The Search Begins

The next morning, they met with the Garcias, Tripp, and Eleanor outside the church.

"Are you sure you don't want any of us to come along?" Javier asked.

"Absolutely," Clementine replied. "They're our responsibility. The only family we have left."

"We have to find them," Jeff added. "We still have a promise to keep for you guys."

Beside Javier, Kate smiled.

"We'll be waiting," she said, as the group walked toward the gate.

As they approached, Jeff and Clementine were surprised at the croad that had gathered.

"All this for us?" Jeff asked.

"Everyone in the community has heard about what happened," Eleanor replied. "So it's no surprise that they came out to see you off on your rescue mission."

As if on order, the crowd parted as the team made their way to the gate. When they reached the end of the wall of people, they stopped and turned around. Everyone looked at them, with looks of encouragement.

"I know we said this before," Javier said. "But, please, bring them back."

"We won't rest until we've found them," Clementine replied. "We've been without them for far too long to just give up."

"That sounds like the Jeff and Clementine I know," Javier said, with a smile.

With a signal from Javier, Max opened the gates, as Jeff and Clementine slowly walked out. Turning back one last time, they exchanged goodbyes and walked away from Richmond again, with the crowd's wishes of good luck fading as they walked.

"So," Clementine began. "Where do we go?"

"Let's head south," Jeff replied. "We can take what's left of Interstate 95 until we find a clue… or the kids."

"That could take a while," Clementine said, with concern.

"Nothing comes easy, these days," Jeff replied. "I would think that you'd understand that after all this time."

"I do," Clementine said. "It's just-"

"-that the kids have been out of our lives too long, already," Jeff finished for her. I know, Clem."

There were a few moments of silence before either one spoke again.

"How far does this interstate go?" Clementine asked, finally breaking the silence.

"We just passed a sign that says that we're on our way to Fayetteville, North Carolina," Jeff replied. "Hopefully, we won't have to go that far to find them."

They continued walking for the rest of the day, with a few breaks in between, before noticing it was starting to get dark.

"We need to find shelter, for the night," Jeff said.

"Are we near any cities or towns?" Clementine asked.

Jeff looked around and finally noticed buildings nearby, along with a sign on the highway.

"Looks like we're approaching Emporia, Virginia," he replied. "I'm sure there's someplace there we can use for shelter."

Clementine nodded in agreement and they made their way to the town. Once within the limits, they carefully searched for a place to sleep. After twenty minutes of searching, they finally found an old store and carefully unpacked some food they had been given and ate. After letting their stomachs settle for a while, they laid down and were out before they knew it.

The next morning, Jeff woke up to the sound of people talking. Thinking there was trouble, his defensive instincts kicked in and he jumped up, gun in hand. What he got was at least a dozen barrels pointed at him in response. Before him was a group of people who had walked in while he and Clementine slept and they looked like they meant business.

"Look," he said. "We don't want any trouble. We just stopped here, for the night."

"If you aren't wanting any trouble," one of the men said. "Explain your business in our territory."

"We're searching for the last two members of our last group," Clementine replied. "We lost them around a year ago and we've only just recently found out they're still alive and have been in this area."

"What do they look like," The man asked.

"Well," Jeff replied. "The oldest is a girl, who is almost 9 years old. White skin, and was last known to be wearing a plain red t-shirt we found for her and a pair of jeans."

"And the youngest is a boy around two years old," Clementine added. "Brown skin and was last seen in a t-shirt and overalls."

The man looked at his friends, then back to the pair.

"Were they with anyone?" he asked.

"Last we heard, they were at the McCarroll Ranch, controlled by New Frontier," Jeff replied. "But when we got there, they said someone had picked them up, claiming we sent them."

"But you didn't," the man finished for him.

Jeff and Clementine shook their heads.

"We wanted to pick them up ourselves," Clementine said. "I guess someone found out and…"

She trailed off, unable to complete her sentence. Jeff quietly put an arm around her, in an attempt to comfort her. The members of the group looked at them with sympathy.

"They mean a lot to you, don't they?" One of the other men asked.

"They're all we had for a long time," Jeff replied. "When we got separated, I had AJ and he had Abby. We each had our own issues the lost them, but they somehow ended up at the McCarroll Ranch together."

The men looked at each other, with looks indicating they knew something.

"We saw the kids come through here, a few days ago," the leader said. "They were accompanied by some hooded figure. Couldn't make out if it was a man or woman, but they definitely weren't alone."

"Which way were they heading?" Clementine asked.

"They were heading south," the leader said. "Not sure if that's the way they're still heading, but I did happen to hear the girl asking the adult a question. Something along the lines of 'what are we going to do once we reach the ski lodge?'"

Jeff and Clementine gasped. The leader looked at them.

"Something tells me you two know the place in question," he said.

"It's a long and painful story," Jeff replied. "One I'd rather not relive by telling it."

"Say no more," the leader said. "We won't make you talk about it, if you don't want to. Question now is… What are you two gonna do?"

Jeff and Clementine looked at each other.

"We have to find them, Jeff," she said.

"The ski lodge it is, then," Jeff replied. He then turned to the men in front of them. "We're going to follow them. We have to hope they take a long enough break that we can catch up and figure out who took them."

"I hope you find them," The leader said. "By the way, we never did get your names."

"I'm Clementine," Clementine said. "And I think you've heard me say it, but my friend's name is Jeff."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, despite the circumstances," the leader said. "I'm Leroy."

"Thank you for your help Leroy," Jeff replied. He turned back to Clementine. "We best get going. The longer we wait, the longer it'll take to find them."

"Right," she replied.

To help them on their journey, the men handed them some food, to help them out. Thanking them, Jeff and Clementine said their goodbyes and were on their way again.

Hello again everyone. As you can see, it's shaping up to be a trip down memory lane. A trip Jeff and Clem DO NOT want to take! For those who keep guessing it's Joan who kidnapped the kids... just keep reading to see if you're right! Until next time... Keep calm, and carry on.