
"I wish she was too… She deserves better… Deserved better…" Bonnie frowned.
"I want to take Luke to the cottage." Danielle said.
"What?"
"He said he wants to bury them… If they're dead… if they died in that fire, they probably turned. Clementine and the babies shouldn't be walkers. Clem wouldn't want that…. They deserve a proper burial." Danielle said.
"Dani, that might not be the best thing to do…" Bonnie said.
"Why not? I want to give her, AJ, and my nieces a proper burial. It's the right thing to do." Danielle said.
"Your nieces?" Bonnie asked.
Danielle nodded. "Clementine said I was their auntie. I guess I was becoming AJ's auntie too since Clem was becoming like a mom to him."
"What do you mean? How was she like a mom to him?" Bonnie asked.
"She was taking care of him while we were at the cottage. She changed him, fed him, even gave him her own milk when he wouldn't eat. She was like his adoptive mommy."
"Wow… She was such a good kid. She deserved so much better." Bonnie said. "They all did…"
"Which is why I want to do this…" Danielle said. "I want to. But I want you to come too."
"M-Me?"
Danielle nodded.
"I-I don't know about that..." Bonnie stuttered.
"Please… You said it yourself they deserve better. They deserve a proper burial." Danielle said.
Bonnie was silent for a moment then sighed. "You're right. Clem and those babies deserve better… I'll go…"
"Thank you…"
Clementine wondered to herself throughout the day what Christa would think if she heard about Terrell being her boyfriend. How would Christa and Kenny react to learning about what she and Terrell had done the night before? What would Lee say, if he was alive?
Would they be disappointed or flat out angry? She felt they would be both. Part of her wanted to chalk up Kenny's and Christa's distrust of Terrell as them just being overprotective, but she wasn't completely sure.
She trusted Terrell; he gave her no reason not to. He had been protecting her, though he didn't have to. He looked out for her and her kids. And even though he could be scary at times, she really liked him. She was glad to be with someone she trusted. Someone who loved her.
When Bonnie asked to talk to him in private Luke was confused on why.
"What's up?" Luke asked the woman.
"Danielle says she'll take us to the cabin." Bonnie said.
Luke's eyes widened, "Really?"
"Yeah, but... I don't think we should tell the others." Bonnie said.
"Why not?" Luke asked.
"Because, they'll be against the idea." Bonnie replied.
Luke knew that was true. But he didn't think keeping it secret would be much better. "Don't you realize they find out we're gone one way or another?"
"I know, but that's why we gotta be fast. We leave tomorrow morning and hopefully make it back by evening." Bonnie said.
"They're gonna flip out when the find out." Luke sighed.
"Well, we'll deal with it then… Those kids deserve a proper burial." Bonnie said.
"Yeah, they do…" Luke said.
They knew Vince would wake early and that they would have to distract him. Bonnie came up with a plan to suggest getting more wood.
"I'll get it." Vince had offered the next more when Bonnie huffed about not having enough wood.
"You shouldn't go alone." Bonnie said.
Vince looked to the two who were awake. Luke was far to antic over the passed few days, he did not think he would do a great job at watching his back, and things between Vince and Bonnie were just awkward after their argument. "I'll wake Russell and as him to come with me."
"Are you sure?" Bonnie asked.
"I'm sure…" Vince nodded.
Vince walked over to wake the young man, who groggily got up. Before long, the two had headed off.
With the others still asleep, now was their chance. Luke, Bonnie, and Danielle loaded into the van and off they were to find the cottage.
The ride was quiet for a while.
Danielle wondered if she should've told Sarah and Becca that they were going. She wondered what they would think. She had debated on talking to them but upon Bonnie's request, she hadn't.
"Why didn't you want me to tell them we were leaving?" Danielle asked.
"I… They don't always agree with what we do. They would've been against the idea." Bonnie said.
"Like they were against your idea to go to Howes?" Danielle wondered.
Luke gave a noticeable flinch at that.
"What is Howes?" The child asked them.
"…It's… a hardware store." Bonnie said.
"It's a bad place, kid. It was a really bad place." Luke said.
"Why? What made it bad?" The child was confused, how could a store be bad.
"A lot of bad stuff happened there." Luke said.
"Oh… Why were you there?" Danielle asked.
"We didn't have a choice. We were forced there and trapped." Luke frowned. "Let's not talk about this kid…"
Danielle paused for a moment but spoke again, "Was… Was that where you were forced to do that bad stuff with Clem?"
Luke took a deep breath. "…Yeah… Yeah, it was…"
"I'm sorry…" Danielle mumbled.
"Me too…" Luke said.
Terrell noticed Clementine seemed giddy as the day progressed. They spent the morning cuddling upon the girl's request. When they got back on the road Clementine had put some pep in her step but was also sporting a pretty noticeable limp.
"You're in a good mood, huh?" Terrell noted.
"I never had a boyfriend before." Clementine said.
"Well there's a first for everything." Terrell said.
"Christa thinks you're too old for me." Clementine said.
"Christa's gone, kid. She can't boss you around anymore." Terrell said.
Clementine couldn't help but frown at his words.
"She didn't like me anyway. Neither did Kenny." Terrell huffed.
"They were just being overprotective…" Clementine said. "…I miss them."
"I'm sure you do." Terrell said.
"You… don't think you're do old for me?" Clementine asked him.
"Do you think I am?" Terrell asked back.
"No. I don't think you're old at all." Clementine innocently replied.
"Well the only opinion that matters is yours… You decide if you want to be my girlfriend." Terrell said.
"I do…" Clementine said.
"Then it's settled. You don't act your age anyway, so I think it's fine. Plus, we're not doing anything you've never done before." Terrell responded.
"What do you mean?" Clementine asked.
"You're a mother. So, you've obviously had sex before, even if it was forced." Terrell said.
"Christa said what happened was rape, not sex. She said sex is for grown-ups when they're in love." Clementine said. "What Carver did to me was rape. What we did last night was sex."
"We made love, Clem." Terrell corrected the girl
"Made love? Is that different from sex?" The girl questioned.
"Yeah… It's better." Terrell said.
Clementine furrowed her brows. "Oh… Christa never told me about that…So there's rape, sex, and making love… And whatever happened to me at the Dairy Farm."
"Dairy farm?"
"Uh-huh. Back when I was with Lee, back when my first group was all together, we found a farm… well, the people who owned the farm found us." Clementine said. "But it wasn't a nice place. The people there were very naughty. I tried to stay with Lee, or, Kenny and Katjaa… Katjaa was Kenny's wife before he met Sarita. They had a son who was my friend. His name was Duck."
"Duck?" Terrell asked.
Clementine giggled. "Yeah… I put a bug on his pillow once. It was funny… I miss him too…"
"…So, what happened at this dairy farm?" Terrell asked.
"Lee was outside, we were getting ready for dinner. Katjaa took me and Duck to wash our hands but I had to use the bathroom. Duck was whining that he was hungry and Katjaa told me to just come straight to the dining room when I was done. After I finished and opened the door, the really, really naughty St John brother was there." Clementine paused. "He- He told me he liked my dress. That it made me look pretty… Even though my dress was dirty…"
"How does that make him naughty?"
"He was naughty, T! He was! That wasn't all he did…" Clementine said. "He asked me if I wiped and I told him yes. Then he asked about my panties. If he could see them. I told him no, but he asked again. He told me no to yell, then tried to lift my dress. He said if I told everyone would be mad at me..." Clementine felt herself shudder a bit from the memory. "But his brother came and asked what he was doing, they started arguing, something about his "urges would ruin everything" He told me not to worry about what happened. And not to tell any...To go eat dinner... So I went back to find the others..."
"Did you tell anyone…?" Terrell asked.
"I was scared. I didn't know what to say...I thought I would get in trouble if I did." Clementine said. "I never told anyone, except you..."
"Damn... That's crazy... How old were you?"
"I was eight…" Clementine answered.
"I'm sorry, Clem..." Terrell said.
"Me too..." Clementine frowned.
"Well, what we did was different from what any of those assholes did to you. You wanted to prove you loved me, right?" Terrell asked.
"I guess so, but it hurt." Clementine said.
"It won't hurt next time." Terrell said.
"I don't want to play sex again for a long time." Clementine replied.
"What we did wasn't sex, Clem. We made love, and you'll learn to enjoy it..." Terrell said.
"Maybe... but it made me feel weird..." Clementine admitted.
Terrell just changed the subject. "Come on, babe. Let's get a move on. Not much farther now."
"Okay..."
"Danielle…" Luke called breaking the silence.
"Yes?" Danielle said.
"Can…. you tell me about the twins?" The man asked her.
"What do you want to know?" Danielle asked.
"What were they like? They were so tiny last time I saw them…" Luke said.
"They were still really tiny. They were really cute. And so sweet." Danielle said. "They could sit up by themselves, I think they were gonna start crawling soon."
"They just grow up so fast." Bonnie said.
"I wish I could've been there for them…" Luke huffed, fighting tears. "They needed me… They need to know their daddy."
"Luke you can't blame yourself… None of this was your fault…" Bonnie said.
"Well, I can't forget it either…" Luke huffed.
Clementine realized she felt different with each passing hour after what she had done. She had "made love" with Terrell… She had never even heard the term "made love" before. She knew she had been raped by those naughty people, but making love felt different. Even though it had hurt pretty bad.
The two kept walking in silence, Terrell was pulling the wagon while Clementine trailed behind him. Lost in though. How long had they been walking? How much longer would they be walking? Where were they even going?
She wondered all these questioned before suddenly being yanked from her thoughts when she heard voices.
The child flinched, freezing up a bit as she wondered who the voices belonged to, were they naughty people?
She looked to Terrell with concern. "T… T, what do we do?"
"It's okay, just stay back. I'll check it out, make sure these folks aren't psychopaths who wanna kill us." Terrell said.
"Okay… Be careful…" Clementine replied.
"I will." Terrell said.
Clementine waited with her children anxiously, while Terrell went forward towards the group of people. She could hear him talking to them, though she couldn't make out the entire conversation. But she heard one thing loud and clear,
"Holy shit, man… we thought you were dead."
The first thing Vince noticed when he and Russell returned from gathering would was that Luke and Bonnie were nowhere to be seen. Danielle was also gone.
He looked around and realized something else. "Damn it!"
"What?" Russell asked.
"The vans gone." Vince said.
"Gone?" Russell looked to where the vehicle had been parked. "Who the hell would take it."
"Luke and Bonnie…" Vince replied.
To say Clementine was confused would have been an understatement. The young girl was bewildered beyond belief. It was clear as day that Terrell knew these people. The question was: how?
Clementine grabbed the wagon's handle. She struggled a bit as she approached her boyfriend. "T," She called to him. "What's going on?"
All eyes turned to her.
"Who are the kids?" An older woman asked.
Terrell sighed and spoke to the small girl, "It's okay, Clem. It's safe."
"You know them..." The child furrowed her brows. "How do you know them, T?"
"This looks about right… The area, I mean." Danielle spoke after a while of driving. "It's by the river."
"Okay, just let us know when to stop." Luke said.
"Okay…" Danielle nodded. "It was a nice place, you know… We were hoping to make it permanent. We wanted to stay for a longtime. But I guess nothing is permanent…"
Bonnie frowned at the child's words. "Danielle, I…"
"Wait, stop the van…" Danielle said.
Luke did as she said.
The young girl looked around then said, "We're close. Real close."
"What do you mean they left?" Wyatt asked.
"I mean they took the van and left." Vince huffed.
"Where's Dani?" Sarah asked.
"I... It looks like they took her too." Vince said.
"Where do you think they went?" Russell wondered.
"…To try to bury those kids…" Vince said. "Luke kept mentioning it… I'm sure that's where they went."
"So what do we do?" Becca asked.
"They took the van. What can we do?" Russell huffed.
"We gotta do something." Becca said. "What if they get themselves killed?"
"There's not much we can do right now… It'll take far too long to catch them on foot… We just have to wait." Vince said.
"Wait for what?" Russell asked.
"For them to come back…" Vince said.
"If they do…" Becca mumbled.
"This is Clementine. She's-"
"His girlfriend." Clementine said. "I'm his girlfriend. We made love together."
The group was shocked to hear the little girl's words.
"Clem… Why don't you go take care of the kids in one of the tents?"
"Why? Did… Did I say something naughty?" Clementine asked, looking nervous.
"Don't worry about it, babe. Steven, take her to one of the tents." Terrell said.
The teen boy, Steven rose a brow. "Why me?"
"Just take her." Terrell said.
"She's your toy, why can't you do it?" Steven scoffed.
"I'm not a toy… I'm a person." Clementine said.
"Stay out of this. Why can't you take her to the tent yourself?" Steven asked Terrell.
"Because I need to talk to him. Now go." The older woman spoke instead.
"Whatever. Come on, kid." Steven said.
"Don't call me kid. I'm not a kid." Clementine said.
"Uh, yeah, you are." Steven replied.
"I am not!" Clementine snapped before looking to Terrell. "T, I'm not going with him."
"Clem, not now. Don't be difficult." Terrell's tone was threatening, it frightened her a bit.
"I don't want to go with him, why can't you take me?" Clementine asked.
"I'll be there soon. Just go. You'll be fine, Clem." Terrell said.
"But…"
Terrell knelt to her level, "Hey, you trust me, don't you?"
Clementine gave a tiny nod. "I trust you. I don't trust him."
"Well, I trust him, and you can too." Terrell said.
"Why should I, T? I don't know these people." Clementine replied.
"I know them, Clem. I trust them." Terrell said.
"How do you know them?" Clementine asked.
"I've known them for a long time. Teresa knew my mother." Terrell said.
The older woman offered a small wave.
"And Steven… he's my cousin…" Terrell said.
Clementine's eyes widened. "Yo-You're cousin?"
"Go to the tent, Clem." Terrell said.
"I…I- okay…" The girl gave in, but wondered what was going on…
"This is it." Danielle said. "This is where we were staying."
"It looks awful…" Bonnie commented.
"Yeah, it was horrible when we saw the flames…" Danielle said. "It was so horrible…"
"Let's find a way inside." Luke said.
"What?" Danielle asked.
"We gotta find a way inside. We need to get the kids out of there so we can bury them." Luke headed towards the burnt mess that had once been the cottage.
Danielle hesitated. "I don't want to see them…"
"Huh?" Bonnie looked to the child.
"I don't want to see them as walkers." Danielle said.
"Neither do I… But I can't leave them that way either." Luke said.
Danielle frowned she understood how he felt. "Y-You're right…"
Bonnie offered the child her hand, which Danielle slowly took. "Let's do this…"
"What's going on Terrell, why did you bring those fucking kids back?" Teresa inquired. "And what the hell is she calling herself your girlfriend for? Did you really fuck her? Does she even know what making love means?"
"She knows now." Terrell said.
"We don't "make love", we make trades. What's the point of sleeping with her if she has nothing to offer?" Teresa huffed. "That girl and her little siblings are nothing but more mouths to feed."
"You said you had a crew with you, people you were bringing back. Don't tell me they were the kids. What happened to them?" Teresa asked.
"They crossed me, so I dealt with them." Terrell said.
The older woman rolled her eyes. "You killed them, didn't you?"
"I did what I had to." Terrell said.
"Damn it, Terrell. But you thought it was smart to bring this girl and her little siblings back?" Teresa huffed. "Since when did you start saving lost kittens from trees?"
"I didn't have to save her. She's capable." Terrell said.
"She can barely walk." Teresa said.
"She likes me, and there's something about her that I like too." Terrell said.
"She's a kid, Terrell. She's not gonna be able to help us." Teresa said.
"Where are the others?" Terrell changed the subject, noticing some of their group was missing.
"You weren't the only one out making friends." Teresa said. "We met some guys, Badger, he seemed to be in charge, Lonnie, and Max."
"What the fuck kind of name is Badger?" Terrell scoffed.
"I thought the same…" The woman huffed. "We made a trade with them a few times. After our recent trade, they offered a little something more."
"What?"
"Apparently, they have a group, they said they're working on expanding. They talked it over with their leaders, and one of the leaders, Joan, actually offered us a spot in their camp." Teresa said. "Not all of them are down but we'll see what happens."
"Leaders?"
"There's four of them. Haven't met them but they're willing to make this trade and I'm not willing to turn it down unless we have to." Teresa said.
"What's the deal?" Terrell asked.
"We keep doing what we're doing and bring in supplies for their town, in turn we get a roof over our head." Teresa said. "I sent a few of ours to check their place out and make sure it was legit."
"So… they're aware of what we do?" Terrell asked.
"Yeah, That Badger guy said they could use our "skills"." Teresa said.
"This might be a good deal for us." Terrell said, a smirk on his lips.
"That's exactly what I was thinking." Teresa said. "So back to these kids, why did you bring them back here? Where are their parents?"
"The girl and I got close. Her parents are gone. And I couldn't just leave her behind." Terrell said.
"Don't tell me you've gone soft…" Teresa said.
"I told you she's capable. She's not just a regular kid, she's tough." Terrell said. "She'll do what she can to keep those babies alive."
"So, you already broke her in… base off what she said." Teresa said. "But why did you bring those babies though? They're just gonna be a problem. This isn't a daycare, Terrell. Your cousin was one kid too many as it was."
"They aren't her siblings." Terrell said.
"What?"
"Those babies aren't her siblings. Clementine's different, and her and the babies are a packaged deal." Terrell said.
"Packaged deal? What the hell are you talking about?" Teresa inquired.
"Those kids are hers. She's their mother." Terrell explained.
"Damn… So, someone else broke her in before you. Which means… she's not a first timer…" Teresa said.
"She'll learn our ways. I'll teach her." Terrell said.
"Alright, they're your responsibility." Teresa said. "This should be interesting."
"So what made you group up with my cousin?" Steven asked as he took a seat across from Clementine.
Clementine ignored the older boy, checking on the sleeping babies while she sat in silence.
"What? You can't talk now?" The teen scoffed.
"What does it matter?" Clementine just wished the boy would leave her alone.
"I'm just saying. This isn't a group for an innocent little girl." Steven said.
"I'm not an innocent little girl." Clementine retorted.
"You sure as hell look like one." Steven said.
Clementine glared at him.
"But I guess you're right. Innocent little girls don't go around getting fucked and making babies." Steven said. "Never would've thought you'd be able to even have a kid at your age."
Clementine was surprised to hear that. Most people usually assumed that the girls were her siblings. "It wasn't like that… It didn't happen how you think."
"I don't care how it happened to be honest." Steven said. "But I do got a question for you. What do you see in my cousin?"
"He… He's been protecting me… He respects me. I… I really like him. I think I love him." Clementine said.
"Respects you?" Steven scoffed. "I doubt it."
"He does…"
Steven was silent for a minute before saying, "I don't get it…"
"Get what?"
"Wouldn't you want to be with someone close to your age?" Steven asked.
"What?"
Steven continued, "Someone like me,"
"No thanks." Clementine shook her head.
"I don't see why not." Steven said.
"Why would I?" Clementine said, "Can you please leave?"
"Why are you being so picky?" Steven asked.
"I don't even know you." Clementine said.
"You'll get to know me." Steven said. "Come on, we could make a trade."
"A trade of what?"
"Whatever you want. That's how things work in this group. We can even start small." The boy placed a hand on her leg and rubbed.
"N-No!" She slapped his hand away. "Get out!"
"Don't be like that."
"Get out!" Clementine snapped. "Leave me be!"
"Fine, you won't be getting very far in this world by being a prude!" The boy stormed out and Clementine frowned, hushing her daughters as they whimpered.
She was uncomfortable and wondered what Steven had been talking about.
"So how do we get inside?" Bonnie asked.
The wooden roof of the cottage had collapsed and was blocking the front door.
"We'll try the back." Luke said.
Bonnie nodded. "Come on, Dani."
"Okay..." Danielle said.
The three made their way to the back. The door was open, much to their relief. They made their way inside, already fearing what they would see.
Rancid smells emanated the scorched walls. The cabin definitely smelled like death. The sight and smell of the place made Danielle shudder.
Luke had been shocked and devastated upon seeing the outside of the cabin alone, but inside was much worse. The presentation of the cabin made him sick to his stomach as he wondered what kind of evil person would do this. He had
There were no signs of anyone nearby, but the eerie state of the cottage had them on guard and the sights around them made their skin prickle.
Danielle frowned as she noted that the building, which had already been small and broken to begin with, had its state reduced even more by the fire. The charred furniture saddened the small girl, all hope she once had for making this place a home was gone, turning to ashes and whiffs of steam and smoke.
They didn't have to look far to find bodies, they were burnt so badly that Danielle's eyes widened, and she gasped.
"Oh God…" Bonnie cringed. "Dani, don't look." She quickly wrapped the shaking eleven-year-old into a hug.
"I think I'm gonna be sick…" The child mumbled."
"It's okay… Maybe we should get some fresh air." Bonnie said.
Danielle felt she needed more than that after everything she'd see.
"Maybe we should go back outside for a bit." Bonnie said.
Luke who had been silent looked over the bodies. None of these remains belonged to Clementine, none of them were small enough to be a child. Plus, the girl's signature cap would've been a give away even if it was burnt. Luke figured he should search the rest of the cabin.
"Luke, what's up?" Bonnie asked.
"None of these are Clem." Luke said.
"What?" Bonnie asked.
"None of these bodies belong to Clem. Look at them." Luke said.
Bonnie really didn't want to.
"…I'm gonna have a look around." Luke said as he straightened up. "You two can wait outside if you want."
"Okay… Danielle, let's-"
"I want to stay. I want to help look." Danielle cut Bonnie off.
"Are you sure, sweetie?" Bonnie asked.
Danielle nodded. If there was a chance her friend was alive, she needed to know.
"Alright then." Luke said. "Let's take a look around."
"Do you think Dani's okay?" Sarah asked.
"Why wouldn't she be? She's with Luke and Bonnie." Becca responded.
"I know… I know they'll try their best to look after her… but they're not always so great at taking care of kids." Sarah said.
Both teens knew that was true.
"Plus, I'm worried about them too. Do you think they're okay?" Sarah asked.
"I'm sure they are." Becca shrugged.
"Luke seems so…different… All the grown-ups do…" Sarah said.
"I guess they've gone through a lot."
"So did we…" Sarah frowned. "Everyone's mad now… I know they're gonna fight when Luke and Bonnie come back…"
"They probably will. They should've told us instead of just taking the van and leaving." Becca said, looking annoyed.
"I thought Danielle would've told us… I thought she trusted us." Sarah said. "She would've told Clem."
"She trusted Clem. She was Clem's friend, like I said. Those two were pretty inseparable once they became friends." Becca said.
"I know… But I thought she would trust us too." Sarah said.
"Clearly not enough…" Becca said.
Sarah didn't know how to respond. She looked over to Wyatt, Russell, and Vince who were talking amongst themselves. The three men were obviously upset. "I hope the grown-ups don't fight."
"They're definitely gonna fight. And it serves Luke and Bonnie right." Becca said. "This is why things fell apart before. The adults were all sneaky and no one trusted each other. How can you live with people you don't trust?"
"My dad wasn't sneaky…" Sarah said. "He was always helping people."
"Like hell he wasn't. All the adults were sneaky and to top it off, your dad could be a major asshole. Especially to Clem. He didn't treat her right." Becca said.
"Like you didn't…" Sarah replied.
"Forget it…" Becca huffed. "It doesn't matter anymore…"
Sarah frowned but said nothing.
"Anyway, we can't do anything now, but wait for them to come back, like Vince said."
"…Okay…" Sarah said. "I really hope they don't fight. I really hate fighting."
"I'm really starting to hate it too…" Becca said.
"Everything alright, babe? I heard you yelling." Terrell said, as he entered the tent to see Clementine trying to calm her now whimpering babies.
"Is that boy really your cousin?" Clementine asked.
"Yeah, he really is." Terrell said.
"Well, he's annoying." Clementine huffed.
Terrell chuckled. "He can be. What happened?"
"He thinks I'm a whore." Clementine said.
"I'm sure that's not true." Terrell said. "Why would you think that?"
"Because he wants to play the sex game with me. I know he did." Clementine replied. "He must think I'm a whore."
"It doesn't matter what he wants. You're my girl, babe." Terrell said. "Don't worry about him, he's just a stupid, horny fifteen-year-old. And yeah, he can be annoying."
"Okay…" Clementine said before calling in a curious voice, "T,"
"Yeah, babe?"
"What's horny mean?" Clementine asked.
Terrell snickered a bit at innocent question. "Nothing, babe. Nothing."
They searched through the burnt remains of the cottage but there was no body that even remotely resembled little Clementine or the babies.
From the looks of it they had managed to escape the fire. They were all relieved and even feeling hopeful.
"She's alive. I just know she is. I can feel it." Danielle said.
"I think so too." Luke said. "We should see if there anything around that might tell us where Clem is."
"Or anything useful in general." Bonnie said.
"Probably not much in here, but I guess it's worth looking." Luke said.
Bonnie nodded.
There wasn't much of value, but they managed to salvage anything useful that hadn't been reduced to ash.
When they left the cabin, they did so feeling hopeful with the news they learned that Clementine and the babies could still be alive out there. The walk to the van was silent and when Luke had started driving the silence remained.
Luke gripped the steering wheel while lost in thought.
"You okay, Luke?" Bonnie asked.
Luke nodded. "I'm gonna find them, Bonnie. I have to find them."
There had been many times when he asked himself "what's the point?". He had been going on for them… For those kids, especially for those little one, Clem, AJ, the twins… He had been fighting to stay alive for those kids and for Sarita… They had given him hope.
How could this have happened? Why had it happened?
He felt happy with them. They were his family, but it seemed the universe didn't want him to be happy. He had lost his family yet again. And just like so many times before he found himself wondering, "what was the point?".
"You know, despite the circumstances this was kind of nice…" Bonnie said.
"What was?" Luke asked.
"This trip." Bonnie said. "I…I mean, I wish it was for a different cause, but it was nice with it just being the three of us."
Luke didn't know how to respond to her words. She had just said a trip that they had gone on with the assumption that a little girl, a toddler, and two infants were dead, and the intent to bury them, was nice.
While it was great news to learn they could likely be alive, that didn't change the fact that they had no idea where they were or if they were safe. And for that reason, Luke was finding it difficult to keep his nerves in check, much like he had been struggling with the whole ride to the cottage.
He no longer had a lump stuck in his throat, but he didn't think of the trip as "nice".
"I'm just glad that we didn't have to bury a child today." He said.
"Yeah… Me too…" Bonnie said.
The mood in the van dampened further between the two.
"Do you ever…" Bonnie paused as if think if she should finish her sentence.
"Ever what?" Luke rose a brow.
"Do you ever think about running away?" Bonnie asked.
"…You know I do…" Luke said.
"What if we did? Just the three of us…" Bonnie glanced back to Danielle who was fast asleep. "Dani's such a sweet little kid. I wouldn't mind looking after her."
"Run away and do what?" Luke questioned.
"Start over. Find some place safe…" Bonnie said.
Luke sighed at her words, "Bonnie, I gotta find those kids. I can't just leave them."
"And that's fine. We could find them. We could find them and take them with us. Let them all be kids. Raise the twins as Clem's sisters, let the kids all grow up like siblings. Last I recall, Clem didn't remember giving birth. We could give them a nice childhood." Bonnie said.
"What about the others? What about Sarah and Becca?" Luke asked.
"…They'd be safe with Vince and the others," Bonnie said.
"That's not like you, Bonnie… We can't just ditch them." Luke replied.
"…I know… I don't want to ditch anyone… I just… I'm tired of fighting, and I'm worried how they're gonna react today." Bonnie said.
"I am too, but like you said… we'll deal with it when it comes to it." Luke said. "It was worth it. To find out they didn't die in that fire. I needed to know… and I regret nothing."
The girl was quiet as she sat around with the rest of Terrell's group. She stayed close to Terrell, while also keeping her babies near her.
The first thing Clementine noticed about Terrell's group was that it was made up of mostly females. The second thing she noticed was how touch these people were. Things ranging from a simple pat on the shoulder to a caress on the thigh.
Clementine didn't know what to make of these people.
"So are the babies really yours?" One woman asked.
Clementine didn't respond.
"How old are you? Ten?" Another woman asked.
"I'm twelve." Clementine said.
"You barely look old enough to be in fifth grade." Another woman said.
"I…never made it to fifth grade anyway… Because of the walkers…" Clementine replied.
"What grade were you in?" Another woman asked.
"Second… About to be in third." Clementine said.
"You're still a little kid, so I'm not surprised." Teresa said.
"I'm not a little kid." Clementine pouted.
"You sure as hell act like one." Steven mumbled.
"What's your problem? You don't even know a damn thing about me!" Clementine snapped.
"I know you're a prude!" Steven said.
"Enough! Leave her alone!" Teresa spoke in a scolding tone.
The teen huffed glaring at Clementine before storming off.
"T, what's a prude?" Clementine asked.
The woman around her laughed at her question and Clementine frowned.
"Someone who doesn't like to get down and dirty." One of the women laughed.
"Why would I want to get dirty?" Was Clementine's innocent reply.
"Ignore her, Clem. It doesn't mean anything." Terrell said.
"Everything means something." Clementine said.
"Nothing for you to worry about." Terrell said.
Clementine sighed at that. She wanted to trust him, but she was still shocked after finding out that he knew these people and hadn't told her.
"Is a prude a naughty person?" She asked. "Was he calling me a naughty name?"
"Hey, look at me… It doesn't matter what he or anyone else says about you. You should only care about what I think. And I think you're amazing." Terrell said.
The girl gave a small smile.
Suddenly she felt his lips meet her own.
He broke away and said, "You're amazing, babe."
"Thanks…" Clementine mumbled with a small blush. It was certain, she decided. She was in love.
The van sputtered briefly, and Luke's heart immediately sink. He checked the gas meter and frowned, "No, no no…" He muttered.
They were nearly there. They could make it, he told himself.
The van shuddered and sputtered more. The needle reading "E".
"Come on. Come on…" Luke pleaded.
"We'll get there." Bonnie said, trying to stay positive.
Luke never felt more jinxed in his life, as the vehicle rolled to an abrupt stop, out of gas.
"Damn it…" Luke tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Damn it!"
Danielle flinched awake, and asked sleepily, "Wha-What's going on?"
"We're out of gas…" Luke replied.
Danielle looked out the window. "It's already dark…"
"We'll be fine, sweetie…." Bonnie tried to reassure her before turning to Luke, "What do we do now, Luke."
"The only thing we can do." He opened the driver's door. "We walk."
Bonnie sighed at that.
Danielle however frown, "It's dark out… What if something happens? It's scary…"
"We'll be fine… You can hold my hand the whole time we're walking." Bonnie said to the girl.
"Promise?" Danielle asked.
"I promise." Bonnie said.
Danielle was nervous as Bonnie got out the car and opened the door for her. The redhead offered the small girl her hand.
"Come on, sweetie…"
Danielle hesitantly took her hand. "Okay…"
Night had fallen and they headed back to the tent, Clementine had tended to her babies and gotten them to sleep, now she had questions for Terrell. "T, why didn't you tell me you had a group?" She asked.
"I wanted to, but I didn't want you to be suspicious of me." Terrell said.
"Why would I be? I just wanted you to be honest." Clementine said.
"I didn't want to take the risk that you wouldn't trust me… Your guardians already hated me. They were trying to fill your head with bullshit." Terrell said.
"…Did you know the people who attacked me and my friends at the cottage?" Clementine asked.
"I already told you I didn't, kid." Terrell said.
"Can you not call me that anymore?"
"What?"
"Kid. I don't want to be called kid. You said we were dating. So please don't call me that. I'm not a kid. We "made love", remember?" Clementine said.
"Alright, babe. I won't call you kid anymore. I'm sorry…" Terrell said. "No, I didn't know those people, love."
Love...? That was a new name from him. It made her heart flutter a bit, but she wasn't done with her questions.
"Did you know the people who attacked Wellington?" Clementine asked him.
"Why would I know them?" Terrell questioned back.
"I don't know, T. Why would you?" Clementine asked.
Terrell crossed his arms. "I didn't know them, Clem."
"Why were you at Wellington?"
"When did you become an interrogator?" Terrell chuckled.
"Can you please just answer the question?" Clementine said.
"Why?"
"I need to know, T." Clementine replied.
"You said you trust me." Terrell said.
"I do… I want to trust you, so please answer the question so I can keep trusting you." Clementine responded.
Terrell sighed. "I went there to make a trade."
"And you decided to stay?" Clementine asked.
"Everyone's heard of Wellington, everyone knew it was safe. I wanted to see exactly how safe and find a way to get my people inside. When they started turning people away, I knew they'd do the same to my group, so I stayed hoping they'd have an opening and my people could get first dibs." Terrell said.
"What about the radio?" Clementine asked.
"What about it?"
"You were always using it." Clementine said. "Why?"
"I needed to keep contact with my family. They were out here, and I was in Wellington. I needed to make sure they were safe." Terrell told her.
Clementine thought on his words, not sure if she should believe him or not.
Terrell seemed to sense her doubt as he took her little hand into his own and met her shy but skeptical gaze. "Hey, babe… You trust me, right."
"…I trust you, T." She said, though she was unsure.
"Good." Terrell smiled at that. "We should get some rest. We might be moving on tomorrow."
"Okay…" Clementine said.
"Here, lay with me, babe." Terrell said.
Clementine looked to her kids her were asleep in the wagon. She wanted to lay by them, but she wouldn't want to make her boyfriend upset. It wouldn't hurt to lay with him for a little while, as long as he didn't want to play sex again…
"…Okay, T."
"You should get some rest, Kenny." Christa said.
"No need to." Kenny huffed.
"You look exhausted." Christa pointed out.
"Not like sleep with help anything." Kenny grumbled back in response.
"Well, what do you plan to do? Just stay up for the rest of your life?" Christa rolled her eyes.
"All I want right now is to sit here and hope someone puts a bullet in my head." Kenny muttered.
Christa shook her head, face falling to a look of concern. "Don't say that."
"Why? I'd deserve it anyways." Kenny said.
"That's not true, Kenny…" Christa sighed. "Think about the kids."
"I am… That's all I've been thinking about. I've been thinking about all the damn times I failed them. How I should've protected Clem… I never deserved the chance to care for that little angel. She… She always forgives me. No matter what I do or say she still loves me, and it makes me hate myself. I let her get hurt. I should've paid more attention and kept her close to me like Lee did. I'll never be able to forgive myself for what she went through…" Kenny mumbled. "First my son and my wife, and now…Fuck…"
Christa knew he was going through a lot; it was hard seeing him like this.
"Maybe this is the universe's way of saying I'm not meant to be a father. I'm not meant to be a husband or a boyfriend. I'm not meant to be loved." Kenny said.
Christa shook her head at that. "Then what's that say about me? You're not the only one who lost everything, Kenny. You know I have too."
"Yeah… I guess we're both pretty unlucky, huh?" Kenny replied.
"I'm not giving up on them. I'm not gonna stop until I've found them. If your fight's all gone and you want to sulk or… give up, then that's really disappointing, but I know how much you love those kids and how much they love you." Christa said. "You owe it to them to keep looking. And I think you owe it to Lee to keep looking for his girl. The things Clementine went through in our care… I can't forgive myself for it either…. and I don't think Lee would ever forgive us if he knew what she went through… But we owe it to Lee to find her and protect her. She needs us."
"All I want to do is protect those kids…" Kenny said.
"And that's what we'll do." Christa said.
Kenny didn't respond. He was worried he would fail again.
The sun had risen by time their camp came into view. They probably would have made it soon had they not stopped to rest for the night.
Both Luke and Bonnie had hoped that the others would still be asleep when they returned, but that hope was crushed when they noticed them sitting as if they were waiting all night. They were all clearly pissed and rightfully so. Still, they worried how the whole ordeal would play out.
"They're back!" Sarah's innocent exclamation caused their hearts to drop.
"Hey guys…" Bonnie greeted a bit awkwardly.
"That wasn't cool guys, you should've talked to us first." Wyatt said.
"It was complete bullshit. How could you just take off like that?" Russell added.
"We… We knew you guys would be against it." Bonnie said.
"Where's the van?" Vince asked.
"It ran out of gas." Luke answered.
"What?" Russell asked.
"It ran out of gas. We walked the rest of the way back." Luke said.
"Great, so now we're out a vehicle too. This is fucked up." Wyatt groaned.
"You took the van, left without a word, and then used up all the gas? Not to mention you too the kid with you. You put her at risk." Vince said.
Danielle frowned upon her the mention of her. She felt somewhat guilty about this.
Vince noticed the child's uncomfortable expression and said, "None of this is your fault, Dani. Don't worry."
Bonnie frowned at that and spoke to the small child as well, "Why don't you go play with Sarah and Becca?" She suggested to the girl.
Danielle was reluctant, she was sure the two teens were upset with her.
"Go on, kiddo. It'll be okay." Luke said.
Danielle frowned but walked over to the teens, holding Flopsie close to her, she was nervous.
Immediately the adults started arguing amongst themselves. Danielle tried to block them out, but it was hard to do so. She just hoped they wouldn't attract walkers. She hated hearing people fight.
"So you thought it would be a good idea to just leave without telling us? Becca inquired as the girl took a seat.
Danielle shrink back a bit, she hated being in the middle of a conflict even more than she hated hearing people fight.
"So we lost the van?" Russell huffed at Luke and Bonnie. "Someone's probably gonna take it before we find it…"
"Why didn't you talk to us?" Sarah asked Danielle.
"You could've gotten yourself killed!" Becca snapped at the younger girl.
The comments continued and Becca and Sarah seemed to be fueled on by the adults arguing as the question Danielle.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Becca asked Danielle, just as Wyatt spoke the same words to Luke and Bonnie.
"I knew you guys wouldn't agree with me, but I needed to do this." Luke said. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry as hell about the van, but I had to do this."
"Luke, you put yourselves and a small child at risk." Vince said. "You could've got another kid killed."
"I wouldn't get anyone killed!" Luke snapped. "Clementine not dead, she's alive!"
Eyes grew wide upon hearing that. Everything seemed to pause.
"Wh-What?" Vince asked.
"We didn't find their bodies." Luke said. "They're alive. They have to be. And I'm gonna find them."
Clementine was surprised when she woke in the morning to voices. She took a moment to remember where she was. She figured it must have been early morning as her kids hadn't woken yet. She could hear a conversation going on outside the tent and though she wasn't meaning to be noisy, her curiosity got the best of her and she couldn't help but ease-drop.
"Everything checks out?" Terrell's voice reached her ears.
"Yeah, this place seems legit." Another male's voice spoke. "They're willing to bring us there today."
"Sounds good. Long as we do things right, we'll have nothing to worry about." Teresa spoke. "Let's wake the others. We should get a move on.
Clementine made a mental note to ask Terrell what the hell was going on.
Could she really trust these people? Should she even take the chance?
All she wanted was the best for her kids and she knew they would all be as good as dead if they were alone. She had no choice but to stick with this group, at least for now.
She just hoped she wasn't making a mistake…
