Placing the wood beside the fire, Clementine crouches down and checks the rabbit that was on the fire.

Almost done.

The girl picked up a stick and threw it on the fire, fixing the embers to get the fire burning. They made a small cover over the fire, so that the flames would not be hit by the light rain.

Lee stood with his arms crossed, watching the girl with his back propped up against a tree, ignoring the cold sensation that the light rain was causing through his body.

How long had it been since all this had begun?

It seemed like decades had passed, and not just a few years as it really was.

It seemed like yesterday that Clementine was still a little girl of eight, looking at him with those childlike, yet so grown-up eyes.

And there she was, now bigger and even more mature, although still a child. Ah, he felt so proud to see her growing up, but at the same time he was afraid she would reach puberty too fast.

Did all fathers feel that way? Well, he wasn't technically her father, but still...

The girl stood up and arched an eyebrow when she saw him staring at her.

- What are you looking at?

She asked, walking over to him and sitting on the ground between his legs, laying down on his chest and feeling him wrap his arms around her torso.

- In a few years, you will be the one taking care of me... time goes by so fast.

Lee said, and heard the girl let out a nasal laugh.

- Weren't you the one who said how slow time was last night?

She asked amused, resting her hand on Lee's arms and running her fingers gently over his scars.

- Time is a complex thing... it goes fast for the best things, but slow for the bad ones...

He said, leaning his head on the tree and looking around. He hadn't seen any zombies around, but it wasn't as if they couldn't appear there at any moment.

- I guess I won't have to wait a few years to take care of you, Grandpa.

she scoffed, laughing softly as she felt a tap on her forehead.

- Hey, I'm not that old. I'll make it to eighty before you need to take care of me.

he said, pretending to be indignant.

- Oh, yes, of course. It won't be long before you reach eighty.

She scoffed again, laughing a little louder as she felt Lee pretend to strangle her.

- At least I'm not smaller than a fence.

He said, giving a nasal laugh as he felt the girl pinch his arm.

- It's not fair, you're a lamppost.

- Thank my father for that.

- Your father? In the picture he looks quite small.

- Because he was already old, he was quite tall when younger.

He answered, looking up at the treetops, closing his eyes as he felt the timid raindrops fall against his face.

Standing exposed in the rain in a damp forest... not the best of ideas, but they couldn't find another better place to stay before dark.

It shouldn't be long before dawn now, at the moment, Clementine should be asleep and he should be on guard.

But, the girl was getting too stubborn to obey him, saying that he hasn't slept in a long time, and that she was the one who should be on guard.

And again, while it was gratifying to see her growing up, it was frightening.

- I think it's ready.

The girl said, getting up and walking towards the rabbit.

Lee sighed slightly and stood up, picking up his axe that was leaning against the tree beside him.

- That was a beautiful shot.

Lee praised, remembering when he had taken the girl hunting earlier. The first hunt where he did nothing, just analyzed the girl and let her do what she learned.

For a first time, she did well.

- It's a pity we couldn't find more arrows. A bow is very useful.

The girl said, taking her knife and cutting the rabbit in half, handing half to Lee.

- Well, it's a good thing it is possible to make arrows... I just don't know how.

Lee said, taking a bite of the rabbit, kneeling in front of the fire and leaning one of his arms on his bent leg.

- I know, it's written how in that book, they're not the best, wooden arrows... I just haven't tried making them yet.

She said, sitting down next to the fire.

- Who knew books would be so useful in the apocalypse...I never thought I would learn how to make a wooden bow.

Lee said, finishing eating and tossing the branch aside.

- Don't keep reading the book.

Clementine said, and Lee looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

- Why not?

- Because I want to teach you how to make the arrows myself...you taught me how to make the bow.

she said, and Lee smiled slightly.

- Okay, fine by me.

He said, staring into the fire and losing himself in his thoughts.

The more days went by, the more the girl acted more bossy...a born leader.

But for some reason Lee had a feeling that if they were in a group, and she was the leader, or played an important role, she would boss him around more than the others.

Maybe it was just something in his head.

- How many bullets are left in the shotgun?

the girl asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

- Not many, three bullets. And in your pistol?

- Five, those runners almost left me with no bullets. One of the disadvantages of being small.

She said with a tired sigh.

- But, it also has several advantages.

Lee said.

- Yes, but none of them compare to the advantage of fighting bare-handed against them, or killing runners with just an axe, without having to waste ammo.

She said, and Lee arched an eyebrow.

- You have your knife.

- Oh, come on, Lee. You can't even compare.

- Sure you can, you just have to be smart. It's easy to knock over something that's running in a sloppy way.

Lee said, running his hand through his hair.

- When one is your size.

The girl said, smiling slightly.

Until that day, he still wondered how it was possible for corpses to last so long... by common sense, zombies were supposed to stop walking within the first year due to decomposition.

Did the virus make the muscles more resistant? Or, maybe, the live meat they ate slowed the decomposition of their bodies?

Hm... curious, and at the same time, annoying.

- So where do we go tomorrow? I mean, today, it's just before dawn.

The girl asked, leaning her arms on her knees, her torso leaning slightly forward, looking at the forest.

- Hm, keep going south... The only good thing about the north was Wellington, but since they are not accepting people anymore, I don't see much advantage in the cold now.

Lee said with a sigh. They spent so much time looking for Wellington, and when they got there, they couldn't get in.

Months of walking wasted... not that they had missed any opportunities, they didn't really know of any other safe places.

- So we're going to the coast?

The girl asked, looking at Lee with an arched eyebrow.

- I don't know... depending on the place, it might be good to catch some fish... let's see.

He said, and turned quickly as he heard a branch snap behind him, grabbing his shotgun and pointing it in the direction of the noise.

Three men, one with a spear, the others armed with pistols, appeared.

As soon as they saw them, the two men pointed their guns in their direction.

Lee narrowed his eyes. Even though they had one more man, they had one less gun.

The chances of him and Clementine getting out of that situation were well over half. Especially since both men were pointing their guns in his direction, and the girl had not yet reached for her pistol.

- We don't want any trouble. So if you'll just turn around and walk out of here, nobody needs to get hurt.

Lee said, slowly getting up without taking the man out of his sights.

- You're in no position to boss anything around here, asshole! How many of you are out there?!

one of the men asked. He had dark skin, hair tied up in thick braids, and a short beard.

Considering the men's appearance, Lee would say that they had a group, even though they were relatively dirty and looked a little tired.

But there was also the chance that they were just wanderers, wandering from place to place, just like he and Clementine.

- We are alone.

he replied, catching a glimpse of Clementine slowly getting up.

- Bullshit!

- Cut the crap! We know there are more of you out there!

The man with the spear said, taking a few steps closer.

Lee arched an eyebrow.

Clementine was beside him, and considering that all the weapons were pointed in his direction, she was relatively safe as long as he played it right there.

If he went quickly to the right, and shot the dark-skinned man first, the other man would have no angle to shoot him, as the guy with the spear would be right in his line of sight.

- Get out, last chance.

He said, but as expected, he was ignored.

- Put that shit down, man! Or I'll-

Lee didn't let him finish, acting on the plan.

Going to the right, he shot the first man, the scattered shots hitting him in the face and neck.

Clementine acted quickly, since the other armed man had no sight to shoot, and leaning her body to the side, she shot the man with the spear, while Lee shot the last one.

All three bodies fell to the ground with scattered holes, and Lee sighed, almost in a relieved manner.

- Well, now I only have one more bullet in the shotgun.

He said, straightening his posture and looking at the bodies.

- I still have four bullets left... well, never mind, I think I just got a few more.

Clementine said, walking over to the men's bodies and crouching down to their guns, taking out the pistol magazines and picking up the ammo.

- Why is it so hard to find shotgun ammo?

Lee rolled his eyes, grumbling. Rarely had his gun been fully loaded.

- Because you're a pretty rough guy.

The girl answered, counting the bullets she managed to catch.

- What?

- People use pistols and knives because they are easier to handle, faster, and pistol bullets are a little more common to find. You're still the only person I see who prefers something heavy and hard to handle.

The girl said, standing up and putting the bullets in her pocket.

- Hey, you can't just replace my axe with any knife. This beauty splits heads with ease.

He said, brandishing the axe in his hands.

- Yes, but as I said, it is difficult to handle. But, at least you make up for it with other attributes, so it's not all bad.

She said, and Lee arched an eyebrow. Before he could say anything, however, grunts, lots of grunts were heard through the trees, and they both became alert.

Clementine picked up her pistol again and looked around, while Lee held his shotgun tightly.

The grunts were getting closer and closer, and the closer they got, the more they realized there were many.

-... Clem, your things...

Lee said, his features stiffening and his muscles tensing.

He had dealt with herds before. Herds of normal zombies weren't really a problem, you just had to know which direction it was going, and avoid it.

However, a herd of runners was different...

"Shit... why in a forest?!"

He gritted his teeth as he saw them running towards him through the trees.

- Let's go!

Clementine said, and Lee turned around, grabbing his backpack in the process and starting to run through the forest.

As if a herd of runners chasing them wasn't enough to worry about, they also had to worry about the zombies and runners that were drawn throughout the forest by the gunfire.

As they ran, Clementine began shooting at the runners that approached from the front, while, when necessary, Lee killed the zombies that stood in their way.

Jumping over a fallen log, he runs toward a runner and crashes into it with all his might, knocking him to the ground and smashing his axe into his head soon after.

- This way is no good!

Clementine shouted, running to the left as she saw a group of zombies coming out of the trees ahead.

Lee turned and ran right after her, taking the lead and "running over" every runner and zombie that got in her way, and the girl had time to reload her pistol.

- Whoa!

Lee exclaimed, suddenly stopping running, almost falling down a small hill with a river flowing below.

- Lee!

Clementine called out, and he turned around, the herd had caught up with them, and the runners were approaching fast.

- Here, let's go!

Lee said.

They could run along the edge of the hill, there was a small passage between the dead that they could use to get out of there.

Before he could run, however, he heard Clementine let out a scream.

Turning around, he, in desperation, rushes toward the runner who had grabbed the girl's arm, and smashes his axe into its head.

As he kicked the body forward, it seemed as if the world crashed in slow motion.

A runner grabbed his arm that was holding the axe. One of the runners was only a few steps away from Clementine, and the herd was just passage he had seen was slowly being blocked by the dead, and even if he tried to run with the girl, the other runners would grab them.

Clementine's eyes widened at the sight of the runner so close to her, but suddenly she felt her body being thrown backwards, and the impact as she fell on her back, rolling down the hill and falling into the river.

The last thing she saw before she was swept away was Lee holding his axe against the runner, and the herd surrounding him.