Episode 1: Other Survivors - Part 2 / 4

"CLEM!" Louis shouted again. He was terrified at the idea of something happening to her. He hoped and prayed that the walkers had not got to her or anyone else at the school.

The others were not far behind. AJ, Aasim and Omar stood outside the school. Aasim and Omar used their bows and arrows to kill the walkers that were herded around the side of the school where the bell tower was location. All the while, AJ grabbed out his trusty pistol from his back pocket and ensured to aim for the head of every walker.

Louis ran up the stairs of the bell tower. He looked for Clem frantically. Then he spotted her. Her eyes were closed, and she was still. Louis ran to Clem's side immediately.

"Oh god, Clem! Can you hear me? Clementine!" Louis shouted. He shook her as a way to get her attention. Then suddenly, she twitched, and her eyes opened.

"Louis?" Clem said in a weak voice.

Louis felt like he was going to cry from relief. He wrapped Clem into an embrace. "Oh, thank god. I was so scared I lost you."

Louis then checked the weak girl over for any signs of walker bites. She seemed fine. No bites. No injuries.

Louis then placed his arms around Clem and lifted her up bridal style. Without hesitation, Louis turned around and ran down the stairs. He knew that Ruby would be able to help Clem.

It was not long until Louis had made it inside the school to Clem's room. He gently placed Clementine onto her bed. He kneeled down by her bedside.

"Don't worry, Clem. I am going to get Ruby and everything's going to be fine…You're going to be fine." Louis said while stroking Clem's head.

Louis then got up and ran to Ruby's bedroom. But Ruby was nowhere to be seen. The young boy looked around so quickly that he almost made himself lightheaded.

"Shit."

Louis then ran out of Ruby's room, frantically trying to think where else she would be.

Hold on a minute…the nurse's office.

Louis ran down the corridor as quick as his legs would let him. Then just like that, he was at the nurse's office. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Louis decided that there was no time to wait and welcomed himself into the office.

Once again, Ruby was nowhere to be seen.

"FUCK!" Louis yelled out in frustration.

"Think Louis, think! Where would Ruby be?" Louis forced himself to focus.

Wait…Ruby said that she was helping prep the equipment for Omar. The kitchen was Louis' last hope. Please let her be there.

Within a matter of minutes, Louis had made it to the kitchen. He was very short of breath due to running around hysterically. He took a moment to catch his breath. Then once he had sorted himself out, he entered the kitchen. He looked around desperately for Ruby. Where could she be?

Then he noticed something. He found her.

"Ruby!" Louis shouted.

This slightly startled the red head, but she could sense that something was wrong by the tone of the young boy's voice. She turned around almost instantly.

"Louis? Louis, what's wrong?" Ruby asked in concern, while in the middle of washing up a plate from yesterday's meal.

"It's Clementine. She doesn't look so good."

Ruby's eyes widened and she froze for a moment, trying to process everything. She then became instantly worried for Clem. In a matter of seconds, she put down the plate she was cleaning onto the kitchen unit and turned back to Louis. "There's no time to lose."

Louis and Ruby ran out of the kitchen. It was not long before they reached Clem and AJ's bedroom. They opened the door.

"Oh my." Ruby said while standing outside the bedroom with Louis as she looked at Clem.

This comment off Ruby sent Louis into a spiral of panic. "What? Tell me, Ruby!"

"She looks so pale."

Ruby instantly ran to Clem's side. She started to check Clem over.

"Was she bitten by any chance?" asked Ruby. Ruby felt that it was necessary to ask that question first as they would not want to risk getting bitten either.

"No, not from what I seen. You don't think she has, do you?" Louis felt like he was going to cry. He couldn't lose Clem. Not now, not ever. She was his entire world. Her and AJ both. The three of them were like the family Louis had always dreamed of. Especially, since he was never happy with his actual parents. He was going to build their new home together, skylight and all.

"You don't think it's her leg being infected or anything, Rubs?" Louis asked.

"Louis, I would not worry, it's been months now since AJ cut off her leg. I wouldn't worry too much." Ruby reassured the anxious boy.

Ruby then checked, Clem's forehead. She was a little warm.

"She's a little warm, but she does not seem to have a fever or be sweating."

"That's a good thing, right?"

Ruby turned to face Louis. "Hopefully, Clem will recover with some rest. Maybe she should not do look out duty for a while. Probably for the best." Ruby explained.

"No…" Clem said in a quiet voice.

This instantly caught Louis and Ruby's attention. Louis instantly ran to Clem's side and held onto her hand.

"Hey, Clem…how are you feeling?" Louis said in a soft tone. He was relieved that she was showing consciousness.

"A bit tired. But I want to do look out duty. It's my turn."

Louis could not help but giggle slightly. Typical Clem, always putting duties before her own health.

"Don't worry, babe. We have plenty of other people to take your place until you feel better." Louis stroked her curly hair.

"But I am the school's leader. I should be doing my responsibilities. I should not be putting my work on other people."

"Clem, if anything, you need a break. You've been working hard nonstop for months now. Nothing wrong with having a little break." Ruby smiled, hoping to reassure the stressed girl.

"And besides, it's only look out duty. We all take that in turns anyways. It's a job that any of us can do." Louis smiled.

Clem pouted. She felt that she should do her look out duty. But at the same time, even she knew she needed a break, even a small one would be necessary. She sighed in defeat and gave in to her friend and boyfriend's advice.

"Okay. Maybe a little break will do me no harm."

Louis then placed his hand on hers. Clem looked at Louis' hand and then looked up at him. He just smiled. She smiled back.

"Now, you get some rest. I will be back later to check up on you." Louis said in a soft voice while squeezing her hand slightly.

"Okay". Clem smiled.

Ruby could not help but smile. The two of them were just adorable. She believes that they are a match made in heaven. A lot like her and Aasim.

Louis got up and made his way to the door alongside Ruby. As he was about to leave the room, he stopped due to Clementine calling him.

"Hey, Lou!"

Louis turned around to face Clem.

"Yes, my darling Clementine?"

"I love you." Clem smiled.

This made Louis smile that adorable, bright and slightly goofy smile he did the day Clem confessed that she had feelings for him.

"I love you too."

Clem then snuggled her head into her pillow and closed her eyes. Ruby left the bedroom to carry on with her duties. Louis followed not long after. He slowly and quietly closed the bedroom door as he left.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You boys have been out for a couple of hours and you could not even bring back a rabbit?" Violet shouted. She had just found out that Louis, AJ, Aasim and Omar brought nothing back food wise.

"It's not like that, Vi. It's complicated to explain." Aasim tried to calm Violet.

"How can anything be that complicated to the point where we are going to be left with only rations for tonight?"

"We came across the caravan group." AJ randomly shouted out.

Violet turned pale. She just froze.

"But don't worry, we only watched them from a distance. They did not catch us or even notice us." Omar tried to reassure Violet.

"WHAT?! Are you guys serious? What if they caught you spying on them without you knowing? Great, not only is Clementine not well and we have no idea what is wrong with her, but we might also die from the potential chance that the caravan group will be invading this school! What were you boys thinking?"

Aasim placed his hand on Violet's shoulders.

"Vi, take a couple of deep breaths. We can assure you we were not spotted." Aasim managed to keep a low tone as he knew that shouting would only make things that much worse for the blonde girl.

Violet pushed Aasim's hand off her shoulder and gave him an annoyed look. "Seriously. If I had both my eyes and could see 100% right about now, I could stab the load of you, and I wouldn't miss!" Vi shouted.

Violet then sat herself done next to the stairs outside the school entrance. She just wanted to cry. She was still trying to come to terms that her sight would never be 100% ever again. She missed being able to do look out duties, but with the state she was in, it was not possible for her to do. Apart from her sight, she was mainly terrified about any intruders coming to the school and hurting her family. When she was able to do look out duties, she felt more reassured about the school's safety as she knew that protecting the school was one of her specialties. She felt that since the incident on the boat, she was never the same again. She may come across like she does not care, but deep down she would do anything to protect those who she loved.

"I'm sorry…I'm just so scared that something is going to happen like the Delta invasion again." Vi said in a soft tone, trying her best not to cry.

AJ sat next to Violet and put his arm around her back. "I promise you, that is not going to happen, Violet."

"Besides, the caravan group might not even be anything like Delta." Said Aasim.

"And whatever happens, we have each other and we will fight for our freedom like we did before." Omar smiled.

This made Violet feel a bit better. She smiled. "I sure hope you guys are right."

Then Ruby and Louis emerged out the door.

Violet got up and tried to face Louis and Ruby.

"Hold on, I've got this." Violet said. She was struggling to figure out where Louis and Ruby were standing. She was facing with her back turned to them.

She was not too sure if she was facing them. So, AJ decided to help his friend by holding her hand and helping her turn around so she could face her friends.

"Thanks, little dude." Violet smiled with gratitude.

AJ smiled. "You're family, Vi. We do anything for family."

Violet smiled at this statement made by AJ. Her smile then disappeared. "Lou, Ruby…Please tell me that Clem is okay."

"Don't worry, Vi. She's just a little tired." Ruby reassured Vi.

"Makes sense for her to feel that way being busy all the time with the responsibilities of being a leader." Said Louis.

"Speaking of which. Do we have enough rations for tonight's meal?" Violet asked Omar, since he was the one who usually looked after the food and meals.

Omar then frowned. "Just about."

"So, we need to make sure that we get more food tomorrow." Said Aasim.

Louis nodded. "Indeed. We cannot allow everyone to go hungry. I promise that by this time tomorrow, we will have enough meals and snacks to last us the entire upcoming week."

"Don't make promises that big, Lou. You won't be able to keep it." Said Violet, who was trying to think rationally.

Louis turned to face Violet. "Try me, Vi. If I want to promise you, I will promise you."

Louis then looked around him. Everyone was grouped up in a circle, listening to Lou and Vi's conversation.

"I owe it to every last one of you. For giving me a home. For giving me a life. For helping me stay alive." Said Louis.

Everyone remained quiet. They had no idea what they could say to make Louis see that he was reaching too high of a goal. But since he and Clementine are the leaders of Ericson's, they had to at least try to trust him, even if he could come across unreliable at times.

"Now, Omar, cook us one of your best meals with the food that we have left." Louis ordered.

Omar nodded and then turned around to make his way to the cauldron he uses for cooking.

"The rest of you get back to what you all do and let's make Clementine proud." Louis said in a proud and confident tone.

Everyone turned around and got to their chores and businesses.

Once everyone left, Louis' confident expression changed to a more uptight one. He placed his hand onto his forehead and then massaged his temples with his fingers.

"What am I going to do?"

Louis then walked over to the gate entrance of Ericson's and looked outside. He remained quiet for a while.

"Violet is probably right. I am making promises too high for me to promise, let alone cope with." Louis spoke to himself.

Louis then turned to face the school building. "I just hope Clem is going to be okay."

After a few moments deep in his thoughts, Louis decided to go over to the tables to check up on AJ. He wondered why AJ would be sitting on his own. Normally, he would enjoy being on patrol.

"You okay, AJ?" Louis asked in concern.

There was a moment of silence between AJ and Louis. Then AJ decided to respond to his friend.

"No. No, not really." AJ said in a rather sad tone.

This made Louis quite concerned. He did not like seeing AJ unhappy.

"Is it about Clem?" Louis asked.

AJ slowly nodded a couple of times. "What if she dies, Louis? I can't imagine being alive without her."

Louis then gave a shocked expression. He hated the idea of Clem dying. He can still remember the day that AJ took off her leg a few months back after they rescued Aasim, Omar and Vi from the raiders. She looked so pale and ill and Louis knew that her life was slipping away from blood loss. It broke his heart.

Thank god that Ruby was able to stop the bleeding when she did. And thank god to AJ for stopping her turning as well as getting her back to the school before she would die.

Louis then kneeled down to AJ's level. "Hey. That's not going to happen. Clem is in the best care right now and she will get better. Besides, she is not seriously ill. She's just really tired. Remember that time when you tried to go on patrol overnight and you ended up falling asleep outside because you were really tired? Well with all of Clem's responsibilities of being a leader, she is always busy with little time to rest."

AJ listened carefully to Louis' words. He then turned his head to face Louis. "So, Clem is just tired?"

Louis nodded. "That's right."

There was another moment of silence.

"Now, promise me that you will try not to think of the worst happening to Clem. She is in safe hands while she is in this school. The same goes to you too."

AJ gave himself a moment to think. He was trying to process everything that Louis said.

"Okay, Louis. I promise." AJ started to smile.

This made Louis smile. "Good man."

Now that AJ was feeling a little better, Louis decided to check up on how Omar was doing with the food.

"Hey Omar."

Omar turned away from the cooking for at least a minute to respond to Louis.

"Hey Louis." Omar smiled.

"How's the cooking coming along?" Louis asked.

"Well, I did as you said. This is the last of the food that we have."

Louis looked over to see what Omar was cooking. From the looks of things, everyone would be having vegetable soup tonight. Luckily, nobody didn't dislike vegetable soup.

"Smells good." Louis said, complimenting Omar's cooking.

"Thanks. I do my best." Omar smiled as he was flattered by Louis' comment.

Omar was always so good at cooking. Even before the walkers, he was always whipping up lots of tasty meals for the whole school to enjoy. He was gifted that was for sure.

Louis watched as Omar stirred all the vegetables around the thick liquid surrounding it.

"When I said that I would get us plenty of food tomorrow, I meant it." Louis promised Omar.

Omar stopped stirring after hearing this comment. He took the soup spoon ladle out of the cauldron and hanged it off the side of the cauldron.

"Lou, it's great that you are determined to help Clementine with being responsible for the school and all. But, don't you think that you pressuring yourself a little too much? Whatever food we have, we will make sure that no one ever goes hungry." Omar reassured Louis.

Louis remained silent, looking down. He was trying to process everything Omar had just said.

He then looked up and made eye-contact with Omar. "I have to worry. I have to stress. I have to try to reach high goals, Omar. The school are counting on both me and Clem. We haven't got a choice to be 100% chill."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Louis then turned his back on Omar, trying to hide how scared he is.

"I…" Omar started, but he had no idea what to say.

Louis slightly turned his head to look over his shoulder. "Now if you will excuse me, I need to check up on the backwall defences before dinner."

And just like that Louis walked over to the bell tower to check to see if there were anymore walkers trying to get into the school.

It was not long until everyone was called to the tables to have dinner. Ruby and Violet were exiting the school building. Ruby helped Violet make her way to the table, Aasim was not far behind them. Willy and AJ made their ways to the table also. Omar was walking back and forth to the table and cauldron, filling the bowls with soup and putting them onto the table.

It was not long before everyone began to eat their food. Shortly after they realised someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Louis?" Ruby asked as she was helping Violet find her spoon.

"Hey, she has a point. Where is he? His dinner is going cold." Willy said.

Everyone thought for a moment, trying to figure out where Louis might be.

Then Violet remembered something.

"Hey, didn't he say something about checking the back-wall defences? Maybe, he is still at the bell tower." Said Violet.

"You're right Vi." Aasim spoke. Then he got up. "I'll go and get him. I will be as quick as I can."

Aasim got up and made his way to the bell tower.

"Can you manage on your own now, Vi?" asked Ruby.

"Yeah, I'm good thanks. Go and give Clem her soup. We don't want her to go hungry." Vi smiled.

Ruby smiled and got up to walk over to the cauldron. She grabbed a bowl and scooped some soup for Clem and made her way into the school building.

It did not take her long to reach Clem and AJ's bedroom. She entered the room very quietly, slowly opening the door. She was greeted with a smile. Clem must have known it was time for food. She was sitting up in her bed and was never happier to see a friendly face. She had been asleep for hours, so she was still trying to come around.

"Hey" Clem continued to smile.

"Hey girl. How are you feeling? I've brought you some dinner. Vegetable soup is all we have I'm afraid." Said Ruby as she walked over to Clem's bedside.

Clem just sighs, but also smiled while doing so. "A lot better thanks. Still a little tired, but I should be back to my old self in no time I reckon."

Ruby just chuckled. "Good." She smiled to Clem.

The two just smile at one another. Ruby is the one to break the silence.

"Anyways, from the looks of things and seeing how you are now, I reckon you were just tired out from a lack of sleep. Everyone will be glad to hear that you are doing a lot better." Ruby happily said.

"I am glad to be doing well myself. It's thanks to both you and Louis for helping me." Clem thanked Ruby.

"Anytime, Clem."

There was a moment of silence between the two girls.

"Anyways, I'll leave this soup here for you for when you are ready to eat. But don't let it go too cold, alright?" Ruby winked. Then she turned to walk out.

Clem smiled again. But then she was deep in thought.

"Hey…Ruby?"

Ruby stopped in her tracks and turned to face Clem.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think the tiredness will explain all the other symptoms that I've been having these past few weeks?"

This caught Ruby's attention.

"What kind of symptoms?" Ruby asked, feeling a little concern that there was something else wrong with Clem.

"Well I have been put off certain foods for quite a while, I'm having to use the bathroom more, my chest is hurting and sometimes I feel really dizzy." Clem explained.

"Woah hold it there, Clem. There is only so much I can take." Ruby interrupted to stop Clem. Ruby then gave herself a couple of minutes to think. Then she turned pale.

This started to worry Clem. "What? What is it, Ruby? Am I dying? How long do I have to live?"

Clementine was really worried that it was something really bad by the looks of Ruby's expression. She could not die. She could not put Louis, AJ or any of her friends through anymore death, grief and pain.

"Clem don't freak out but…" Ruby then leaned forward and whispered something into Clem's ear.

Clem just froze…What?

End of part 2