- I didn't see you this morning.
Jane's voice snapped Clementine out of her thoughts, and the girl looked at the woman.
- Lee and I are used to getting up early. He likes to check the surroundings when we stay somewhere for more than a day.
She answered, staring again at the river with a distant look.
Jane stared at her for a while, searching for the right words to say, wondering how to start a conversation.
It was even strange that she was like that. She had never met a child so... complex.
- You seem like a smart girl... you wouldn't have survived all this time if you weren't. You know, I've seen a lot of groups fall apart.
Jane began, walking toward Clementine and crouching down beside her, also facing the river.
- And I'll be honest with you, even though I realize that Lee is good at survival and knows exactly what to do, I don't see this group going forward
Jane said, and the girl looked at her with an arched eyebrow.
- We have a baby... a girl who does nothing but cry. Luke is hurt, grieving, Bonnie doesn't seem very cheerful, and Mike thinks Lee is crazy... and I have to admit, I think so too.
Jane said, sighing immediately afterwards and running a hand through her hair.
- It makes me think... you know, if things get to a critical level, you can always manage on your own.
Jane said, and Clementine closed her eyes.
- I won't be alone, Lee is with me.
She said, noticing that Jane was a little hesitant about something.
- But you can't say that was normal, Clem. Wh-
- Nothing else is normal, Jane. Why do you insist on judging him?
- I'm just saying that he might lose his mind at some point. And you have to be prepared in case that happens.
- Lee knows that he won't be with me forever, he has already prepared me for that. But that doesn't mean that I will run away from him in the future for thinking that he is too dangerous. You don't know him like I do.
The girl said, slightly irritated by the whole situation. They insist on judging him, they practically forget their own mistakes, their own monstrous acts, and simply look at what Lee has done.
Not to mention that she noticed the looks they were sending her, as if she was in danger by being next to him. As if he was the villain, and they were the good guys.
They haven't lived with her for more than a week, they have no right to think like that.
It's annoying.
- The others might not want to be around him... nobody feels comfortable with him around. We thank him for all he has done, but, he is very twisted.
Jane said, and the girl sighed, staring at her with some intensity.
- He acts like a good man at times, and at other times like a complete nut job. That's why I don't see this group lasting very long.
Jane said with a sigh.
- Are you staying or are you going back to being alone?
Clementine asked, out of sheer curiosity.
As Lee said, they didn't have to stay. If they want to leave, they can just go.
- I... I don't know... for the record, I like the people here... what about you?
Jane asked, and Clementine narrowed her eyes in confusion.
- What do you mean?
- Are you ... are you going to stay with Lee even after everything?
Jane asked, and Clementine looked at her indignantly, anger in her eyes.
- Are you really asking me that?! Of course I am!
she said, and Jane sighed.
- Look, Clem, I know that-
- You've only been with me a few days, what do you think you know about me? Or about Lee? You've never bothered to look at our side and you think you have the right to say anything about the things he does, about the way he thinks! What is wrong with you people?!
The girl said in an irritated tone, a little louder than she really planned, but, she couldn't stop herself from feeling that way.
Lee was all she had, and Jane was practically telling her to leave him.
- I looked over to your side, I kept thinking about it after that story you told. The point is... you don't have to see it, or do anything like it, if you're not standing next to him.
Jane said, and the girl stared at her wide-eyed, not believing what she had just heard.
A disdainful laugh escaped her lips, and she shook her head.
- Jane, I'll make this very clear. I'm not leaving Lee, ever! And I don't care if you decide to leave without anyone noticing, you won't be missed. We don't even know each other, so stop acting like we do.
Clementine said, getting up and walking away from Jane with a very unfriendly look on her face. This conversation had broken up her peaceful morning, and left her feeling very uneasy.
Climbing the stairs of the small building, the girl took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes tightly, trying to calm her anger.
After a while of doing this, the girl enters the small store and walks over to the bag in front of her, grabbing some food.
The bags were relatively full, and with the box of supplies, they had enough food for quite some time. Especially now with their numbers reduced.
Still on the deck, the girl looks at the reanimated body of Carver, pinned to the wall of the ruins ahead. A pathetic end for someone who considered himself so strong, so important.
Just goes to show people are nothing, no matter how much they have.
- This little guy doesn't cry much... I haven't heard him cry all night.
Luke's voice caught the girl's attention, and she turned to him.
He was looking at the baby in Bonnie's arms, a light expression, but sad and nostalgic at the same time.
- Maybe because you were fast asleep.
Bonnie said with a small smile.
- That may be ... but I was expecting to be woken up with him crying.
Luke said.
-...Clem looked after him in the night...he started to cry softly, she picked him up.
Sarah said in a low voice, sitting in the corner, hugging her own legs.
- Oh, really Clem?
Luke asked, turning to her, who just shrugged.
- I woke up last night... I didn't see you here.
Mike said, and the girl sighed slightly.
- Yeah, I couldn't sleep, so I chatted for a while with Lee.
She said, eating some food and then looking back down at Carver's body.
- Oh... by the way, where is he?
Luke asked.
- Checking the surroundings – she said, without turning to them.
An uncomfortable silence for some lingered in the room for some time.
- So... what do we do now? We're not going to stay here forever, are we?
Bonnie asked.
- Before I stopped at that camp, I was going to a community up north, Wellington. Many people said about this camp, it was too good, and I had no other place to go at that time.
Mike said.
- I heard about this camp, a lot of people are going there. But, I don't know if it's worth going there just based on rumors.
Bonnie said.
Clementine finished eating and sat down near the entrance to the place.
- Wellington exists...Lee and I went there, before I met Luke and all this happened.
Clementine said, and the others looked at her slightly surprised.
- Really?
- Yes... it took months to get there.
- And why didn't you stay there?
- Because they are no longer accepting people. The camp is completely packed. They just gave us a bag of supplies and told us to leave.
She said, leaning her arms on her knees.
- Oh, shit.
Mike complained.
- Well, at least we won't waste time going there now. And going north doesn't sound too good to me.
Luke said, pressing his back against the wall.
- Well, I always have a plan B. I was thinking about Texas. - Mike said.
- Is there anything there? - Bonnie asked.
- Nah, I've always wanted to go to Texas. - Mike said.
- Lee and I were going south...maybe, go to the coast. I think we're sticking with that same plan. - Clementine said, propping her head against the wall.
- Oh, you... you're going south? - Bonnie asked, and Clementine sighed at hearing the same tone Jane had spoken earlier.
- I know you're all afraid of Lee. At some point, we're going to split up, aren't we? - the girl said, looking at them with a certain disinterest.
She wasn't really in the mood for that conversation again.
- Look, Clem, don't judge us for not feeling comfortable with him around.- Bonnie said, and the girl snorted.
- Kind of hypocritical, don't you think? You judge him all the time. - The girl said.
- He trusts you, I can tell, but he doesn't feel anything toward us. To me, that guy is a potential danger. - Mike said, and the girl rolled her eyes.
- You are a potential danger. - She said, and Mike arched his eyebrows.
- Luke is a potential danger, Bonnie is a potential danger, and yet you don't see me judging you. Or being afraid of you. Just don't try to fool, or kill Lee, and he won't do anything to you. Is it that hard? - the girl said, looking away and shaking her head.
Lee hadn't done much to change their view of him, she admitted, but it was getting annoying even for her.
He risked his life for them, but they just didn't seem to get it. Maybe she should start being a little ungrateful too.
- It's not that simple, Clem. You can't feel comfortable around a guy who is capable of literally breaking every bone in your body. Imagine if we do something that irritates him. - Mike said, and the girl sighed.
- Do you know what the worst he'll do if you piss him off? He'll just shout at you. At worst, punch you. Try to understand at once that Lee is not Carver. He's just capable of being more dangerous to people who threaten him, or threaten me. - The girl said, watching with her eyes as Lee walked toward the building with his axe resting on his shoulder.