Clementine looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked terrible. Her childish, delicate face was smeared not only with dirt but with blood, blood stains running from her forehead to her cheek. Omid and Christa would not let her kill the walkers alone, of course, they always took the lead. But that didn't stop the walkers from sneaking up on her.

And although she understood that they wanted her to be safe, sometimes she felt suffocated. They treated her like a doll that would be broken at any moment by a stronger blast of wind, for example. Not even Lee was like that, and he himself didn't like to leave her near the dead.

She was not afraid of the walkers, or rather, she did not let their fear control her. If she needed to, she could take care of herself, deal with them, even though she was small.

Lee said that her stature gave her some advantages, and really. It was easy to get over rough terrain, for example, unlike walkers. Which made it easy to kill them when they fell.

Sighing, the girl takes a cloth from her backpack and dips it in some water from her bottle, wiping her face.

As soon as she looked at her reflection again, she almost couldn't control a smile from breaking out on her lips. Her reflection triggered several memories, as anything in those days, to be honest with herself.

The first memory was of when she tried on the dresses her mother bought and did some childish poses in front of the mirror. She had many memories with her parents, but most were no more than blurry ones. Maybe it was because of the memories that took over in the apocalypse. The impact on her life, wanting it or not, was too great.

And sometimes she felt lost when she could not remember some details in her memories. The worried look in her mother's eyes, the place where they went to spend her sixth birthday together, details that faded, tiny, and that she noticed.

And of course, memories that hurt even more after her parents died. She missed her old group. Well, not all of them, Larry was not very comfortable to be around.

But she missed Carley, who played with her almost every time Lee was away, slept with her when he was on watch.

She missed Ben, who, though sometimes acting as innocent as Duck, was still a good friend, and occasionally played with her.

She missed Katjaa who always looked at her tenderly and spoke to her in a sweet voice.

She missed Duck, her childish and sometimes stupid friend, but who kept her entertained with his jokes.

She missed Kenny, who she learned to look up to as her uncle, "Uncle Kenny," she occasionally called him. He had great stories and his spontaneous manner was great fun. He had a pleasant air around him, despite his sometimes impulsive temperament.

And of course, she missed Lee. Every single day her mind went back to him. Every time she turned around, a part of her hoped to see him beside her. He was everything she wanted to be. He was strong, big, brave, and protected her more than anyone else in her entire life.

Just the mention of his name was enough to make her body tremble and the urge to cry rise up her throat.

Her reflection, her face, her body. She hated it. She hated herself. Lee always said that she was a smart girl, but the truth was that she wasn't.

They all had one thing in common. They were dead because of her.

Kenny, Katjaa, Duck, Ben, Lee... if only she had been smart back there, she wouldn't have believed that man's words.

If only she had believed when Lee mentioned the possibility that her parents were dead, none of this would have happened, and maybe they would all still be alive.

Clementine shook her head and took a few deep breaths, controlling the tears that threatened to run down her face. She wasn't strong, not like Lee believed she was, so she would have to become strong. It was the least she could do to honor the memories of those who were gone.

Turning around, she accidentally drops her bottle on the floor, and bites her lip to avoid letting out a swear.

She walks a few steps toward the bottle that had rolled over to one of the toilets in the corner of the bathroom, however, she soon stops and turns to the sink, remembering the words Lee used when he taught her how to use a gun in front of that lake.

"Always keep track of your things. Be it food, weapon, or accessory. Never let them out of your sight." She muttered those words to herself and picked up her pistol, turning and walking toward her water bottle.

As soon as she approached, however, she heard the sound of the door being opened and felt her body tense up. At first she thought it was Omid, but as she saw her reflection in the mirror, her eyes widened slightly when she saw that it was a stranger.

A girl, not much older than herself, perhaps a little over eighteen, approached. Her clothes were dirty, but she didn't seem to be hungry, or on the road for some time. Not to mention that she didn't even have a gun. A pistol, a knife, nothing.

Clementine pointed her gun toward the girl as soon as she appeared in her line of sight.

"Whoa, girl. Put that shit down, that's not a toy." The girl said, and despite the fear she felt, Clementine slowly calmed down.

"Watch those around you. If you pull the trigger, you have to be sure. You have to know when to shoot to scare, hurt, or kill." She remembered one of the things Lee had taught her, and her eyes ran over the girl analytically.

Although she was playing tough on the outside, Clementine knew that the girl was afraid. Her hands were slightly shaky, her eyes were restless, and there was no conviction in her voice.

She was probably trying to sound scary to Clementine. Too bad the girl had seen much more terrifying people.

"I don't have any food. I don't want any trouble. Get out." Clementine said, trying to sound as confidant and firm as she could. But she was just a little girl, and she could not yet control her emotions to the point where they did not show in her voice.

The girl in front of her seemed to realize this, and with a cocky smile, took a step forward, seeming to relax when Clementine took a step back.

"Stop it, kid. You don't want to get hurt. Put it down while I'm asking you politely." The girl took another step closer, and Clementine again stepped back.

Like it or not, she was getting nervous about the situation. The girl in front of her had lost some of her fear and was convinced that she had the advantage.

Clementine didn't want to shoot. She wanted to avoid having to take a life, just like Lee, who even though he dealt with horrible people, preferred to spare those he could. However, also, like him, she would not hesitate to shoot if her safety was threatened.

"Don't let people mistake your kindness for naivety. You are good, not foolish. People will try to take advantage of your goodness, don't let that happen."

His words echoed through her mind again, and Clementine gripped the gun tighter.

"If you take another step, I'll shoot you."

"Stop trying to play tough guy. You're just a little fish. You don't have the guts to shoot."

"Do you wanna try?"

The two girls stared steadily at each other, neither daring to look away. However, the more Clementine stared at her, the more confidence she gained.

Even a kitten would be dangerous with a gun. And the girl in front of her seemed to see the conviction in her words, or was just afraid to see her put her finger on the trigger.

And just like Lee said, fear can make people do stupid things. Their emotions are strong and can control their actions.

The girl, in an act of some desperation, or whatever was going on in her head, tried to move towards Clementine to get her gun.

True to her word, as soon as this girl stepped forward, Clementine pulled the trigger. A sharp shot to the chest, making the girl gasp heavily as she fell to the ground, and groan in pain.

The girl rolled on the ground with her hand on the spot. Her expression contorted in pain and agony.

Clementine just stared, her arms still holding the gun pointed at the position the girl had previously been in. Her eyes were wide open, and her hands began to tremble.

She had shot someone for the first time, and it felt exactly as Lee had said. Horrible. She felt a strong urge to vomit rise in her throat, and it felt as if a huge weight had fallen on her back, getting worse as the girl groaned and grunted in pain, crawling across the floor and leaving a trail of blood.

Who she really was came to the surface. The fear that now inhabited her face, before, was hidden by a cocky, tough expression.

The bathroom door was opened with some violence, and before Omid could call for Clementine, his eyes fell on the girl crawling on the floor.

Clementine walked with short and even slightly hesitant steps closer to Omid, staring him deep in the eyes.

"... She tried to attack me." That was all he said, just before she turned and walked over to her backpack. It might sound like something cold on her part, but she only did it to hide her own fear.

Killing someone was really bad, but... it wasn't long before she put that aside, which made her curious.

Lee said that this bad feeling permeated for a long time.

Was that normal?

Another shot was heard, and the three of them got out of there before any walkers showed up.


"Damn. Another lost week." Lee said, marking the map on his thighs with a black brush and sighing slightly soon after.

"We didn't get much gas, maybe only for a few more hours. Do you have any places nearby?" Molly, beside him, asked, her eyes focused tediously on the empty road.

"There's a roadside hotel near the next town, but... well, hopefully we'll get there before the gas runs out." Lee put the brush in the glove compartment and placed the map on the back seat, right next to a machete that was still in its sheath.

Looking out the window, he let himself get lost in thought with the sight of the landscape of that great plain.

It had been months since they had left Savannah, they checked all the places near the city for anyone, but found no one. Not even a sign that anyone had passed through there.

This left Lee somewhat devastated, although he hid it very well. But it didn't stop Molly from realizing it.

Even at that moment, although better off than before, he still allowed himself to be pulled into past memories and sadness permeated his chest once again. He would only be convinced that they had died if he found the bodies, but it was so hard to stay with that thought during lonely nights where his mind recreated images, sounds, and merged memories with the reality of his former group.

Duck running around pretending to be a superhero, Clementine playing ball with him, or sitting next to him drawing. Kenny sitting by the fire right next to Katjaa. Mark still on his two legs leaning on the RV. Carley sitting next to him with her eyes fixed on the fire. Lilly with her serious expression and crossed arms on top of the vehicle doing her shift.

And sometimes he even missed Larry. He could be a jerk who was occasionally racist, but Lee respected the effort he made to protect Lilly...even if it did lead to frequent conflicts.

What he missed most, without a doubt, was turning around and finding Clementine's eyes looking at him with that same golden glow he had always seen since he met her in that tree house. It seemed to consume him slowly.

He had Molly to thank. If it wasn't for the woman there beside him, keeping him company, he probably would have gone crazy or done something stupid by now.

"What are you thinking, Grandpa? You have a rather frightening expression on your face." Speak of the devil. Lee snorted amusedly and looked at her for a few moments, before focusing his eyes on the road.

"I'm thinking I've had enough of you calling me Grandpa. Come on, I'm only thirty-seven. And I don't look that old anymore."

"I have to admit that you look a little younger with short hair and a full beard, but compared to me, you're an old gentleman. I'm only twenty-five."

"Oh please, I'm only twelve years older. When you are seventy, I will be eighty-two. It's not even that big of a vacuum."

"Hah, no, it's just a little over a decade difference, no big deal. But for an old gentleman, you're a little preserved."

"A little? I don't feel older than twenty years."

"Hahaha, let's not get excited, please. I say you don't feel older than thirty-five, and that I'm being generous." He joked, and Lee laughed lightly as he shook his head.

"Come on, at least bring it down to thirty."

"In your dreams."

The light conversation was lost in the air as they watched the scene ahead. They were not that far from the hotel Lee had mentioned at that moment.

Cars overturned, smashed. Shards of glass on the ground mixed with bodies and dried blood. Dead bodies with glass still stuck in their bodies.

"Jesus..." Lee muttered as he saw the situation, running his eyes over each body that appeared in his line of sight.

They moved forward some more, the discomfort was remarkable, it was as if they were moving through a hallway of remnants of war. There were no walkers, just bodies and more bodies.

"What the fuck happened in this place?" Molly asked, more to herself than to Lee, knowing she wouldn't get an answer.

After some more time, the car stops, to the despair of both of them. "Ah fuck! No gas." Molly grumbled loudly, slapping the steering wheel. "Of all places..."

"Good. We're not far from that hotel. We'll have to get going." Lee said, turning around and grabbing the machete that was in the back seat, smoothing the sheath on his back just before getting out of the car.

Molly followed him, and they both started walking through the middle of death row, trying not to be intimidated by the scene.

Something futile, as they both felt that they were slowly being surrounded by death. Their bodies with the strange feeling that something would jump towards them through the unseen gaps between the cars.

"That doesn't smell good to me." Lee muttered, watching the bodies inside a wrecked car just ahead of him. His eyes, however, focused only on the baby sitting in the back seat, with part of his cheek missing, as well as pieces of flesh from his torso, leaving his small ribs showing.

The baby had come back to life, of course. And for a few moments, Lee lost strength in his legs, almost falling to the ground. But he managed to steady himself and regain his posture before Molly noticed.

Shaking his head, he hurried his steps until he was beside the woman.

Two large cars were blocking the road.

"Well, we wouldn't get through anyway. Argh, this place gives me the creeps." Molly said, looking around with clear discomfort.

"There are two of us. We'll move over those cars, check the town, if we find gas, we'll pull them away on the way back." He said, checking under the cars just for assurance that no arm would grab his legs as they approached.

"Why not do that now?" She asked, climbing into the car right after checking the interior of the vehicle.

"Because if a herd appears out of nowhere, just like before, these cars will be a great obstacle." He replied, preparing to climb into the vehicle.

Before he could, however, a shiver ran down his spine and his body tensed as he heard rushing footsteps running toward him.

Lee grabbed the machete from its sheath and turned around, immediately ducking and dodging an attack coming from a man. He analyzed him in the little time he had.

Clothes were soiled with dirt, sweat and blood, as was his body. He looked skinny, long black hair also dirty. Common road thug, probably hungry for some time now.

"Wait! We don't-" Lee tried to argue, but was forced to throw his body back when the man again tried to attack him with a baseball bat with nails on the end.

Right behind this man, two others came out of the woods and advanced against Molly, grabbing the woman's leg and pulling her hard.

A scream of pain escaped the girl's throat as she hit the ground, and just before he was attacked again, Lee saw a rusty piece of iron pierce the side of her abdomen.

Gritting his teeth, he kicks the man in the stomach, and quickly, pierces his arm with his machete, forcing him to drop his baseball bat. Pulling his blade back, Lee head-butts the man and knocks him to the ground.

Running towards the other two, he dodges a horizontal attack from one of them, but is soon hit with a kick to the face by the other, who has quickly advanced towards him.

Lee recovered quickly and, using the man's own momentum against him, puts his foot in front of him and throws him backwards, causing the man to fall face first onto the ground.

The next man tried to attack him with a machete, but Lee was quicker and advanced toward him just as the man moved his arm, landing a sharp elbow in his face before the blade could hit him. The man fell with his hand on his nose, blood dripping through his fingers.

Lee stood in front of Molly, holding his machete firmly in his hand, but with eyes clamoring for the men to leave.

"We don't want any trouble! If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already, just go away!" He tried once more. Even after all he had been through, he still didn't like killing, and he doubted he would ever want to.

Seeing the state of those people, it was obvious that they were trying to kill him to take his things, they were hungry. They were desperate. A situation of misery can bring desperation to a man, Lee understood this.

He had been in the same situation before.

"Lee!" Molly shouted, and Lee's eyes widened as he heard footsteps on the hood of the car behind him.

Without looking back, Lee threw his body to the side, hearing a body fall to the ground soon after.

As he turned around again, the world seemed to have gone into slow motion. Another man had appeared and was already rising from the ground, as were the others.

The thug he had elbowed was already inches away, and Molly was reaching for her pistol.

Lee gritted his teeth and almost closed his eyes. No alternative.

In one precise movement, he stabs his machete into the man's neck and pushes his body to the side, hearing the sound of gunfire soon after.

Molly repeatedly hit two men, and one of the bullets hit the third man in the chest. But as adrenaline was high, he forced his body to keep running toward Lee, only to end up with a machete in his stomach.

Lee, panting, looked at the situation around him. Four bodies lay on the ground, blood stained the blade of his machete and the tips of his fingers. The chests of those bandits rose and fell faintly as their breathing ceased, until they were completely still.

He hated this.

That feeling of killing was horrible. And he hated the idea that it was kill or be killed out there.

His thoughts were interrupted by Molly's groan of pain, and soon, he put his machete away in its sheath and ran to help the woman.

"Shit." She muttered softly as she leaned on Lee, glancing at the piece of iron piercing her body.

"It didn't puncture any major organs, I think, but... damn!" Lee looked at her abdomen with clenched eyes and clear concern in his expression. "That shot must have attracted every walker in the area, we need to get somewhere safe."

Lee said. Those bandits probably had some camp nearby, but they didn't have the luxury of looking for it.

With no options, he decides to walk to the town. It was already in sight, it was the closest place anyway.

"Can you climb those cars?" He asked, and Molly nodded. Lee held her by the waist, supporting her so she wouldn't fall, until he climbed up beside her and helped her down.

The walk to town was not the worst of it. Neither were Molly's groans of pain when Lee removed that piece of iron from her abdomen and cleaned the wound as best he could. No.

The worst was the days that passed. Molly found it difficult to walk, even getting up from the old couch was difficult. Muscle stiffness all over her body, especially in her neck, difficulty breathing.

Lee knew well what it was. That rusty iron was the cause of it. The problem was that he didn't have any antibiotics, muscle relaxants, serums, nothing.

He has already gone to the pharmacy in that town, but unfortunately, he didn't find much besides some bandages, gauze and water bottles. And some other medications, but they were no good for his current problem.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he was getting worried. With each passing day the woman seemed to get worse.

His only hope at the moment was the other bandits he had met the other day. After placing Molly in that apartment, he went back to his car to check the rest of his things, to see if there was anything worth taking. Who knows, maybe he even had some antibiotics that ended up being forgotten.

On the way, he saw some men carrying the bodies of the bandits they had killed. Lee soon became tense. It would be bad if they found out about him. Or worse, if they found out about Molly.

As a precaution, he followed them. That's when he saw in the camp they had in the forest, a few people, a few sick and wounded men and women, also thin and as bad looking as the bandits he had killed.

He saw the box of medicine they had. It was a lot.

As soon as he got back to the apartment, he sat down on the floor and began to think.

He had some food that would last for a few days, plus he had found ammo in some police cars around town when he walked to that pharmacy. He could make a trade, ammunition and food for medicine.

But it would be risky. They might not accept. They could attack him, especially if they knew that it was he who killed those men. Which was not a very difficult conclusion to reach, since he was probably the only person those people had seen in a long time.

If things went well, the food he and Molly had would run out, and he would be forced to go out more often to hunt and scour the town. Something that he was sure would not bear much fruit, since those people had been doing the same thing for who knows how long.

However, there was also another option. An alternative that Lee didn't even want to think about.

Stealing. He could sneak out into the night and get some antibiotics. No one would even notice, and if they did, they wouldn't have the energy to chase him for long. In return, he could leave some food in the box as soon as he got the drugs.

He didn't want it to come to that, stealing from people in that situation seemed too inhumane.

But he had to do something for Molly.

Decided, he stood up and walked to his things. He took his pocket knife and hid it in his shoe, the same thing with his gun, but he hid it in the bottom of his pants. Twelve bullets. He hoped he wouldn't have to use them, but you never know. The other men didn't want to be friendly, maybe these people also follow the same reason.

Sighing, he takes most of the food they had and puts it in two bags. One he would hide in the forest, and the other he would use as a bargain. If they accept, they will keep both bags, if not, he will have lost only a few things.

He waited until nightfall, and then left the apartment, hiding the entrance he was using and walking towards the forest. He limped slightly, since he had made a gambit to hide his pistol in his pants.

The way there wasn't long, but there were a few walkers that Lee wasn't too keen on killing, so it took him longer to avoid them.

Just before approaching the camp, he takes out one of his backpacks and hides it on the ground, covering it with dirt and dry leaves among some bushes. He sighed, and soon, he approached, standing at the edge of the camp, hidden behind a tree.

He leaned his body to the side and observed the camp. Two women were lying down, hard to tell the state of their bodies as they were a little away from the light of the large campfire in the center of the camp.

One woman standing with a stick in hand. Three men in total. Six people.

Lee sighed again, and soon, cleared his throat.

"Excuse me." He said loudly, not needing to push too hard, since his voice already contained great force by itself.

People immediately alerted themselves and grabbed their weapons. All sticks, machetes, pieces of wood patched with blades, saws. There were also firearms, but since no one was picking them up, Lee just assumed they were out of ammo.

" No need to be on the alert. I don't want to hurt anyone. I came here to make a trade." He picked up a can of beans and tossed it toward the camp.

Glances fell on the can, and a man holding a survival knife bent down and picked up the can, looking almost in surprise at the food.

"I have food. And I realize that you guys have a lot of medicine. Food for medicine."

The place was silent for a while, and Lee again leaned his body to the side. They looked thoughtful, though on complete alert. But most of all, suspicious, and even a little angry.

Perhaps it was just the light from the flames of the campfire that gave that impression.

"... How will we know you're not lying?" One of the men asked, and in response, Lee threw another can of beans at his feet.

"I just don't want any trouble. I have something you want, you have something I want, I don't see why we shouldn't cooperate. No one needs to get hurt."

Silence was present again, until Lee heard sound of footsteps.

"No one needs to get hurt? Four of mine died a few days ago. Do you know anything?" The man asked, and Lee muttered softly.

"I have no idea." The man snorted in derision.

"Is that so? Why do I think you are lying? One of our people was still alive when we got there. He said about who attacked them. A man and a woman. A woman who was injured in the middle of it all. And right after that, a man shows up asking for medicine. Coincidence?"

Lee shook his head, he should have made sure they were dead. But at that moment, he just wanted to get out of that situation. Molly was the priority.

"I'll tell you. No, it's not a coincidence."

The moment the man said that, Lee's eyes widened as he heard footsteps dangerously close to him. As soon as he turned around, however, he is hit by a punch to the face cloaked by the darkness of the scene.

Two pairs of hands grabbed him and pushed him forward, and he felt his backpack being taken from him, as well as the machete from his back being thrown to the ground.

He was pushed in front of the man from before, a few steps away from the campfire beside and in the center of the camp.

The voices of the people there joined in, sending insults in Lee's direction, who just grumbled low. It wasn't supposed to come to that.

"You're too much of a jerk. The woman, where is she?" The man asked, forcing Lee to look at him.

"Just get the food and give me the medicine." Lee tried, and in response, the man just took his knife and placed it against Lee's neck.

"I won't ask again, where is the woman? Hm?" Anger was clear in the eyes that stared at Lee, along with sadness and frustration.

"Dude, don't do that." Lee tried, groaning in pain as the man cut the side of his neck, not a dangerous spot, but dangerously close to too close.

"You don't want to do that. Please." Lee tried again, only to be hit by a punch to the face and sent to the ground.

"I think I do want to. I'm going to count to three, if you don't tell me where she is, I'll cut your throat. One." The man knelt beside him and grabbed his head tightly, pressing his knife again against Lee's neck.

"Please don't do that. "He tried again, putting his hand already on the bar of his pants against his will.

"Two." The insults and shouts in his direction increased, and the man's grip on his head grew stronger.

"We can talk. I just want the medicine!"

"Three."

"No!"

The man pressed the knife harder against Lee's neck, but before he could move, a shot echoed through the place. A hole opened in his head, and his body fell motionless to the ground.

The shock was general, and immediately after the shot, the whole place fell silent, everyone just staring at the man's body.

As if reality had returned to their minds, soon the men advanced toward Lee, who had already stood up. More shots echoed through the forest, with each bullet, a death.

With each shell, a body on the ground. Until only the two still lying women were left.

Lee stood motionless. His expression seemed lost, but he knew well what had happened, he knew well what he had done.

His heart was beating fast and he was breathing heavily as his eyes ran over the bodies stretched out on the earth.

"No... I didn't... I didn't want to..." He whispered, still with his arm outstretched toward the last person he killed.

The low noise of the two women's crying brought him back to reality, and Lee lowered his arm, looking at them with an equally tearful expression. It was only then that he realized, both women were pregnant.

Lee's mind seemed to have collapsed, his eyes widened so much that it seemed as if they would pop out of his face.

Reality crashed into his mind.

He condemned those two women.

"Oh... Oh God... no... no, I... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." He tried, but he couldn't formulate a complete sentence, he couldn't, his voice didn't seem to want to come out, just desperate whispers.

His eyes watched as one of the women picked up one of the machetes that was on the ground and stood up. Although weak and frail, she looked at him with pain and anger.

"Miss... please... don't..." He said almost in a whisper, watching the woman cry harder.

She was thin... too thin. And Lee, despite that whole situation, could see the effort she was making just to stand upright.

"You... you killed us..." She said, dropping the machete and getting on her knees, with one hand on her belly.

"No, I... I didn't want to, I... I have food! You guys can come with me, I can help!" He tried, getting up and approaching at a hurried pace, but stopping when he saw the woman cringe.

Her eyes stopped on his hand, he still held the gun. Swallowing dryly, he put the pistol at his waist and focused his gaze back on the woman kneeling in front of him.

Before he could do anything else, however, the other woman picked up the machete from the floor and ran towards him, trying to attack him.

Lee, in reflex, stepped back, but it was not difficult to grab the woman's arm.

" Miss, please! Calm down!"

"Calm down?! You've taken everything from me! My husband... my friends..." She let go of the machete and fell to her knees on the floor, crying as hard as the woman behind her.

Lee tried to say something, but couldn't. What would he say? That he didn't want to kill them? Well, he did kill them, what good would that do?

Things weren't supposed to get to that point.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

It was just something simple. Food in exchange for medicine, no big deal. He didn't even want to use that weapon.

And now, he felt like the biggest monster in the world, which stirred up another conflict within himself.

If he hadn't at least tried, those people would still be alive, yes. But Molly would die.

He did it for her, he didn't want the woman to die.

But did that give him the right to take other people's lives?

Unfortunately, that was the way things were now. You help one, the others die.

Lee realized that now.

"Kill me..." The woman at his feet said in a whisper, amid sobs of pain and agony.

Lee stared at her with pain in his eyes, feeling a lump in his throat and a bad feeling in his chest.

Two shots were heard.

And Lee came out of there with a box of medicine.


Time had passed. Clementine couldn't tell exactly how much, she just kept track of her own changes and the changes of the two people beside her as time went by.

The belly that Christa once had was long gone, and of course, the loss of that baby changed both of them adults. More than the girl wanted it to.

A sigh escaped her lips as she hugged her body in a futile attempt to keep warm in the cold. Camping out in the freezing rain was not one of the best ideas they had ever had, but they could find no other place to spend the night.

Getting up, she walked over to the fire that was barely keeping itself lit and put in some more of the wood they had managed to get earlier. Although, it wasn't much help, the wood was too wet to burn.

Under Omid's gaze, she walks over to her backpack and opens it, running her eyes through her things looking for something dry enough to burn.

The first thing she saw was her drawing next to Duck's drawing. In it, all the people in the hotel were gathered around a fire. It wasn't much, but at least in the drawing everyone seemed happy.

Smiling, at least.

Leaving the drawing aside, she rummaged through her things for a while longer, until her eyes focused on a photo.

Her hesitant fingers held the picture of Lee smiling in front of his parents' pharmacy, and she stared at it for a while. The years went by, and the longing only seemed to increase. Not only of him, but of all the others.

Closing her eyes and preventing any more memories from racing through her mind, she put the photo aside and grabbed some papers from the bottom of her backpack, closing it and walking back to the fire soon after.

The fire increased a little, and she took advantage of the comfort the warmth gave her body, taking the opportunity to warm her hands in front of the flames.

"Oh, good. You can light your own fire now." Omid said with a small, almost imperceptible, amused tone in his voice. And although the girl was happy that he at least said something, she also felt sad.

Rarely did Omid make a joke after he and Christa had lost their baby. Rarely did he smile. But at least he tried to be affectionate and gentle with her, unlike Christa, who was rude even to him.

Not that she could really blame the woman, she knew she cared about both of them, but it had long since become annoying. Being rude wasn't helping anyone. If anything, it was just making the already shitty situation worse.

"Good. Thanks for teaching me." She thanked him, forcing a smile at Omid, who forced a smile back. While it wasn't much, it meant that they were both trying to have a good time together. They knew they were stronger together, and as a group, they needed to trust each other.

Clementine trusted them. She knew that they were good people, and that Omid trusted her too. She also wanted to believe the same about Christa, but after the loss of the baby she simply changed.

Neither of them knew what was going on in her mind, but they both believed that deep down she was still that same woman from years ago, stiffened by the horrors of the world.

The girl stood up and walked over to the fallen trunk that housed her backpack, sitting down on the cold ground and propping her back on the trunk with her arms still wrapped around her body.

Tucking the cap on her head, she rests her forehead on her knees after a cold breeze blows and sends shivers through her body. Closing her eyes, she tries futilely to stop memories of previous cold nights from returning to her mind.

Which was difficult, especially seeing Omid hugging Christa, despite their difference in size.

When she felt cold in that hotel, she always got up from her bed and lay down next to Lee, falling asleep quickly with the warmth his body gave off.

When he was not there, she would do the same with Carley, who, although she was also comfortable, did not give the same feeling of protection. Maybe it was because Carley wasn't that big, especially in comparison to Lee.

Or maybe, she just wasn't him.

Clementine bit her tongue, mentally scolding herself. She didn't really like to think about those moments because it always made her feel guilty, smaller than she already was. It made her feel worthless and made her throat close with the urge to cry.

"Clem. You take the first shift." Christa's voice as icy as the breeze itself brought the girl out of her thoughts, which made Clementine internally thankful. It was too easy for her to drown in her own memories.

"Come on, Clem already took the first shift yesterday. Let her rest, I'll keep watch." Omid said in a meek voice, keeping his eyes on the flames of the campfire.

"She rested long enough when we went looking for firewood." Christa said with a certain bitterness in her voice, which did not go unnoticed by the two.

"Oh, come on, honey. Don't be like that." Omid tried.

"No, it's all right. I don't mind taking the first shift." Clementine said. The last thing she wanted was for an argument to start.

Omid sighed. "I know you just want to avoid a conflict, Clem. But, Christa, you have to stop picking on her. Clementine tries as hard as we do." He said as softly as he could, although, his meek voice was not enough to keep Christa from giving him a stern look.

"And you have to stop taking her side. The last thing we need is a spoiled brat." She said somewhat sternly.

Clementine just ignored it, nothing unusual up to that point. As she herself had said, she understood this change in the woman, she knew the pain of losing someone important, although she had no idea what it was like to lose a child. But it was already getting annoying.

"And we definitely don't need a little girl who can't walk because of fatigue. She hasn't slept well in days, take it easy."

"None of us have slept in the last few days. That's no excuse."

"It's also no excuse to keep picking on her."

Clementine sighed again. In the end, an argument ensued.

"Can we please just be quiet? I can take the first watch, no problem. Hopefully, we'll find a better spot tomorrow and each of us can get some extra break time." Clementine said, trying to put an end to the discussion. She knew it was highly unlikely that that would actually happen, at least, not anytime soon, but she just wanted things to calm down for the moment. Especially since their voices were getting too loud.

"Really? And how do you know we'll find a place like this? We walk and walk and walk and never get anywhere! And for what?! I just... Argh." Christa ducked her head, still nervous, but at least trying to calm down. "I just want to help. I want us to be able to reach that community but I know we all need to help. You can take care of yourself facing walkers, I know, but you barely know how to do a stitch, you just learned how to skin an animal and you can barely light a fire. In a way, Lee spoiled you-"

"Don't talk about him!" Clementine said harshly, interrupting Christa somewhat violently and looking with intense, angry eyes at the woman. Just as Christa didn't like them to comment on certain subjects, she also had things she didn't want brought up.

Christa looked at her in surprise for a while, then this surprise was replaced by anger, then understanding, and finally, shame.

They didn't speak again for the rest of the evening. Nor did she have the opportunity at first to talk, since a short time later, three men appeared through the forest, pointing guns in their direction.