Later that Night, Clementine quietly exited the shed they were trapped in, there were still too many walkers for them to make a beeline, but if she was careful she could sneak through them all. She slowly inched her way through the walkers and into the forest. When she made it to the forest she ran in the direction of the cabin.
It took her until it was day time to reach the cabin. She rushed inside the cabin and threw open the door. She saw Carlos and Rebecca talking.
"Clementine! Are you alright? What happened?" Carlos asked her.
Clementine caught her breath before answering Carlos. "When...when we got to the river, there was a bunch of dead bodies. They were the bandits that raided me and Omid and...Christa. Nick said that it was most likely somebody named 'Carver' that did it." She told them.
Carlos and Rebecca shared a worried look when Clementine said Carver, which didn't go unnoticed by the eleven year old.
"When we were about to come back, a bunch of walkers surrounded us. We were holed up in a shed for a day before I was able to sneak out of it and come get help!" Clementine finished before looking around.
"Hey, where's Luke and Alvin?" She asked them.
"Luke and Alvin went looking for you when you guys didn't come back." Rebecca told Clementine before turning to Carlos. "We have to go." She told him.
Carlos looked at her with a worried expression. "But-"
"My husband is out there with god knows how many lurkers, Carlos! GET THE GUNS!" Rebecca shouted.
Carlos ran to do just that.
"I told them not to go...Dammit Luke!" Rebecca said to herself.
Carlos came running with two guns and handed one to Rebecca. He looked towards Clementine and glanced to the staircase, where his daughter was standing.
"Clementine, I want you to keep on my daughter. Her name is Sarah. Please take care of her while we're gone." He asked Clementine.
The eleven year old nodded. "Okay. It would be nice to have a friend my age again." Clementine said, thinking back to Duck.
Carlos smiled at Clementine before heading out the door.
Clementine turned towards where Sarah was standing. She gave her a small wave. "Hi." She greeted.
Sarah returned Clementine's wave to her. "Hi." She greeted back.
Sarah looked at Clementine's hand that was holding Leeya. "That looks pretty cool." She said, pointing towards Leeya.
Clementine looked down and twirled Leeya a bit. "We've been through a lot together, Leeya and I." Clementine said.
Sarah tilted her head in confusion. "Leeya?" She repeated.
Clementine gestured towards Leeya. "Yeah, her name is Leeya. Don't judge." She said, causing the other girl to giggle.
Clementine smiled at her laugh as the other girl walked down the stairs completely. "I'm Sarah. What's your name?" Sarah asked Clementine.
"I'm Clementine." She told the other girl.
"Hi Clementine! So, do you think we're gonna be friends?" Sarah asked Clementine.
The hatted girl nodded in response to the glasses wearing girl's question. "Of course!"
Sarah held out her pinkie. "Pinkie Promise!" She said giddily.
Clementine rolled her eyes playfully at the gesture before shaking the girl's pinkie with her own. "Sure."
Sarah eee'd in joy before grabbing Clementine's hand and dragging her upstairs to her room. "Come on! I got some stuff to show you!"
Clementine ran with her to keep from falling over. "Uh, Okay!" She said as they ran upstairs. "Wait! Is Omid okay?"
"You mean that man with the hurt leg? He's fine, he's just sleeping in our guest room." Sarah told Clementine, which got her to calm down.
When the two girls reached the taller girls room, Sarah finally let go of Clementine's hand. She opened the door and rushed inside. Clementine followed Sarah less enthusiastically.
"What did you want to show me?" Clementine asked as she closed the door behind her.
"I found this old Polaroid camera!" Sarah said, holding the the camera in one hand. "And this!" She said, holding out her other hand. Which held a gun.
"Hey! Easy with that! Don't shoot me!" Clementine said nervously.
Sarah eeped out an apology as she put both items down on her bed. "Well, can you take my picture?" Sarah said, holding out the camera to Clementine.
Clementine shrugged as she took the Polaroid from Sarah. "Sure. Why not?" She said. "Make a silly face."
Sarah stuck her tongue out and went cross-eyed.
Click.
Clementine took the picture and shook it before showing it to Sarah. "Well? What do you think?" She asked her new friend.
Sarah took the picture from her and looked at it. "I think you have a real eye for this kind of thing!" Sarah said happily.
Sarah glanced over at the gun on her bed. "Hey...do you think you can teach me how to shoot?"
Clementine looked at her in shock. "You don't know how?!" Clementine said in disbelief.
Sarah shook her head. "No, I don't. Daddy wont let me." She told Clementine.
Clementine seethed with anger. "That idiot!" She said a little angrily.
Sarah took a little offense to that, but was mostly confused. "Why does Dad not wanting me to shoot make him an idiot?"
Clementine looked at Sarah with a serious look. "You not knowing how to defend yourself can get you killed." Clementine told her.
Sarah looked at Clementine with an unreadable expression for a minute. "Can I tell you something?" She asked her.
"Uh, yeah. Sure." Clementine said, a little confused and a little worried.
Sarah looked down at her hands and twiddled her thumbs for a bit.
"Daddy has been trying to keep me from seeing how bad the world really is, but, I know it's terrible. He's trying to shelter me from it, and it could end up getting me or him hurt. If I ever find myself trapped with a bunch of those things, I don't want to be scared. I want to be able to fight back." Sarah told Clementine before looking up at her.
"Which is the reason why I want you to teach me how to shoot." She asked again.
Clementine nodded. "I'll teach you." Clementine agreed before heading out of Sarah's room.
"Follow me and take your gun with you." Clementine told her.
"Okay." Sarah said before picking up the gun and hopping off of her bed.
Clementine lead Sarah to Pete's room. "First let's get some ammo. You cant shoot an empty gun." Clementine said before opening the door to Pete's room.
She grabbed two handful's of clips for both of their guns. Which thankfully looked like they were the same model. Clementine decided that the target on the wall of Pete's bedroom would work for now.
"First, don't be afraid of it. It's just a thing. It cant hurt you." Clementine said after loading the gun for Sarah and handing it back to her.
"Okay..." Sarah said as she took the gun back from Clementine.
"The most important thing is to always aim for the head. Unless the thing you're shooting at isn't a walker, but somebody trying to hurt you." Clementine said.
"Okay. Then what do I do?" Sarah asked Clementine.
"Shoot the body or the head. It doesn't matter. But don't kill anyone you don't absolutely have to, understand?" Clementine asked Sarah.
Sarah nodded. "Got it."
"Aim it at that." Clementine told Sarah, pointing to the target.
"Oh! Alright." Sarah said before pointing the gun out towards the target.
Clementine saw a mistake immediately. "Don't lock your elbows. Here, look at how I do it." Clementine said before showing her how to aim.
"All right, keep it steady and squeeze the trigger firmly." Clementine said.
Sarah took a deep breath to calm herself before pulling the trigger.
"Eep!" She squeaked when she shot it. "It hurt my hands."
Clementine nodded. "You'll get stronger the longer you keep this up." She said.
Clementine examined where the bullet hit. "All right, repeat what you did, but aim a little to the left." Clementine told her.
"Okay." She said before aiming the gun again.
"Elbows..." Clementine said with a warning tone.
"Oh right." Sarah said in realization as she adjusted her posture.
She took another deep breath to calm herself and kept the gun steady before pulling the trigger again. This time, she hit the target dead on.
"I got it!" She said happily.
"It'll be tougher on the real thing, but now you got the basics down." Clementine said.
Sarah nodded happily as she put the gun in her pants.
A bit after that, Sarah saw a shadow move outside the window of the room. "Hey! Luke's back!" She said happily before running out of the room.
"Hey, be careful!" Clementine called after the girl before following her.
When she got downstairs, she saw Sarah hiding behind a wall. "Clem! That's not Luke!" She whispered. "I think I know who he is though. I can't let him see me." Sarah whispered with fear in her voice.
"Go hide. Quickly." Clementine told her. Sarah ran upstairs as quietly and as quickly as she could.
Clementine turned towards the door and walked over to it.
"Hello?" A gruff raspy voice called as the man outside knocked on the door.
Clementine walked over to the door, about to lock it when the door opened. Clementine drew her gun and pointed it at the man who opened the door. He took a step back when he noticed Clementine. "Whoa, kid. Easy there, I'm not going to hurt you." He said.
Clementine glared at him before lowering the gun but not putting it away.
'Hm. Cautious kid.' Carver thought to himself.
"What's your name, little girl?" He asked her.
"Clementine." Clementine answered with a cautious tone.
"Nice to meetcha, Clementine." Carver said as he surveyed the house and stepped inside.
"Nice place. Looks cozy. Got it all to yourself?" Carver asked Clementine.
"Just me and my dad." Clementine said without missing a beat.
"What's your dad's name?" Carver asked as he looked inside the kitchen.
Clementine crossed her arms. "Lee." Clementine answered.
Carver turned to Clementine with a grin on his face. "Heh. Strong name. Like him already. Where is he?" Carver asked as they entered the living room.
"He's out hunting." Clementine said.
Carver took note of a chess board. "Hmm. White's in trouble. Three moves away from checkmate." He said before noticing a flannel shirt on a chair.
'Carlos.' He thought.
"I knew a guy who always wore shirts like these. Doctor."
Clementine's eyes narrowed at that. "What was his name?" She tested.
Carver turned to look at her. "Carlos."
When Clementine heard him say her friend's dad's name, her suspicions were confirmed. She aimed her gun at Carver's head, causing him to take a step back and raise his hands.
"Clementine, what brought this on?" He asked calmly, his expression unreadable.
"You're that man they talk about, Carver, aren't you." Clementine said.
Carver's eyes widened at that.
'I like this girl.'
"So what if I am? Are you going to shoot me kid?" Carver asked Clementine.
She responded by pulling back the hammer of her gun. "I might." She said. She was seemingly in thought.
"Let me ask you this. When you met them, did they seem to trust you?" Carver asked Clementine.
"Pete and Luke did." Clementine answered honestly.
"They did, did they?" Carver said.
Clementine sighed before motioning her gun to the door. "Leave before I decide to shoot you." Clementine said.
'This man hasn't given me any reason to kill him apart from what I was told about him. I don't think Lee would want me to kill him now.' Clementine thought to herself.
"Mighty kind of ya, Clementine. I'll see myself out." Carver said heading to the door.
Before he left, he turned back to Clementine. "You have a real nice day now, Clementine." He said before leaving the house.
The door upstairs clicked open as Sarah poked her head out. "Is he gone?" She asked.
Clementine sighed before nodding. Sarah came out of the room and hugged Clementine after she came upstairs. Clementine tried to not be super rude when she wiggled out of the hug. Sarah blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry. I was just relieved you weren't hurt."
"It's fine." Clementine said, accepting her apology.
"Speaking of hurt people, I should check on Omid." Clementine said, heading to the injured man's room.
She opened the door and peered inside. She found Omid lying on the bed, fast asleep. "How did he sleep through all of that?!" Sarah whisper shouted in disbelief.
"He really likes sleeping." Clementine whispered back before closing the door.
A couple hours later:
Clementine checked her gun, making sure she had it loaded and made sure Leeya was securely clipped to her belt as she walked downstairs. Sarah following her. "I'm going to go look for the others, they need to know about this." Clementine told Sarah as she headed towards the front door.
It opened to reveal Luke, Alvin, Carlos and Rebecca.
"Clementine!" Luke exclaimed as he ran up to her and knelt down to her level.
"Carlos told me you were with Nick and Pete, can ya tell us where they are?" He asked her.
"The three of us were in a shed off by the river." Clementine told them.
Luke nodded. "Ah know where it is. We can go get them now."
"There's something else I need to tell you all." Clementine said as they all came inside.
They all looked at her with worry. "What is it, Clem?" Luke asked her.
"There was a man here." Clementine told them, seeing them all get on guard when she said that.
"Oh...fuck fuck fuck!" Rebecca said to herself before looking at Clementine. "There was a man you didn't recognize and you just let him inside?!"
Clementine crossed her arms. "I didn't let him inside. He opened the door himself, he was coming in either way." Clementine told the pregnant woman.
Sarah nodded. "She's telling the truth."
"Hey, it's okay, Becc. Maybe it wasn't him?" Alvin said hopefully.
"You know damn well who it was." Rebecca said as she began pacing the kitchen.
"Before anybody asks me, I think it was this Carver guy you all wont tell me about. Speaking of, Luke, can you tell me about Carver?" Clementine asked him.
Luke nodded before telling Clementine everything he knew about Carver.
Clementine sighed. "Great. That definitely WAS him then." Clementine said.
"He talked about you, Daddy." Sarah said with a worried tone.
Clementine nodded along with what her friend was saying. "When he saw your shirt on the chair, he mentioned that he knew a guy who always wore shirts like it and that he was a doctor. When I asked him what that guy's name was, he said it was Carlos." Clementine told them.
They all looked at each other with worried glances. "That's when I pulled my gun on him and told him to leave." Clementine finished.
Luke stood up and looked at everybody. "We need to pack up an' go. Like, now." Luke said, everybody agreeing with him.
Luke turned back to Clementine. "We need to get Pete N' Nick and then we gotta go, Clem." Luke told her.
Clementine nodded in agreement. Sarah walked up to Luke after Carlos went upstairs. "Luke?" She asked quietly.
Luke looked over at Sarah. "Yeah, what is it?"
Sarah looked over at where Carlos was at for a second before looking back to Luke. "Don't tell my dad, but..." She trailed off before showing Luke her gun.
Luke's eyes widened. "Where did ya get that?!" He asked her with a whisper shout.
"Under the house. Clementine taught me how to use it." Sarah told Luke.
Luke looked over to Clementine. "Well she IS a crack shot, so Ah'll keep my mouth shut. Ah think it's good that you can protect yourself. Ah'll be right back, now. Gotta get Omid, ya hear?"
Clementine nodded. "Are you sure you'll be able to carry him for that long?" Clementine asked him in concern for both of her friends' well being.
Luke smirked at her as he headed upstairs. "Ah carried Nick for ten days once. Ah'm good, trust me." He said before entering the room Omid was sleeping in.
He came out carrying a groggy Omid minutes later. "All right, Ya'll. We gotta move." He said as he moved towards the door.
Everybody left the cabin and headed for where Clementine had left Pete and Nick.
A couple hours later:
"Is this where ya left 'em Clem?" Luke asked Clementine as the group came up on the shed.
Clementine nodded. "Yes it is." She said affirmatively.
"Omid, can ya walk?" Luke asked Omid.
"Y-Yeah. I think so." He said.
Luke placed Omid down and Omid started limping around. "It's easier to walk then it was last time." Omid said jokingly to Clementine.
Luke knocked on the shed door. "Pete! Nick! Are ya in there?" He called out.
After a few minutes of waiting, the door opened to reveal Pete and Nick. "What took ya'll so fucking long?" Pete asked.
Nick groaned. "Ahh. Is it morning already?"
Pete noticed all the bags they were carrying. "What's going on?" He asked everybody.
"Carver found the cabin. Clementine got him to leave, but he knows that we were there." Alvin told them.
"Aw fuck!" Nick said.
"Son of a bitch!" Pete swore.
"We're fixin to hike up to them mountains up north. It'll be five days of walking." Luke said.
"Five days?!" Omid and Rebecca groaned at the same time.
"Sorry ya'll, but we have to get out of there." Luke said.
Omid sighed sadly. "God damn it."
"We'll I guess we'd better get movin'." Pete said.
Everybody started walking north, towards the mountains.