Clementine sighed once again, one of the many times she had done so just that morning.
Even lying on a mattress, which, although not the best, was much more comfortable than the hard ground in the forest for example, she couldn't rest very well.
Not only bothered by being in an unknown place surrounded by unknown people, but because she simply couldn't stop thinking about Lee.
She wanted to leave that room at that moment and run towards the forest to look for him. She knew he was alive...he had to be.
He had survived the impossible several times before, he might as well do it again.
"If it wasn't for this damn wound"
She placed one hand on her forehead and the other on her abdomen, staring at the ceiling.
Angry thoughts raced through her mind.
Where would she go after that?
What would she do to find Lee?
What if she couldn't find him later that day?
What would she do if she couldn't find him?
... what would she do if he was dead?
The girl closed her eyes tightly and shook her head in order to push those thoughts out.
Her throat closed at the mere possibility... she never thought how agonizing it would be to be away from him in such a situation.
The same agony she felt when she didn't see her mother in that RV years ago...with the difference being that she would be alone if Lee died.
... Maybe she couldn't handle the weight of being alone.
Sighing once more, she runs the back of her hand over her face, only now noticing the tears streaming down her cheeks.
He couldn't be dead... he just couldn't.
Finishing drying her tears, the girl stands up, no longer feeling in the mood to continue with those thoughts, she would only become more and more depressed with the countless unconfirmed hypotheses in her head.
She felt much better. At least compared to how she felt earlier.
She hadn't slept much, but the little she got seemed to be enough, made a good difference in her body.
Grabbing her backpack, the girl opened the door to the small room, which was more like a storage room than a bedroom, and went out, attracting a few glances in her direction.
That woman, Rebecca, just ignored her, not seeming in the mood to start an argument or get on her nerves.
Good, she was also not in the mood to listen to a grown woman complaining so much.
Her husband, the girl assumed, was sitting right next to her, staring analytically at a chessboard.
Clementine arched an eyebrow at the sight of a girl she had not seen before.
The girl was a little taller than she was, had straight black hair, and wore glasses. She looked a little older, despite her childish expression.
- Oh... who is she?
The girl asked, and that doctor, Carlos, looked at Clementine, averting his eyes from the chessboard.
- She... she is a girl that Luke and Pete found injured in the forest.
Carlos explained, moving one of his black pieces, while Clementine closed the door behind her, looking around.
- Where is Luke?
she asked, walking a few steps towards them, while still looking around.
- He left with Pete and Nick, it was last minute. But they should be here soon.
Alvin answered, moving one of his white pieces, and complaining softly when he saw that he had made a mistake in doing so.
- Do you have something to discuss with him?
Carlos asked, looking at Alvin with a small flame of victory in his eyes.
- They helped me... I think I owe him at least a "thank you" before I go.
The girl answered, looking curiously at the chessboard, ignoring the girl who was staring at her, and not trying to hide it.
Lee had tried to teach her to play chess... but she had found the game too boring... although, if she had known about the boring nights they would have some time later, she would have accepted the little lessons.
- Do you have a plan yet?
Alvin asked, scratching his chin and moving another one of his pieces.
- Head north, look for places in the surrounding area where he might have gone... back to the camp we were in...
The girl answered, scratching the back of her head.
- Wasn't there a herd there?
Alvin asked, looking at her with an arched eyebrow.
- It must have left by now... I hope.
The girl answered, arching an eyebrow at the girl, and wondering why the hell she was staring at her so much.
- Have you thought about what you will do in case you don't find him?
Carlos asked, moving one more of his pieces and crossing his arms afterwards.
The girl stared at him for a while, and sighed... this possibility seemed to kill her every time she thought about it.
-... Well... I just have to keep looking for him until I find him... or what's left of him.
She said, a rather sad tone, with a downcast expression.
-... alone? I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but the chances of finding him are low... and if you go out there without at least one destination in mind, sooner or later you will die.
Carlos said, looking at her with serious eyes, a rigid expression, but one that hid a certain softness behind it.
-... If he dies I'll have nothing... I'll be alone anyway...
The girl said, tightening her own arm in front of her body and lowering her head a little.
It wasn't as if she wanted to die, quite the contrary. But if Lee died, she would have nothing.
She would have no one.
Where would she go?
What would she look for?
Even if she forced herself to continue, she would feel dead inside...
She would be lost... and although she knew she wouldn't kill herself if this really happened, she knew she wouldn't see life with the same eyes.
Carlos stared at her for a while, and sighed with a certain regret.
- If this is what you want... how old are you?
Carlos asked, and the girl looked at him.
- Eleven... as far as I counted.
She answered, looking thoughtful for a moment.
- She's younger than me.
The girl said, alternating her gaze between Carlos and Clementine, both of whom raised their eyebrows.
- You're too young to be out there alone, especially with so many dangers out there. Since you're so inclined to look for him, if you don't find him, you can come back here. We have plenty of room.
Charles said, ignoring Rebecca's somewhat incredulous look, curious at Clementine's surprised look.
The girl stared at him for a moment, surprised by the sudden invitation. This was the first group of strangers that had treated her this well since it all began.
Usually they just ignored her because she was a little girl, or the bravest ones cursed her, just before they had their heads split in half with an axe.
- I... I appreciate it...
she said, still a little shocked. It was even strange to say a "thank you", she barely said them lately.
Not to strangers.
- Hm, it would be nice to have one more child with us, make things a little more "normal".
- Alvin!
- That would be great! We could be best friends! I haven't met a girl my age since a long time ago!
- Sarah!
Clementine alternated her gaze between them, not quite knowing what to say.
While she was genuinely grateful for the kindness she would never expect from strangers, she was a little annoyed that they already thought Lee was dead.
They haven't seen him, they don't know him like she does.
He is still alive...somewhere in that forest...or its surroundings.
The back door is opened with some violence, and Luke enters the cabin panting, walking with hurried and somewhat desperate steps into the room, drawing their attention.
- Guys, we have... oh, hey, Clem, um... Carlos, we have to talk.
Luke said with heavy breathing, looking with some intensity at Carlos, who stood up from the couch.
- Sarah, go upstairs.
He said, walking to the kitchen beside Luke, being followed by Alvin soon after, and finally Rebecca.
Glancing up, Clementine could see Sarah with a rather downcast expression walking towards the stairs, and her footsteps echoed soon after.
Curious and a little confused, the girl went into the kitchen and paid attention to what they were talking about.
- I ran here as fast as I could, Pete got bit.
Luke said, and they got incredulous looks on their faces.
Even Clementine was left with some regret. Pete helped her, so she wanted to at least thank him for that.
- Nick saw it and ran with him, a herd of runners appeared, I... it could be the same ones that attacked Clem, I don't know. The herd might be gone now, some distant gunfire drew the runners' attention, but we can't leave them there alone!
Luke said quickly, running his hand through his hair in nervousness, and walking from one side to the other.
- I'll get the guns.
Charles said, turning and walking with quick steps out of the kitchen.
- Where did you last see them?
Alvin asked.
- Just beyond the river, a little way into the forest. The shots were not far from the river, so the herd might be close by, so we have to be careful!
Luke said, wiping the sweat dripping down his face.
- Becca, you stay here, look after Sarah.
Alvin said, taking one of the rifles Carlos had handed him.
- What?! Alvin...
- Becca, the herd could be nearby, runners are no joke. We won't be long!
Alvin interrupted her, giving her a quick kiss and leaving the cabin beside Luke.
- Clem, I know you must be anxious to leave, but... can you please help Rebecca look after Sarah? Even though I trust her, leaving a pregnant woman here alone is not the best of options.
Carlos said, looking at the girl with a certain nervousness.
- Now wait a minute! You want her to stay here?! So close to your daughter?! Sarah is different from the others!
Rebecca asked, putting her hands on her waist and looking at Carlos with narrowed eyes.
- For God's sake, Rebecca, didn't you hear Luke say there's a damned herd nearby!?
Carlos said, turning and leaving the cabin, giving the woman no time to answer.
- Unbelievable!
The woman grumbled, and turned to Clementine, who was somewhat confused by the whole thing, as well as very anxious.
The herd had moved away from the improvised camp they had made the night before, which meant that she had a clear path to it.
- I wouldn't be so comfortable if I were you.
The woman said, turning and looking at the girl with narrowed eyes.
- Jesus... if you don't like me, just ignore me. Complaining like this is a waste of time, for both of us.
The girl said in a slightly irritated tone of voice. She hadn't done anything to the woman, so why complain like that?
- Watch your mouth when you talk to me! I don't know what Luke and Pete were thinking when they brought you here, nothing but trouble!
The girl sighed, rolling her eyes.
- If that's what you think.
The girl said simply, turning and walking back into the room, ignoring the woman's irritated and somewhat harsh look in her direction.
Her eyes focused on the chessboard again. Lee had taught her the basics, but she had never played a game with him.
Now that game seemed so interesting.
- Where did they go?
Sarah's voice caught both their attention and they looked up the stairs.
- Oh, honey, they... they just went fishing.
Rebecca made an excuse, and Clementine arched an eyebrow.
No one would believe that.
- Fishing? But ... why would they need my father and Alvin to go fishing? Pete and Nick are good at it.
Sarah said, slightly suspicious, knowing that this was not true.
- Nick accidentally knocked Pete over while they were fishing, and he got hurt, but it was nothing serious. They needed his father to check Pete's wound, and Alvin was to stand guard in case any zombies showed up, they made quite a bit of noise.
Clementine said, looking lightly at the girl, who stared at her for a while.
She seemed to believe her little lie.
- Oh, good.
Sarah said simply, moving closer to the sofa.
Clementine sighed lightly. Why did they have to make up an excuse for the girl? Did it have to do with what Rebecca said about her not being like the others?
- I... I don't think we introduced ourselves properly... I'm Sarah, I'm fourteen.
The girl said, raising her hand to Clementine.
-... I'm Clementine, I'm eleven.
She answered, gently squeezing Sarah's hand, and her eyes sparkled with excitement.
- We're friends...
she said, and Clementine arched her eyebrows in surprise.
- What?
- We are friends. Like I said, we can be best friends. It's been a long time since I met another girl my age. Rebecca is nice, but...
The girl cut off her speech, looking at the woman, who let out a nasal laugh.
- You were going to call me old, huh?
- No... it's just not the same.
- Ahm... I... I think it's nice, Sarah, that you wanna be my friend, but... we just met, we can't be friends.
Clementine said, confused by the girl's manner.
It was strange enough all the kindness that had already been shown to her by this group of strangers, but this was a bit too much.
- But why? We can get to know each other.
The girl insisted, and Clementine arched her eyebrows.
- Because to be friends with someone you need trust... and trust is a hard thing to come by...
- Why is that? It's not as if I want to hurt you. Friends don't hurt each other.
The girl said, and Clementine looked at Rebecca in doubt.
The woman just sighed wearily, and shook her head a little.
- Sarah, honey, can you help me up the stairs? My back hurts.
The woman said, and the girl turned to her, nodding and serving as a support.
Clementine stared at their backs, until they were on their way upstairs.
A tired sigh escaped her lips...she was wasting her time there.
This moment was a good opportunity to get out of there, to go after Lee.
But, of course, nothing went according to plan.
The girl turned suddenly when she heard three knocks at the door, and closed her eyes when she saw the silhouette of a man at the entrance of the cabin.
For a few moments, she even thought it was Lee.
But after some time staring at the man's silhouette, she realized that this was not Lee.
And they didn't mention anything about anyone else with them.