Clementine followed Javier into the hospital without a word. The hospital walls were white, with a red sign on it. There was a brown word painted onto it that simply said 'hospital'. Beside her, Hannah radiated nervous energy, her hands shaking and a small frown on her face. She kept glancing right, as if she expected someone to be there.
"Would you calm down?" Clementine asked. Hannah perked up, clenching her fists to keep them still.
"Sorry," She whispered. Clementine rose an eyebrow at her. When they got up to the doors of the hospital, Clementine saw that they were painted green, with glass windows in the frame.
"Follow me." Javier said, going into the room.
"Hey, uh, this place has medicine, right?" Hannah whispered. Javier looked over at Hannah, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh... Yeah?" He answered.
"I need to get something." Hannah said nervously. "Be right back."
"Wait-"
Before Javier or Clementine could react, Hannah had vanished down a dark hallway.
"Jeez. What's up with her?"
"I don't know." Clementine replied with a shrug. Javier scoffed.
"Thanks for the insightful comment." He said.
Clementine snickered at that. Javier went into the room his family was in, with Kate sleeping peacefully on a cot while Gabriel and Mariana were slumped against each other in their chairs, sleeping. Clementine smiled at the sight. Javier smiled as well and he went over to Kate's side, kneeling down and gently nudging her shoulder. Clementine went around to Gabriel and gently shook his shoulder. "Hey, wake up."
Gabriel shook his head, lifting it up slowly. "Wha...?"
"Javi's here." Clementine said, taking a step away from Gabriel. At that, his eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet, shaking his sister awake.
"Mari! Javi's back!" He said excitedly.
"Clem, can you go find Hannah?" Javier asked. Clementine nodded and left the room without a word.
She went back into the hallway, looking left and right. Moonlight came in through the windows, illuminating the hallway. She could see a few rooms down the hallway, each with a dark green door. Further down the hallway, she could hear the sound of cabinets being opened and closed. She followed the sound, going into the room where the sound was coming from.
Inside the room, a man with bloodshot eyes and a white lab coat sat, slumped over in his chair. It was Dr. Lingard. To the right, Hannah was rummaging around in one of the drawers in the room, desperately pulling out pill bottles, reading them, and then huffing in annoyance.
"Hannah?" Clementine asked hesitantly. Hannah's head jerked up, looking at Clementine. "What are you doing?"
"I need some medicine." She whispered. Clementine rose an eyebrow.
"For what?"
Hannah stood up, and Clementine saw that she now had a slight tremor over her entire body. However, it was the worst in her hands.
"In the hospital, we found our records or whatever, and the notes said that I was to take either Propranolol or Primidone. For tremors or whatever. I. can't. Find any!" She hissed, bending back down and sloppily rummaging through the medical cabinet again.
"Medicine like that would probably be locked up." Clementine said. "Um... Tremors? Do you know what's causing them?"
"No." She bit back. Clementine frowned, crossing her arms. "Sorry, it's just a thing that happens sometimes and I get really nervous and irritated when it happens because it doesn't feel good and I get tired and I start rambling and I'm rambling right now and i'm sorry..." Hannah pressed on, her voice becoming small.
From behind Hannah, Dr. Lingard groaned and shook his head, slowly sitting up. Hannah stood up quickly, spinning around to look at him.
"Clementine...? That you?" Dr. Lingard croaked. Then, his eyes flickered over to Hannah and narrowed. "You stealin' medicine?" He asked lowly.
"I need something for tremors. Can you give me something?" Hannah asked quickly, wringing her hands together. She tapped her foot against the ground and rocked back and forth slightly. Dr. Lingard propped his head up against his arm.
"That's what this is about? You want some drugs?" He asked. Hannah scowled, throwing her hands up.
"I'm not lying just to get drugs!" She said. Her hands had a noticeable tremble, and it was obvious that she couldn't control it. Dr. Lingard hummed.
"I'm sorry, I truly am, but we don't have any medicine fo' that."
"Is it because you wasted it all on yourself?!" Hannah snapped. Dr. Lingard frowned at her attitude.
"Is... David still alive?" Dr. Lingard asked hoarsely, turning his gaze to Clementine. Clementine rose an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms, and nodded at him. Dr. Lingard sighed, leaning back. He looked miserable.
"He won't be for long. He's got Joan on a warpath. David, he... He got me to care," He said. "When I was all alone, and he was there, he... Without him, I don't wanna care anymore. I just wanna die." He said, shaking his head.
Hannah's expression softened, and she crossed her arms, leaning forward a bit. It was honestly unsettling to see someone tremble the way she did- it looked unnatural. Felt unnatural. Something about it scared Clementine.
"Why're you tremblin', anyways? Neurological disorder? Autoimmune disease?" Dr. Lingard asked, looking back at Hannah.
Hannah shook her head, pursing her lips. "Doesn't matter I really just need the medicine and if you don't have it I oughta go out and look for some-"
"Hey!" Clementine said, reaching out and putting a hand on Hannah's shoulder. "Breath." She said gently. Hannah inhaled sharply, and then, a slow exhale escaped her. Her hands clenched and then unclenched as she tried a few more times. The shaking didn't stop, but it did lessen.
"That's why I was out the day we met, I was looking for some medicine," Hannah said softly. "That's why I've been alone all this time, my problems burden everyone else."
Clementine reeled back in surprise at that statement. To her, Hannah seemed pretty capable; what were a few tremors to her?
"I can't hold a gun steady like this-" Hannah continued.
"You don't need a gun, Hannah," Clementine said softly. Hannah looked down at Clementine, her eyes and face catching the moonlight in such a way that it made her appear ghostly. It was a bit haunting.
"I-"
"You have a crowbar. You don't have to hold a crowbar steady in order to swing it. You don't always have to kill a walker on the first try, either."
Hannah opened and closed her mouth, her face now blank. She stole a glance at Dr. Lingard, and then sighed, looking away.
"Did Javi tell you to come get it?"
Clementine nodded. "Yeah. It's time."
Hannah took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright... Yeah. Okay." She murmured. Clementine gave her a smile that she hoped was reassuring, and then turned, leading the way out of the room. Hannah followed silently, leaving Dr. Lingard alone in his room.
When they got outside, they saw that Javier and his family were waiting behind a wall. Javier caught Clementine's attention, and then when his eyes landed on Hannah, his expression immediately became concerned. Clementine and Hannah hurried over to Javier.
"What's wrong?" Javier asked immediately.
"Hannah needs medicine for tremors." Clementine responded. Hannah looked away, ashamed.
"Well, we need to get you some!" Gabriel whispered fiercely.
"Lingard says they don't have any for that."
"Seriously?!"
"Keep it down!" Kate warned, glaring at the kids. Clementine glared right back while Javier lead them to the building David warned them about. From beside her, she could hear Gabriel and Mariana bombarding Hannah with lots of questions. Her tone of voice indicated that she was growing uncomfortable.
"Shh," Clementine whispered. Gabriel and Mariana got the memo, thankfully, and shut up.
"Here," Javier said. The building looked like an old apartment complex, built with red bricks and with windows lining the wall. On the steps, Ava sat, anticipating their return.
"Took you long enough," She said, standing up. "Javi, you're with me. The rest of you stay here, where it's safe."
"Wait, where are we going?" Javier asked.
"We're going to give David some back up." Ava said. Ava's eyes flickered over to Hannah and she rose an eyebrow; however, she didn't say anything to her.
"What about Kenny? Did he come back?" Clementine asked, taking a step forward.
"Yeah. He did." Ava replied without looking back at Clementine. She turned, leading the way. Javier followed wordlessly. Kate sighed, shaking her head, and went up the steps, into the building. On the first floor, Kenny, Conrad, Tripp and Eleanor were all making small talk.
"Ah, good to see you all make it back in one piece." Conrad said with a warm smile. Clementine rushed over to Kenny, hugging him tightly. Kenny huffed and smiled, hugging her back.
"Good to see you too, darlin'." He said softly. Clementine pulled away, looking back at Hannah. She was lurking behind the rest of the group, biting her lip anxiously. Her arms were crossed, with her hands gripping her arms tightly.
"She's sick." Clementine breathed. Kenny followed her gaze, frowning.
"Sick? Sick how?" Kenny asked.
"She has these things called tremors... She said it's a thing that happens sometimes."
Kenny frowned, a sympathetic look on his face. "Poor thing." He said softly. "It must be scary, since she has no family here to help her either. No-one close to her." Then, Kenny looked down, frowning. "...I hope it doesn't kill her."
"It won't!" Clementine said fiercely. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't lose anyone else; not now, not ever. She was almost at her breaking point when it came to losing people.
"What's wrong?" Eleanor asked, suddenly materializing next to Kenny. Clementine looked at Hannah, who was at the back of the room, eyeing everyone nervously.
"Clem says Hannah has tremors." Kenny said. Eleanor frowned.
"Tremors can be a symptom of all kinds of things... Does she know anything about it?"
"Hannah said that it's just a thing that happens to her sometimes. She was trying to get some sort of medicine from Lingard. Pro- prop..." Clementine began, and then frowned.
"Propranolol." Eleanor finished for her, a surprised look on her face. "I'm surprised she even knows what that is... She must know what's causing it, then. I'll go talk to her," Eleanor said, walking past Kenny and over to Hannah. Her head snapped up when she noticed Eleanor approaching her.
"I hope dad's okay." Gabriel said softly, frowning. Clementine rose an eyebrow at him. Studying the boy closer, she could see that David and Gabriel had the same eyes, and maybe similar facial structures, but other than that, she couldn't see much of a resemblance between the two. She especially didn't see any resemblance between David and Mariana. Thinking about it, Clementine didn't even see any resemblance between them and Kate, either. Clementine went over to Gabriel and Mariana, sitting on a stool next to them.
"So... David and Kate are your parents? I honestly thought Javi could've been your dad."
At that, Mariana snickered a little while Gabriel shrugged. "Kate's not really our mom. She's our step-mom." Gabriel said.
Clementine hummed in response.
"Where are your parents, Clem?" Mariana asked. Clementine paused, looking at Mariana with slightly wide eyes.
"Uh... They're gone." She said awkwardly. Based on the looks on their faces, she could tell that Mariana regretted asking that.
"Lots of people's parents are gone these days." Conrad said solemnly. Clementine glanced back at Hannah, frowning a bit.
"Can't remember the last time I saw my momma..." Conrad continued.
Kate frowned and crossed her arms. "I was there when my uncle-in-law and father-in-law passed."
At the mention of this, Gabriel and Mariana both looked down, frowning.
"My father-in-law, he had cancer, and he passed. Not long after, he came back, and... He bit his wife and his brother."
Clementine frowned at that while Tripp and Conrad both gave Kate sympathetic looks.
"Sorry to hear that." Kenny spoke up.
"Wait," Tripp said. "So, what's goin' on between you and Javi? I thought you two were a thing."
Almost immediately, Mariana rolled her eyes while Gabriel groaned in exasperation. Clementine's face scrunched up.
"Well, no, but-" Kate began, then shook her head. "He was always brushing me off." She muttered.
"Damn." Tripp said. "I'm sorry to hear that."
Clementine stood up without a word and crept away, with Gabriel and Mariana following. Clementine went over to Hannah and Eleanor, who were speaking on hushed voices.
"I can deal with it," Hannah was insisting. "I can help you guys, I swear-"
"I'm not saying you can't, but until you get that medicine or until the tremors go away, you're benched." Eleanor said firmly. "Do you understand?"
Hannah huffed and looked away. Eleanor sighed, shaking her head. "I'll leave you alone," She said, walking away.
"Geez..." Clementine mumbled. Hannah looked up, and then looked back down.
"She's right and I hate it. I'm not healthy right now, and if I try anything I could put the group in danger."
"Don't listen to her," Gabriel said. "There's still lots of things you can do to help!"
"I wish Shade were here." Hannah grumbled. Clementine reached out, putting a hand on Hannah's arm.
She looked at Clementine, her expression changing completely. Her frown melted away and she gave her a small smile, her lips twitching a bit. Clementine suddenly felt a rush of emotions overtake her. She wanted to stop Hannah's shivers; she wanted to wrap her in in a blanket. She wanted to protect her. She wanted to protect everyone she cared about... But most importantly, she wanted to protect that smile.
She needed a new reason to live- this would be it.
"That bitch..." David growled, clenching his fists. Javier stared at the ground, his arms crossed. Was this it? Had he made a mistake in trusting his brother?
Would he ever see his family again?
Just then, the door opened, and Joan came in, with a few guards trailing behind her. "David," She said. "I would like to have a conversation with you. A casual discussion."
"What is there to discuss? You've been raiding settlements! You have no proof against me!" David snapped.
"Oh, but I do." Joan said.
"Please, just let us go." Javier tried, stepping forward. Joan looked at him, amusement crossing over her face.
"How cute, but no. I'm the one in charge here." She said. "Now, come on, David."
David looked at Javier with an apologetic look, and then begrudgingly followed Joan. Javier recognized one of the guards as the person he didn't shoot the day he met Clementine. He wanted to say something, ask for help- but deep down, he knew it would be useless. He watched the door close, his heart sinking. Then, he turned, sighing.
Was there anything he could do? Could he kick the door down? Dig a hole? Break through the window?
Javier looked up, an idea forming in his mind. He'd seen a rather large metal bar on the ground in front of the blue lockers, as well as a slot in the window above where the bar should've been. If he could pry just one more bar off, he'd be home free.
He went around the sink in the locker room, coming to a section with shower heads protruding from the ceiling. There was a small wooden stool that appeared questionable to Javier- it could hold the weight of the kids easily, but certainly not an adult.
No matter. It wasn't like he was going to use it for an extended period of time. He picked it up, feeling to warm smoothness of it. It had collected a bit of dust down here, which Javier brushed off. He went to the over side of the room and set it down, stepping up. He made sure to grab the iron bar before climbing on top of the lockers. He didn't particularly feel like slipping and falling off of the lockers.
"Hey."
Javier froze for a moment, his face spinning around to look at the window. Hannah and Clementine had appeared, with Hannah trembling a bit. Regardless, she had a victorious grin on her face upon seeing Javier.
"Scared you, didn't we?" She asked. Javier smirked at them.
"You sure did. Can you help me pry these bars off?" Javier asked, passing the bar through the window. Hannah's arm flew out, grabbing it, and despite her unsteady hands, she positioned the bar between the other bars.
"Clem, help me with this," She whispered. Clementine nodded once, wrapping her hands around the other side of the bar. Javier carefully wrapped a hand around the bar as well, his hand between theirs. He pushed while they pulled, and then, two of the other bars broke off. Hannah and Clementine both stumbled back, falling flat. Clementine recovered quickly while Hannah froze, her eyes glazing over for a second, before Clementine pulled her to her feet. Javier crawled out of the window, standing up straight.
"You okay?" Javier asked, giving Hannah a concerned look. Hannah smiled brightly at him.
"I'm fine, really, I am," She said, stealing a glance at Clementine. "C'mon, Eleanor found us a safer place to stay. We'll take you over, and talk about an escape plan or something."
"Where's David?" Clementine asked. Javier grimaced, clenching his fists.
"Joan took him. We gotta save him..." He said. Hannah looked out at the town, her eyes darting all around, before she looked back at them.
"We can talk about that later. Follow."
Hannah and Clementine led Javier to another apartment complex entirely. Inside, the walls were pale green with a tan carpet. The doors were all a dark brown and made of wood, with golden handles. Hannah went around a corner while Javier and Clementine walked side by side.
"How'd you know where to find me?" Javier asked. Clementine shrugged, smirking it.
"Gabe, Mari, Hannah and I all peeked out the window. I'm surprised we didn't get caught, to be honest." She said. They rounded the corner and saw Hannah eyeing the doors. Her eyes locked on one and she carefully reached forward, pushing the door open. Inside, Javier could hear Tripp and Eleanor arguing. Gabriel and Mariana pushed past Hannah and out of the room. Their faces lit up when they saw Javier, both of them racing towards him and colliding with him, hugging him tightly.
Javier couldn't control the smile that came onto his face and he hugged them back. "Good to see you too, guys," He said warmly, smiling proudly at them. Javier's mind began working quickly- it suddenly occurred to him that, with David back, he would most likely have to give them 'back' to David so that he could raise them. Jealousy suddenly flared up inside Javier.
These kids are mine. I raised them.
Javier would have to talk to David about this once this whole thing was said and done.
"Come on, we should get inside before anyone sees us," Javier said. He ushered Gabriel and Mariana into the room, closing the door behind him. The room was simple at a first look, with a living room in front of him. There was a dark brown loveseat against the wall opposite to him, as well as a couch to his left. There was also an entertainment center with a black flat screen TV sitting on it. It had a later of fine dust on it, coating the entire surface area of the TV. The top of the entertainment center did as well. To the right of Javier, there was a doorway that led to the kitchen. Kate came out, a worried look on her face. However, relief washed over her when she saw Javier.
Javier smiled and walked over to her, hugging her gently.
"Javi, I was so worried..." She murmured, pulling away from him. Gabriel and Mariana each gave Kate weird looks, but didn't say anything about it. Hannah was lounging on the loveseat, dozing, with Clementine on the opposite side of the loveseat, studying her intently. "Come on, we need to talk." Kate said, leading Javier into the kitchen. There was an island in the middle of it with a white countertop, as well as light brown cabinets lining the white walls. On the right side of the room was a black oven with a white stovetop, as well as a silver microwave to the left of the stove. Tripp stood with his arms crossed, looking defeated, while Eleanor stood a good distance away in the same pose as Tripp. Kenny's head was in his hands, disappointment radiating off of him. Conrad looked bored, his face propped up on his arm. Ava stood next to him, her arms crossed with a generally annoyed look on her face.
"Javi's back," Kate spoke up, breaking the tense atmosphere.
"Good to see you, man," Conrad said with a smile, sitting up straight. Ahead of them was the dining room with a small, round table with only four chairs around it. There were two tall, spinning black chairs bolted to the ground on each side of the island in the kitchen.
"Good to be back," Javier said, nodding with a smile. "Listen. David's in trouble. Joan's got him."
Kate frowned, shaking her head. "Javi, i'm sorry about David, but we need to get out of here." Kate said firmly.
Ava's head snapped up, narrowing at Kate. "No, we need to help him." She said, agreeing with Javier. Tripp and Conrad exchanged a glance. Eleanor looked up at well, frowning.
"David's my brother. He's Gabe and Mari's father." Javier continued. He tried to keep his voice steady, but his voice sounded strained with the last sentence. Kenny looked up, seemingly catching on to his tone.
"Shit, man..." He cursed under his breath, and then looked up at Javier. "Fine. Clementine and I will help."
"Javi, you're a good man, and you've proven to be a loyal friend, too. I'm in," Tripp said. Javier felt relief begin to wash over him. Kate frowned, shaking her head and crossing her arms.
"You're all suicidal!" Kate hissed. Out of the corner of Javier's eyes, he saw Eleanor back into the dining room, peering through a window. Javier ignored her and turned to Kate, a frown on her face.
"David's their father-"
"But you and I raised them!" Kate exclaimed. Javier's mouth snapped shut, his fists and jaws clenching.
"I know that," He said through gritted teeth. "But i'm not their father. David is. They need their father."
Javier was hoping to convince Kate, but it really felt like he was trying to convince himself, more so than anyone else.
"Actually, she has a point," Kenny spoke up. "It doesn't always matter if you're their father or not. Trust me, I know." Kenny murmured, looking down. Javier paused, turning to look at him, a curious look on her face.
"Are... Are you talking about you and Clementine?"
Kenny chuckled and shook his head. "Ohhh No. We care about each other for sure, but I could never compare to the man who first found her when all of this started... His name was Lee. They were so close... Many people thought they were actually related. He was like a brother to me. God, I miss that bastard... My point here is that David may be their father, but in the end, family isn't always just blood."
Javier considered his words for a moment, and sighed. "I know... But we still need to help him. We can't just leave him hanging."
"Guys!" Eleanor spoke up. The group turned to look at her. "You really need to see this." She said, turning back to the window and parting some blinds. Javier went around the island and made his way over to her, peering through the blinds also. There, he could see the walls of Richmond, made from scrap metal and propped up on metal and wooden pillars. Outside the walls, however, was a huge herd of muertos.
"Oh my god..." Javier breathed.
"Whatever you decide on, we need an escape plan to go with it," Eleanor said.
"We have a base not far from here," Ava spoke up. "There's a truck we can all fit in. It'll be a tight fit, so I hope you don't mind getting cozy with one another." She said. "We need someone to go get it, though... That's the problem."
"I can go," Kate spoke up.
Javier nodded. "I'll go with you." He said. He looked down, frowning in thought. "Who else should we take?"
"Gabe can come with us," Kate offered. "Maybe Kenny and Clementine too, if you don't mind." Kate added, looking down at Kenny.
Kenny shrugged and stood up. "What about the cowgirl?"
"Uh-uh. She's staying here." Eleanor said firmly. Kenny shrugged.
"Yes, ma'am." Kenny said with a nod.
"Besides, she can keep an eye on Mari for us," Javier added.
"Here's a map of where it is," Ava said, pulling a folded piece of paper out of her back pocket. "Whatever you do, be careful. Here's one of the keys to the truck, too," Ava said, dropping a single small key into Javier's outstretched palm. He nodded and quickly placed it in his back pocket, and then unfolded the map, his eyes inspecting it. He nodded, folded it back up, and placed it in the same pocket as the key was in.
"Come on," Javier said to Kenny and Kate, leading them to the living room. Mariana was sleeping on the couch, with Gabriel keeping watchful eyes on his sister. Clementine was still watching Hannah, and Javier noticed that her eyes were on Hannah's trembling hands. Hannah had fallen asleep, and even in her sleep, she trembled. It was truly unsettling.
"Clem, Gabe," Javier spoke. They both perked up. Kate walked up beside Javier, smiling at Hannah and Mariana.
"We're going to get a truck," Javier said. Gabriel nodded and stood up, stretching. Clementine began to reach over to Hannah, presumably to wake her up.
"She stays here." Kenny said. Clementine looked up, frowning.
"What? Why? What if something happens when we're gone and something happens to them?"
Javier heard Kenny let out a quiet sigh before speaking. "Doctor's orders. Eleanor doesn't want her out doin' dangerous shit. Pretty sure she's in trouble for goin' to get Javi... And besides, there's still plenty of adults here to protect your precious cowgirl." Kenny added, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Clementine huffed, looking away in annoyance. Javier could've sworn he saw a tinge of red in her cheeks.
Javier smirked at that. "Come on... Let's go."