We Thought It Was Over

"Are we there yet?"

Jeff fought the urge to give a smart reply to the question Clementine had decided to annoy him with, to pass the time, as they walked. It had been a few days since they left Richmond and they were getting irritated by all the setbacks that made what should've been a short trip longer than they would like. To make matters worse, they had also run out of ammunition for their guns, which forced them to hide or use makeshift weapons when they encountered walkers. Nearly out of patience, they kept on walking, knowing they had to reach AJ and Abby.

"It can't be much longer, now, Clem," he said.

"I hope so," she replied. "I'm getting tired of feeling so close yet so far away."

"Me too," he said, as they kept walking.

An eerie silence fell between them for several minutes, before Clementine spoke up again.

"Remember the first time you took me hunting?" she asked.

"I remember it like it was yesterday," Jeff replied. "I hit a squirrel… and you hit a tree, alerting a walker to our presence faster than I'd ever seen."

"I still don't understand why that walker didn't come toward the gunshots," she said. "Either way, that's a lesson I'll never forget."

"I'm just glad you're still around to remember it," Jeff replied, with a smile.

"Me too," she said, before falling silent again.

Several more minutes of walking passed before they spotted something in the distance.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jeff asked.

Clementine took out the binoculars she had found on their journey and took a closer look. The look on her face when she lowered them was all Jeff needed to see to know the answer: They had found the ranch.

"Last one there is walker food!" she called as she took off running.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Jeff called, as he was left far behind.

Jeff was out of breath when he finally caught up to Clementine, who had thankfully stopped to let him catch up.

"Getting tired in your old age?" she teased.

"Hey now," he replied. "I'm still young. Just didn't expect you to take off so fast!"

"Who are you?!"

The duo jumped and looked toward the gate. There was a guard with a gun pointed right at them.

"We've come to pick up two kids," Jeff replied.

"Names?" the guard asked.

"AJ and Abby," Clementine replied.

The guard seemed surprised at Clementine's response.

"Would your names happen to be Clementine and Jeff?" he asked, as he lowered his weapon.

"Yes," Jeff replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well… the kids are already on their way to Richmond," the guard said.

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked.

"Someone came by yesterday and picked them up, claiming you asked them to," the guard replied.

"We never sent anyone to pick them up," Clementine said.

"You didn't?" the guard asked.

Jeff and Clementine just shook their heads in response.

"Well ****," the guard said. "I'm sorry, but I think we've been tricked."

"They have to be here!" Clementine said. "Lingard said they were!"

"And he wasn't lying," the guard replied. "Look… Let me take you inside to talk to the people in charge, here, and they can explain it to you."

Looking for answers, they agreed and followed him inside. Nearly an hour later, they left the ranch with worried looks on their faces.

"What do we do now?" Clementine asked.

"We start with where the person who took them told the people at the ranch they were going," Jeff replied, as he looked back down the way they had come. "We go back to Richmond."