Walking Dead: Unknown Trials

Episode 1: Dawn

First chapter of the first story of a new Walking Dead series I'll be doing, this one I'll admit drew quite a bit of inspiration from Life is Strange, but still, I managed to include a few interesting twists, anyway, please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead or its characters.

Chapter 1

Looking out the window at the school building as the car pulled into the parking lot, the girl sighed. She was a girl of sixteen, a little under five foot two in height. She had short somewhat frizzy looking dark brown hair styled in two small ponytails, amber brown eyes and light brown skin as well as being rather skinny. She was dressed casually in a pair of jeans with a red T-shirt, a black unzipped jacket and black hi-tops, along with a worn looking blue and white baseball cap with a blue D emblazoned on it.

'So this is it.' She thought despondently. 'One too many times screwing up a foster home after mom and dad died...and after Lee died and now I'm being ditched here by current guardian. All so she doesn't have to deal with me except when teaching.'

"Clementine." A calm female voice spoke up next to her.

The girl, Clementine Hutchison, turned to face the woman. She was relatively young, late twenties to early thirties, with medium length black hair pulled into a bun, brown eyes and brown skin. She had a slender build and was dressed smartly in a black pencil skirt, a white blouse and black flats.

"Yes Christa." Clementine replied, her tone neutral.

Christa Junot sighed, she understood Clem's reaction. She had only been eight when her parents Ed and Diana Hutchison had died, Clementine had been adopted by a family friend, Lee Everett, until Lee sadly also died shortly after her ninth birthday. Now at sixteen she had been bounced around several foster homes, all of them ending in failure and resulting in Clementine becoming more and more withdrawn.

Now, left with no other option, Christa and her fiancée, Omid Thomas, who like Christa was a teacher at the school, who were Clem's current guardians, had to enrol her at their workplace. Ericsons School for Troubled Youth, a boarding school for kids and teenagers with problems, most regarding their mental or psychological well-being, or being from broken homes. But in Clementine's mind, she didn't any of those categories.

'I must be a first in this school.' She noted. 'Being sent here because everyone is just so tired of me.'

Christa shook her head. "Listen, if there was another option I'd take it, but right now...I really think this is for the best, you know..."

Clem just nodded, not in the mood to argue. "Yeah."

She then got out of the car, her belongings, luggage and such would all be taken care of, so she just took her backpack and began to follow Christa inside the admin building. Standing there waiting for them was a young man, roughly similar in age but slightly shorter than Christa, with short dark hair, dark eyes and stubble, as well as an olive skin tone, he was clad in Khaki pants, a blue and black plaid button up shirt and brown loafers.

"Christa, Clem, you guys made it." He greeted them with a smile.

Christa nodded and Clementine even managed a smile and replied. "Hi Omid."

Omid Thomas nodded and began talking to Christa quietly about something. During that time, Clem spotted a woman walking past, in her twenties, slightly plump with pale skin, long auburn hair, blue eyes and clad in khaki pants, a blue blouse under a grey sweater and dark blue flats.

She recognized her at once. 'That's Brie Rosenholm...Lee knew her, was trying to help her get a job at the university he taught at...'

Of course Lee's death had put an end to that and now it seemed she had ended up teaching here at Ericsons instead.

Before long however, Clementine found herself seated on the other side of the desk from Principal Marshall, a tall heavy set man with dark skin, very close cropped black hair, a short black beard and moustache, all greying, grey eyes and dressed in a beige suit with a red undershirt and black tie, along with brown loafers.

"Welcome to Ericsons, Miss Hutchison, while my secretary handles all the paperwork for your enrolment, I am here to help you get settled in." He explained. "First of all, a map of the school, your schedule and the books you will be needing for class."

Clementine nodded, accepting them as they were handed to her. "Thank you."

He continued. "Now, despite what you may have heard about Ericsons, I assure you, it's not like that. We are a school, like any other; we just have extra facilities to help with some students who have various...problems. We offer what help we can to try and, if not outright heal, at least ease those problems."

"I don't have any problems." Clementine insisted.

"Then this is simply a boarding school for you, nothing else." Principal Marshall replied calmly. "Now, here is your key, you are in dorm room 109, east wing of the dorms, easy to find on the map and if you need any help, just ask."

Clementine stood up and thanked him again before leaving the office, having got everything she needed. This was it, she was now officially enrolled in Ericsons School for Troubled Youth, this was her life now.

She left the office and was already making her way to the dorms, knowing her belongings would already be on their way up there. She was checking the map as she began making her way across to the dorms, so it was she didn't see the other student until she had walked into them.

"Oh, shit, um, sorry, I..." She began.

But to her shock, the other girl reacted rather sharply. "Watch where you're going!"

She blinked and stepped back, taking a good look at the girl, she was taller than Clementine with medium length black dread-locked hair, black eyes and brown skin, she had a slender build that she was showing off with a pair of black denim short shorts, a black and red spaghetti strap tank-top and black sneakers.

"I..." Clem started.

The girl sneered, quirking an eyebrow at her. "Oh I see...fresh meat huh. Well listen girl, you should understand something here..."

Clementine was already forming an opinion of this girl and it wasn't a favourable one. But at that moment someone else appeared, another staff member, that she recognized. He was a tall Hispanic man, with short black hair, a similar beard and moustache, brown eyes and tan skin. He was dressed casually however, in jeans, a white T-shirt under a brown jacket and black boots. So he had clearly just arrived.

"What is going on here?" He said sharply.

The girl turned. "Dr. Chaikin, I...nothing sir."

He shook his head. "Then move along, Miss Brown."

Muttering to herself the girl did so.

With that Dr. Chaikin turned to Clem, or rather, as she knew him.

"Carlos?"

Carlos Chaikin, another familiar face to Clementine, his daughter Sarah was one of the few friends Clementine had managed to make.

"Clementine. I heard you were being enrolled here." He greeted her, his smile betraying his attempt to sound professional. "Maybe you and Sarah could rekindle your friendship."

"Sarah's here too?"

"Yes, it...it'll actually do her some good, I hope." He replied sadly.

Clem bit her lip, knowing all about Sarah's issues.

"However." Carlos really did become serious now. "You should be careful about getting involved in such altercations in the future. Especially with Michelle Brown, you won't always have someone to get you out of trouble."

Clementine sighed. "I...I guess. But it was an accident, she's the one who lost it."

Carlos nodded. "Regardless, it's better to avoid conflict if you can. Now let's go, I'll escort you to your dorm."

Clem nodded and they headed into the dorm building together. Neither of them said anything until they reached the actual dorm room itself.

Carlos looked surprised. "Room 109, this is your room?"

"Yeah, why?" Clem asked, confused.

"It's...nothing, just wasn't expecting it." He replied. "Well, you should go in, get settled, your room-mate should be back shortly."

With that he left and Clem headed into the dorm room, feeling even more confused.

The dorm room was currently empty, apart from her belongings all waiting to be unpacked. She noted the second bed, the other side of the room which looked, not exactly tidy, but sparse. The tangled sheets on the bed however made Clem wonder about her room-mate.

'Doesn't care much about the state of their bedding, or a troubled sleeper?' She wondered. 'Why was Carlos so surprised, what's wrong with this room, is it my room-mate, or, something else?'

Shaking her head she got to work unpacking and had just finished doing so when she heard the door open. She turned and the figure who entered, her room-mate she guessed, froze as their eyes met.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.

So, Clem's mystery room-mate has entered (as if it's that much of a mystery), also for those wondering, Michelle Brown is the girl in at the start of Season 2 who holds Clem at gunpoint and accidentally kills Omid.