The following morning everybody had gotten up and ate the same as yesterday, beans and peaches, this time for breakfast. Nick has been avoiding Kenny since they all had gotten up, and intends to keep it that way.
"Alright people. I need some of y'all to help me with supplies that are behind the lodge, bring 'em in." Kenny said, holding a small gun. Matthew stepped up, and so did Luke. All of them grabbed their corresponding weapons and headed outside. The rest were cleaning up the lodge, or sitting by the couch.
Clementine was helping Sarah and Walter clean the tables, as much as she could with her injured arm. "Okay, I think the tables are cleaned. Thank you, girls." Walter said, smiling at them. The both girls nodded and walked off into the couches, where Rebecca, Lee and Nick were.
"Where's Alvin?" "Where's dad?" The girls asked. "Oh, they both went to gather up some more wood for the fireplace. They'll be back soon." Rebecca replied, smiling at both of them.
Clementine nodded, and Sarah scratched the back of her neck. "Hey, um, Rebecca?" She called, sounding unsure. "Is your baby going to be a girl or a boy?" Rebecca sighed at the question. "I don't know, honey. I can't go to a doctor and check what it's going to be." Sarah's eyes lit up. "But, my dad's a doctor! He can tell you what it is!" Both older women laughed.
"It's different, Sarah. He'd need ultrasound equipment, and I'm sure nobody here has any of those around." Sarah sat down across from her, frowning. "That's not fair, I wanted to know what the baby is." Rebecca smiled at her. "It's okay, I'm pretty sure it's a girl," The pregnant woman said, rubbing her belly.
"You girls want to feel? She's kicking." Sarah immediately crouched next to her and placed her hands over her belly. Clementine slowly approached her, and placed a hand on it. She felt a kick.
"Doesn't it hurt?" Clementine asked, her eyes a bit wide. "No, it feels quite funny actually," the pregnant woman said. "That's… really weird." Clementine commented, a chuckle escaping her mouth. They all shared some laughs.
Nick and Lee were having a drink together, talking among themselves.
"My mom used to have a lot of pictures of her when she was pregnant with me, she was huge." Clem randomly said, smiling at Rebecca's pregnant belly. "She would have lots of them, it was ridiculous. I guess dad liked teasing my mom." Rebecca looked at her, a warm smile across her face, although sorrow filled her eyes. "They must've loved you very much, Clem." She sighed, remembering her parents.
"Y-Yeah… I guess so." The amber-eyed then said, scratching the back of her neck. Rebecca proceeded to rub her back, in a way to comfort her. Sarah had stayed silent, not knowing what to really say.
Suddenly, the doors opened. Carlos and Alvin came into view, holding wood in their arms. "We're back!" Alvin then said, as if the others hadn't noticed. They placed the heavy-looking wood besides the fireplace.
Rebecca got up from the couch and walked towards Alvin, who was looking sweaty. "I missed you, you dork." She said as she placed her arms around his neck, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Missed ya too, Bec. You all good?" Rebecca nodded and let go of their embrace.
Clementine got up and smiled at the couple, before she wandered off into the kitchen area. Or, well, the place Walter cooked. She begun cleaning the area, as Walter was probably helping Kenny with the supplies.
She looked at the can of peaches. Walter and the others were right, it sort of looked like her. Although, it looked more like her younger self. She smiled at the can.
"Ya know, last time I checked, it wasn't normal to smile at cans." Clementine jumped and dropped the can, placing a hand on her chest. "Luke!" She said, punching him slightly on his arm. "You scared me!" Luke let out a laugh and rubbed the area where he was punched. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya." He pulled her close to him and gave her a peck on the lips.
Clementine's face started to heat up, and she hid her face on his shirt. She could hear his heart beating..
"Anyway, Kenny and I talked. Pretty sure we are on good terms now, I hope." Luke then said, scratching his neck. "Although Nick ain't makin' it easy, I tell ya." Clementine frowned and separated a bit from him. "What'd he do now?"
The brown haired guy sighed, "He dropped some glass outside, don't know if ya heard. We had to deal with some walkers."
After Kenny called the group for some help with the supplies, Matthew and Luke followed behind him. "We have to bring 'em in before the storm hits, don't know how much time we got, but we better be fast and careful." Matthew nodded and so did Luke, his machete on his back like usual.
Kenny handed Matthew a large box, containing more canned food. He turned and left with the box to the lodge.
"Here," Kenny said, giving Luke two smaller boxes. "You take these." Luke nodded, taking the boxes and following Matthew inside. Kenny stayed, in case anyone was near.
After a while, both Matthew and Luke returned. Kenny then gave Matthew some boxes and he left once again.
They did this for about ten more minutes.
"Welp, looks like that's about it. Thanks for the help." As Kenny said this, he begun to walk away. "Hey, uh, Kenny?" Luke called, before he could walk away. Kenny turned, his eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, kid?"
Luke let out a small sigh, "I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. We really don't mean harm, and well, Nick has been through some shit-" "We've ALL been through shit, kid. He ain't nothing special."
"Yeah, I know that. But look.. He already lost two members of his family, I'm sure everybody has lost somebody. But he ain't takin' it well. I ain't askin' you to treat him nicely, just don't provoke him and he won't do shit." Kenny sighed but nodded. "Fine, as long as he doesn't cause any trouble around here I'm good-" The sound of glass shattering filled their ears.
Both guys turned to see where the noise had occurred, and they saw Nick bending down next to some broken glass. It appeared to be a cup. Kenny widened his eyes at him, then glared at him.
"What the fuck?!" Ken exclaimed, loud enough for all three of them to listen. "I-It was an accident-" "Accident my ass! Look, kid, you really gettin' on my nerves, clean this shit up before someone gets hurt-" "Fuck you! I said it was a fucking accident, the fuck is wrong with you, you old-" Luke got in the middle of their fiasco, placing a hand near their chests. "Look, this ain't the time to argue, alright?"
Moaning filled their ears, instead of glass now. The brown haired guy sighed and took out his machete, stabbing a walker on the skull. The others killed a walker each.
"Get the fuck inside, both of yall," Kenny demanded, his glare ice cold. Nick huffed and didn't protest any longer, and walked inside the lodge. Luke sighed once he left and took a glance at Kenny, and walked back inside.
It took a few minutes before Kenny walked back inside.
Luke sighed, remembering what had happened a few minutes ago. "Nick is outta control, but I guess I understand a bit. He lost Pete and his mom. Ain't nobody gonna change that." Clem gave him a pout. "Still, doesn't give him a reason to do crazy things." The amber-eyed then said, furrowing her eyebrows a bit.
"Please.. Please let me go!" A 9-year old Clementine pleaded to the strange man outside the locked closet. "Sorry, darling. Not happening. Not until he shows up and pays."
The small girl sniffled, regretting every listening to the dumb radio of hers. "I miss Lee." She blurted out and shut her eyes tight, hoping the man wouldn't do something to hurt her.
"I'm sorry. But he wouldn't take good care of you, even if he tried." The strange man said, almost in front of the closet. "Now, honey, if you don't mind.." Clementine heard shuffling noises from outside, and saw a glimpse of the strange man tying a rope around the door handle, to the one in front of it. "Please stop! I...I don't want to be here!" Clem heard herself say, tears streaming down her face.
"Now, now, you'll be able to get out of there in no time. You'll get to meet your new mom… we'll be a great family."
Clementine decided to stay silent, and sit on the cold hard ground. I guess this was better than being outside with the walkers, she thought.
A few hours, at most, started to pass. She had fallen asleep inside the closet, and at this point she had woken up. She held tightly onto her pink sweater, the only thing close to warmth.
She could hear the stranger get up and his footsteps were getting further away from her. Then, suddenly, he leapt and ran somewhere inside the room. She was confused but decided not to say anything, as he probably had a reason to run somewhere.
Clem held onto herself tighter, shutting her eyes. The door to the apartment creaked, so she assumed someone had gotten in. She was deciding whether to yell for help or stay quiet, but she didn't know if that someone was dangerous.
After a few seconds, she could see a dark figure in front of the closet.
"I got us adjoining rooms." The stranger who had kidnapped her said. "Where is she?" That voice… Lee!
"I already told you, she's fine." The stranger then replied. "You look horrible. Ugh, that smell."
"Go over there." The man then said. Clem couldn't see anything, so she couldn't tell where Lee was now.
The small child leaned on the closet door. "Let me out! Lee!" She heard the sound of a click, and she wasn't sure what it was. Lee didn't reply.
"Quiet please, sweetie!" The stranger then shouted, patiently, towards Clem. The young girl had to get out and help Lee, she knew the strange man was probably armed.
"Your things," there was a small pause. "there."
Clementine heard them talking, a bit further away from the closet, so she couldn't make up all the words.
After more minutes, she managed to find a bobby pin on her hair, holding back a thick piece of her hair. She quietly stook up and started messing with the door, in hope to get it opened.
More minutes had passed, and she somehow, got the door to open. She pulled it carefully, not to make any noise, and ripped the rope in the process. She took a glance at Lee, who had his eyes widened. He motioned her to grab the empty bottle with his eyes.
She slowly walked towards the furniture holding the bottle. Once she grabbed it, she started to slowly approach the stranger.
The young girl lifted the bottle, and plunged it into the stranger's head. The bottle broke and shattered on his head. Lee took this as the chance to kick him in the chest, and the two of them started to fight.
Lee tried to strangle the stranger, but it didn't work. As soon as his hands left his throat, the stranger punched him and started beating him. Lee was trying to get him off, but he couldn't.
"Just.. go… away!" The stranger kept saying as he beat him up-
BANG.
The man fell limp on top of him. Lee widened his eyes. The older man pushed the dead body off of him, and he sat up. Clementine was holding the gun, shaking.
The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, before Clementine gave Lee a hug. She was shaking and crying, but Lee was there. He was safe.
"Sweet pea," he started saying, lifting her face a little. "Did he hurt you?" The young girl shook her head as she wiped her tears away. "Nuh-uh.."
Lee nodded and got up. "We need to get out of here, Christa and Omid are waiting for us." Clementine nodded and clung to his hand.
Lee grabbed his axe before they left, and Clementine took the gun she had used to shoot the stranger. "Lee," Clem then said, wincing at the smell. "You smell bad." Lee gave a warm chuckle. "Yeah, I know, hon. I had to… I had to smell bad to get here." Clementine looked confused, wondering what he meant. "Um, okay, Lee.."
Lee opened the door, to find a walker in there. The walker seemed to smell him and examine him for a bit, before starting to walk towards Clementine.
"L-Lee!" She pointed the gun with shaky hands towards the walker, but Lee stopped it with a stab in the skull.
"Sweetie, the smell blocks them from identifying us as.. well, people." Lee explained, sighing a bit.
"Do I…?" Clementine started asking, before Lee interrupted. "Yes, honey."
Lee used his butcher knife to open the walker, revealing its insides. Clementine covered her nose in disgust, the smell was unbearable.
Lee frowned sadly at Clem, holding up a few guts. The young girl sighed and stood in front of him. "I really don't want to do this…" Poor innocent Clem said, shutting her eyes as the guts made contact on her clothes.
"I know, sweet pea. But we need to find Omid and Christa, and this is our best bet we have." Lee covered Clementine in walker guts from front to back.
Lee saw an upset looking Clementine, and all he could do was rub her shoulder in a fatherly manner.
"We have to go, Clem. Remember, stay close to me and walk slowly, okay?" Clementine felt herself nod, "Okay, Lee." She held his hand tightly.
They walked outside the Marsh House, leaving the dead stranger inside the room, feeling uneasy.
The streets were roamed by walkers, although not more than Lee had encountered with Omid, Christa, Kenny and Ben on the roof of the hospital.
Kenny… Ben... Lee thought, the memory of them being gone making his heart ache.
"Stay close," Lee repeated, almost in a whisper to the young girl. All she did was hold onto his hand tighter.
They had begun to slowly walk in the herd of walkers. They wanted to run, but knew if they did, they would have no chance of survival.
After a few minutes of slowly walking, Clementine abruptly stopped. Lee stopped walking and glanced at where she was looking.
Her parents.
They were walkers.
Clementine's eyes watered, the sight of her parents making her weak.
Lee placed his hand on her shoulder, signaling that they had to go.
Clementine sucked up her tears, and held onto Lee once again, looking away from her now death parents.
She can survive, she'll do it for them.
They had made it through the herd, without a scratch.
Christa had immediately ran towards Clementine to give her a hug once they had spotted them.
She knew she had to be strong, that she had to be safe and keep those whom she cared for safe.
She knew that her parents would be watching her from above, or wherever they were, but not those things, not them.
She wouldn't do anything to dissapoint them.
She wouldn't do anything crazy.
She would survive.
For them.
"Clem? You okay?" Luke then asked, waving his hand over her face.
She widened her eyes for a quick second, before rubbing her eyes. "Oh, yeah, sorry."
"You seemed a bit out of it for a minute," The brown haired guy said, shuffling his hair a bit. Clementine nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Yeah, I'm good, don't worry."
His cheeks began to change color in a matter of seconds, which Clementine responded with a giggle.
"What's funny? Fill me in," Kenny then said, approaching the couple.
"Oh, nothing Ken. Just Luke being Luke." Clementine said, to which Luke responded with a confused look, but was smiling either way.
"Well, if ya don't mind, Walter wanted a word with you." Ken then said, crossing his arms. He looked towards Luke, who had his arm around Clem. Once he noticed, he immediately dropped his arm.
"Yeah, okay. See you later!" Clem exclaimed towards Luke, waving as she walked off to find Walter.
"I'm keeping an eye on ya, kid." Ken said, unfolding his arms and walking away. Luke let out a air he didn't know he was holding, and leaned on a wall.
Clementine eventually found Walter, chatting with Matthew over on the entrance door. Once he caught a glimpse of her, he stopped their conversation.
"Ah, Clem! Just the person I wanted to see. Come, Matt and I wanted to have a little chat with you." Clementine nodded with some hesitation.
Matthew let out a chuckle, "Don't worry, you're not in trouble." The young woman let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, then what do you need me for?" She asked.
"Just wanted to speak to you, I know we haven't had a decent conversation since you arrived." Walter explained, smiling at her. Matthew nodded, "Yeah, Walt and his manners." They all shared a laugh and walked outside, the weather a bit windy but other than that, it was stable.
"So, tell me, do you want to continue your education?" Walter suddenly asked, as the three of them walked around the lodge. "Huh?" Clementine said, looking confused.
"This outbreak started almost what, 10 years ago? You must've been pretty young, and didn't complete your education. I was a teacher you know," Walter started saying, Clementine was nodding at him to continue, and Matthew was just shaking his head in a playful manner, his hands in his pockets.
"So, if you'd like, I could teach you a few things." Clementine's eyes lit up, smiling from ear to ear. "I'd love that. Although Lee has taught me a lot already, it'd be awesome if I knew more."
Kenny appeared behind them, holding his gun. "Yall having a good time out here?" Clementine jumped slightly, "Yeah."
"Good. I was just checking around the lodge, I could use a couple of other eyes with me."
"Yeah, sure thing-"
"Excuse me, Ms.?" Matthew then spoke up in front of them, holding up his gun.
A woman appeared to be looking inside the lodge. Once she heard Matthew, she backed up and raised her hands up. "Ms., are you hurt?" Walter then asked, stepping up next to Matthew. "N-No, I'm not." Clementine immediately frowned and crossed her arms.
"Do you need help?" Walter asked, stepping closer to the woman. "K-Kind of. I have my family a bit away from here.. I see your place is nice and tidy. My family is starving.. please, help me." The woman had an accent. It suited her. She had red hair and what appeared to be freckles on her cheeks.
"Yes, of course, please, come in, miss..?" Walter suggested, smiling at the woman. "Bonnie." She replied.
"Walter, I don't know, you just gonna let her in like that?" Kenny asked, holding his gun. "It's fine, Kenny."
"We barely know this woman!" Kenny objected, his expression showing worry and anger. "Then we'll get to know her. Right, Clem?" Walter then asked Clementine, who was staring at the woman.
"She might be working with Carver." She whispered to her friends, so the woman wouldn't hear. "Check her for weapons." She then loudly said. Walter gave her a disappointed look.
"Thank you, really… but I gotta get back to my family. The storm is gonna hit soon." Bonnie said, showing worry.
"Yes of course. Stay here, I'll get you some supplies, I'll be right back." Walter was gone before she could protest.
Clementine didn't trust her. What are the chances that she's dangerous?
"You look awfully similar to one of my girls back home," The woman spoke softly towards Clementine. The amber eyed still had her arms crossed, she gave her a look. "You have children of your own?"
"Sure do, although she's way younger than you I bet." The woman replied, giving her a warm smile.
At this point, Matthew had put his gun down, only for Kenny to raise his up.
"You look awfully young to be having kids." Clementine commented, not sure to believe her. "Well, the apocalypse is full of fucked up people. Pregnancies happen." Bonnie answered, looking a bit down.
Clementine widened her eyes. "Oh, crap. Sorry." The red headed woman smiled. "No worries, you didn't know." Clementine gave her a smile.
Maybe she's not working with Carver..
Walter then came back, holding a box full with food and supplies. He handed her the box.
"This is too much," Bonnie said, her eyes wide, but taking the box. "Don't mention it," Walter then replied, smiling.
"I don't know how to thank you.." The freckled woman said. "Just help someone else down the line." The older man said, giving her a warm smile.
"I'll be, going now," Bonnie, a bit awkwardly, said. She started walking away from them and the lodge.
Matthew smiled at Walter, and gave him a pat on the back. He walked back to the lodge.
"Clementine, could you go back inside as well? I gotta talk to Walter for a minute," Kenny said, clearly not happy with what just happened. Clementine obeyed him, not wanting to make him even angrier than he was.
As she walked back inside, she had a clear view of everyone.
Rebecca and Alvin were on the couches by the bonfire. His hands were massaging her shoulders, and she was clearly enjoying it. Cute, Clementine thought.
She then saw Luke and Nick by the stairs, chatting. Nick looked better, but not too better. Luke was obviously trying to cheer him up. She saw him do a silly face, in which she giggled.
She turned her eyes to the Christmas tree besides the stairs. Sarah and Sarita were decorating it, giving it some finishing touches. At the top was an Angel. It looked beautiful.
She then turned to see the kitchen area. Lee, Carlos and Matthew were happily chatting, telling a few jokes.
She smiled.
She felt safe. She felt as if there was not even a walker outbreak out there. She felt as if she had always belonged here.
"I feel like I don't belong here." Nick confessed to Luke, looking down. "What? Oh come on Nick. Everyone here belongs here. You lost some people you deeply cared about, and people here support you."
Nick sighed, "Yeah, right. Kenny has been on my case ever since we got here. It ain't fun." Luke placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I know, man. But you also gotta lighten up, don't always be so pessimistic because it affects your surroundings." Nick gave a small pout. "I guess."
There was a small silence.
"So, how's it goin' with you and Clem?" Luke almost choked on air with that question.
"What do you mean?" Luke asked, a bit awkwardly. Nick rolled his eyes playfully. "You damn well know what I mean. Don't think I didn't notice you sleeping in her room?" Luke then proceeded to nervously laugh.
After a couple of seconds, Luke stopped laughing and whispered; "Do NOT tell Lee. He'll kill me. Although we just slept, not do anything bad."
Nick laughed and nodded, "Mhm, sure."
They continued to talk, but stopped once Clementine was walking up the stairs, but stopped since both boys were blocking the way up.
"Hey, Clem." Nick said, waving a bit and standing up. Luke did the same.
"Hi, Nick. How are you doing?" Clem asked, giving him a small hug. "I'm doing good, thanks." Clementine nodded, started walking again, stopped by Luke and gave him a small peck on the cheek.
She continued walking up the stairs and into her room. She needed the rest, since her arm needed to be healed.
Luke was flustered, and Nick couldn't help but laugh and crack some jokes.
OKAY YOU GUYS!
I am SO sorry that I haven't uploaded in awhile. I literally could NOT write at all.
Like, I just didn't feel motivated or inspired or anything. I'll try to update as much as possible. But since I have summer school (FOR GYM LIKE WHY) it'll probably come late. Maybe an update every 3-4 days at most.
ALSO;
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT TWD SEASON 3 TEASER TRAILER OR WHATEVER? IT'S FUCKING AMAZING!
I'm probably super dupper late about this, and I would have said something sooner but again, I wanted to upload something to talk about this.
Lemme just say, Clementine looks amazing. Yes, she looks totally different from when she was younger (she was 11 during S2 I believe) and probably 13 now, she changed a shit ton.
I'm so pumped for it to come out, I know we will have to wait til Fall, but I think it will be so worth it.
Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying my fanfiction, I really do have high hopes for this.
Don't stop being lovely!.xx
