Thanks for all the reviews, everyone. I'm so happy with all the feedback I'm getting. Now I'm really glad that I decided to continue the story, because I have LOADS of ideas that I will include. Thanks to A Writer With Mixed Interests for asking me to include more interaction with Kenny and Luke. If you have ideas, don't hesitate to throw them at me. So...enjoy and review! The results of the voting will be at the bottom of the chapter.
Note: I've said this a bunch of times but please review the chapter in general, not just the votes.
Note 2: Let's pretend the first couple of chapters counts as an 'episode'. After five choices I'll release a chapter showing the statistics of what you guys chose, like the game. That would be cool, right? Tell me what you think.
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[Shoot Mike]
[Let Clementine Do It]
Sarah hiccuped as she tried to stop crying, but she couldn't help it. Why were people dying around her? Pete...Nick...Alvin...Mike...Dad...It never ended! Mike's eyes were rolled back into his head as he looked around, growling.
Sarah lifted up the heavy metal object, pointing it at Mike's head. He snapped it upwards, his empty eyes staring directly into Sarah's. He tilted his head to the side as he slowly crawled forward towards her. Sarah squealed and put her finger on the trigger, looking away as she slowly squeezed it. She jumped slightly as the bang rocketed through the air.
Mike's head shot backwards due to the force of the gun as blood shot out from the hole in his head, landing on the floor of the ticket station. Mike fell to the floor, completely motionless. Sarah covered her eyes and weeped. Clementine stared at Mike's unmoving body, her leaf-coloured eyes glistening.
"I'm...I'm sorry, Sarah. But it had to be done." Clementine said, looking at her. She slowly put her gun away and walked out of the ticket station. "We...we should go."
Sarah slowly looked up at Mike's limp body. She wished she could have done something else...something to help him. But there he lay...his final resting place in a ticket booth. She wiped her eyes using her sleeve and quietly left the booth, her gun still close to her. She walked out of the museum with Clementine by her side, but one question remained in her mind.
When will it happen to me?
...
"Clem!" Luke yelled, running up to the two girls as they approached Parker's Run. "We searched every inch of this place. We didn't find Mike! Did you?"
Sarah turned away, trying to blink away her tears. She was trying her hardest to be strong...but it was too hard. How could Clementine do this...? Sarah was older than her...by four years...but Clementine was still better than her in every way. Except maybe crying.
"We...we found him." Clementine said, then stopped, giving Luke a fearful expression. Luke must have understood, because then he sighed and cursed.
"...I can't believe Mike's gone..." Luke said. "Well...are you two girls okay?"
"Sarah is a little traumatised. She...she decided to kill him herself." Clementine said and Luke's eyes widened as he glanced at Sarah, who's back was still turned.
"Man...I'm sorry, Sarah. I can't imagine what you're going through." Luke muttered, and Sarah slowly nodded and wiped away a single tear that had ran down her cheek. "We should get back to the observation deck. Kenny wants a word."
Sarah wondered why Luke said Kenny's name like that. Was he mad at him? Why? Sarah thought they were friends...although she never really saw them interact except in the ski lodge when they were eating dinner. She decided to keep her questions to herself and followed Luke and Clementine silently to the observation deck, where Bonnie was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
"Is Mike...?" Bonnie said to Luke, fearing the worst. Luke sighed and sadly nodded, and Bonnie muttered something sadly. "Well...who...did it?"
Luke indicated to Sarah, who was quietly looking around at the trees and sky. Bonnie looked at him in shock, surprised that she could do such a thing without breaking down completely. The four walked up the stairs and into the gift shop, where Kenny, Rebecca and the baby were waiting. Kenny sighed in relief and walked towards Luke and Clementine, talking to them, while Rebecca weakly smiled at Sarah.
"Sarah...how are you doing?" She said quietly, before coughing. Sarah walked towards her, looking at her in dismay. She didn't look like the Rebecca she knew. She looked old and frail, and she had been that way after the baby's birth.
"I'm...okay." Sarah lied, but she didn't want to worry Rebecca. "Are...you okay? You look sick."
"Don't worry about me, honey, I'll...be fine." Rebecca said, pausing like it was straining her to speak. "I just...need some rest, that's all."
"Hey, listen up." Kenny said to everyone, standing at the edge of the deck and raising his voice to get everyone's attention. Sarah quickly looked at him, not wanting to get him mad. "We need to leave. And I know not everyone will be okay with it, but that's how it is. This place has run it's course, with the walker attack, Sarah almost getting killed..."
Sarah looked down at the ground when Kenny said that, her mind once again retreating back to that moment where she thought she was going to die.
"...Clementine almost getting bitten, Mike actually getting bitten and having to be put down, and with Rebecca's childbirth this place isn't safe to raise a child." Kenny said, looking at every member of the group for a couple of seconds each. "We leave at dawn."
"Hey hey hey, hold on a minute now!" Luke objected, and Kenny scowled at him. "LOOK at Rebecca! She can't walk! We need to wait until she's healthy enough!"
"I've waited long enough, Luke." Kenny said, narrowing his eyes. "It's not like I'm forcing you all out on your asses! I already gave you a couple of days!"
"Luke...I'm fine. I can get going." Rebecca said quietly, holding her baby close to her.
"...I..." Sarah said, wanting to speak. She was nervous of what Kenny and Luke would say, she didn't want them to get mad at her. "I think it's a good idea to leave...I want to put this behind me...but only if it's okay with you all!"
"Heh. See?" Kenny smirked victoriously, and Luke scowled, admitting defeat after the two people left of his original group agreed with Kenny.
"...This is a mistake." He said, glaring at Clementine who didn't speak up.
It's not Clem's fault. Sarah thought, frowning.
"Okay everyone, get your sleep while you can because we're leaving at first light." Kenny said, and Sarah sat down next to Rebecca and curled up into a ball like she had the previous two nights. She slowly closed her eyes, the noises around her slowly quieting down as she faded away once again.
...
"NO!" Sarah screamed, waking up with a start once again. Once realising she was still in the gift shop, she sighed and shook her head around, wanting to get the nightmares out of her head. "Why...do I keep having these nightmares?"
In her latest nightmare, her father and her were walking happily down a street, with the sun shining brightly and kids playing around happily. There was an ice cream van in the distance, playing a cheerful tune, and Sarah asked her dad if she could get a strawberry double cone, which was her favourite. Carlos agreed and Sarah cheered, running down to the ice cream van. But when Carlos' back was turned the ice cream man turned and bit hard into his neck, and Sarah realised he was a walker. Sarah woke up straight after that, grateful she didn't have to witness anymore.
The teenager noticed everyone in the gift shop was asleep, but Luke was missing. She rubbed her eyes and peeked out of the gift shop to see Luke sitting on the edge, holding his gun. He must be on watch. Sarah scratched her itchy head and stood up, walking over to Luke and sitting next to him.
"...Hi." Sarah said, and Luke looked at her and smiled warmly. Sarah was happy she chose to save Luke, he had been really kind to her ever since she did. She swung her legs back and forth over the edge.
"Hey, Sarah." Luke said. "You feeling okay?"
"...I had a nightmare." Sarah said and frowned sadly. Luke looked at her, feeling sorry for the girl.
"...What was it about?" Luke asked, and Sarah only needed to say one word for Luke to completely understand.
"Dad." She replied quietly, looking up at the twinkling stars, and wondering if her father was watching her at that moment. Luke put his arm over Sarah, and she hugged him. "Why did he have to die...?"
"I'm sorry, Sarah, but that's what happens sometimes. You...can't help it." Luke said, and Sarah thought she was going to start crying, but she didn't. She nodded slowly and sadly.
"I...understand." She said quietly, and Luke smiled at her.
"Good." Luke said. "Now...how about you try and get some sleep? I'll be here if you need me."
"Thanks, Luke." Sarah said and yawned, not realising how tired she actually was until Luke mentioned it. "But...aren't you tired too? You should go to sleep as well."
"Nah, I'm fine. I've got some...things on my mind that I'd like to think about." Luke said, but nodded in appreciation at Sarah's offer.
"Oh, okay." Sarah rubbed her sleepy eyes and walked back into the gift shop. "Goodnight, Luke."
"Goodnight, Sarah."
...
It was the next day, and it was freezing cold. Sarah was first greeted to the cold temperature when she woke up, being blasted in the face by a breath of cold air coming from the wind. She shivered as she tried to get warm, but the thin layers of her light blue jacket didn't help her. She worried for Rebecca, but luckily she had a grey coat on now. She wondered where she got it from; she was sure she didn't have it on the previous day.
Luckily, not everyone was as cold as Sarah. Clementine had her thick rainbow coat on, which helped her keep warm, and Kenny had his old, dirty green jacket on him. Unfortunately, Luke was just as cold as Sarah was, and the girl could see his breath whenever he breathed. Bonnie also seemed to be okay, despite not wearing much. The baby was also fine, bundled up in a thick light green jacket.
Sarah opened her Hickory backpack, making sure her belongings were inside it. She took out a bottle of water and shook it, making sure it was full. She placed it back inside and took out her favourite book, "The Guurgles", which she had taken from the cabin when they left. The book was a memento of it, and she always wanted to keep it. She was hoping she could read it with Clementine one night, kinda like a sleepover. She put the book back inside and pulled out something loose and wavy. She looked at it, her eyes shining with tears. It was a picture of her father and her, with the other cabin group members. She blinked away her tears and smiled, putting away the picture and zipping up her backpack. She put her arms through the straps, securing it on her back.
She left the gift shop, happy to see everyone looking healthy. Well...everyone except Rebecca. She looked worse than ever. She couldn't even stand up anymore, Bonnie had to help her walk. Sarah walked towards her.
"Are you okay? I could help you walk too...if you like." Sarah asked, worried for her safety. Rebecca smiled at her.
"Don't worry yourself, hon, I promise I'll be fine." Rebecca smiled, and Sarah slowly nodded, still not sure. She decided to stay with her on the walk, to look out for her.
Sarah noticed Kenny was snapping at Luke as usual, and the teenager guessed they were having another argument. Clementine watched in dismay, sighing as she watched it unfold. The little girl also wore a backpack, but her one was different to Sarah's. Clementine's had a purple backpack with two flowers decorated on it. Sarah walked up to her.
"Why do they always have to argue?" Sarah sighed to her friend, who smirked.
"I don't know. They just never think the same way, I suppose." Clementine shrugged, and Luke walked away from Kenny, who sighed and turned around. "What were you arguing about?"
"That dumbass was just trying to persuade me to wait for a few more days." Kenny muttered, rubbing his face. "Why doesn't he ever listen to me? He's always like this, right Sarah?"
Sarah jumped as her name was mentioned, and she slowly looked up at Kenny who was looking at her with his one eye. Sarah shuddered, frightened of him.
"I...well...I..." Sarah stuttered, not wanting to anger him.
"Sarah doesn't want to say bad things about Luke, Kenny." Clementine said. Sarah sighed in relief, calming down after Clementine saved her from having to speak.
"Whatever. Come on, we're heading out." Kenny said, beckoning for everyone to follow him as he walked down the observation deck stairs for the final time. Sarah looked back at the deck as she walked outside into the snowy landscape, glad but also sad to leave it. On the bad side, Mike had died there and she had almost died. But on the bright side she had learnt how to be strong and how to shoot a gun. She wanted to learn more things!
Sarah looked down at the ground and trudged through the cold snow as the observation deck got smaller in the distance behind her. She wondered if it was a good thing being outside...out in the open, where anything could get her. But as long as she had the others, she would hopefully be fine.
"Hey, Clem," Sarah said, walking up to her quickly. "Do you think you could teach me...more? Like how to build a fire and stuff?"
"Sure, Sarah. When we find a place to stay for the night I'll remember to teach you. It's not that hard, really." Clementine said, and Sarah smiled. Rebecca suddenly fell to the ground, but Bonnie helped her back up. Sarah glanced at her in fear.
"Do you think Rebecca will be okay? I don't want her to get hurt..." Sarah sighed. Clementine glanced at the previously-pregnant woman clutching her baby.
"She'll be fine, when we get to someplace warm." Clementine reassured Sarah, and she nodded.
"...Thanks, Clem."
...
It had been a couple of hours since her conversation with Clementine, and the group of seven had stopped for a break. Snow dropped from trees, sprinkling all over everybody as they rested. Sarah took a long sip of her ice cold water and sighed in relief as she felt much better. She screwed the cap on tight and placed it back in her backpack, taking out her book and opening it, beginning to read.
Bonnie was sitting next to Rebecca, holding her baby and giving it an old plastic bottle filled with formula. The baby began to fall asleep, and Bonnie smiled as she watched it drift off. Rebecca kissed it on the cheek before also falling asleep. Bonnie slowly put the baby in her lap and stood up to talk to the others.
Clementine was standing with Kenny and Luke as they once again argued, with the spat looking more serious than usual.
"It's going to happen, Luke! And we need to protect the baby when it does." Kenny snapped, while Clementine watched with a nervous look on her face.
"Kenny...no." Clementine shook her head. "We can't...do that."
"We're NOT doing that!" Luke yelled at Kenny, looking furious. The baby began to stir but did not wake up. "How could you say that!?"
"I don't want it to happen either, but in this shit world some things have to go down!" Kenny growled.
"NO." Luke said, not shouting but keeping his voice serious. The baby started to cry softly, but nobody noticed except for Sarah who slowly put her book away.
She stood up and walked over to it, scooping it up in her arms and rocking it slowly. She smiled as it began to quiet down, drifting back to sleep. But the argument between Kenny and Luke got louder, and soon the baby was crying again.
"Shh...there, there..." Sarah said, worried that walkers would hear.
"THEN HOW ABOUT YOU TAKE HER AND LEAVE, HUH!? SEE HOW LONG IT TAKES BEFORE SHE BITES OUT YOUR NECK!" Kenny roared, shoving Luke backwards.
"Guys..." Sarah began but nobody heard her. She heard something in the woods, and she turned to it with fear in her eyes. She heard leaves shuffling around, and soon Sarah saw an ugly face appear from the woods. "...Oh no."
"SHE WON'T!" Luke yelled, pushing Kenny back. More walkers began to trudge out of the woods, and Sarah clutched the baby to protect it. She began to back away slowly as the walkers noticed her and snarled.
"Wa...wa...WALKERS!" Sarah gathered up enough courage to scream out, attracting everyone, including Rebecca who woke up. The baby began to cry louder, and Sarah began to rock it quickly, trying to get it to go to sleep.
"Shit!" Luke muttered, pulling out his machete and standing his ground. He noticed a walker approaching Rebecca, who was looking around, dazed. "NO!"
Sarah screamed in terror as the walker grabbed Rebecca's shoulders and leaned in to bite her. Sarah searched around for her gun, and grabbed the grip, but the walker was shot in the head before she could do anything. Smoke blew out of Kenny's gun as he continued to shoot the walkers around them while Luke ran towards Rebecca and led her to Bonnie who held her up.
The undead moved closer to them, and Sarah's eyes widened as she realised there were hundreds of them. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to gather her courage, and used her free hand to grab her gun, while she held the baby with the other. A walker noticed her and began limping towards her, and Sarah aimed the gun at it and squeezed the trigger with no hesitation.
The bullet rocketed out and shot into its leg, making the walker fall onto the floor and continue to crawl towards her. Sarah screamed as it grabbed onto her leg, and she desperately tried to get it off. Luckily, it was shot dead by Clementine. The little girl looked at her and nodded, before walking into the herd with her gun.
"W-wait...Clem...!" Sarah whispered, her voice cracking in fear as Clementine disappeared in the herd. Sarah looked around and realised she was completely alone in the walker herd, and her memory shot back to the moment where her dad died. She wouldn't let that happen to her.
Clutching the crying baby, Sarah walked slowly through the walker herd, trying not to attract them. Unfortunately, a large walker noticed her and began making its way to her, its arms outstretched. Taking a deep breath, Sarah aimed and shot her gun, which surprisingly hit the walker in the forehead, making it drop to the ground by her feet. Sarah cringed and walked past it.
She had to get out of this herd, to keep the baby safe. But what if she didn't find the others? What would she do? She couldn't protect the baby alone! She had no formula, and she couldn't build a campfire. Then she heard someone yell in the distance. She peered in the direction the voice came from, to see Luke flailing his arms around wildly. A walker crept up to him, but he quickly kicked it to the floor and stabbed it in the head. Sarah sighed in relief and made her way to him, when she heard a cry. She turned and gasped to see Kenny on the ground, holding a walker up that was snapping his jaws at him.
Knowing what to do, Sarah pulled out her gun and aimed, before shooting it. The noise still made her ears ring, but she needed to do it if she wanted to survive, or keep her friends alive. The walker was shot dead, and Kenny pushed it off and stood up, staring in shock at his saviour. He noticed the baby and beckoned for her to come to him.
"Sarah, get over here!" He muttered.
"Sarah, hurry!" Luke yelled, still waving his arms around.
Sarah looked back and forth, wondering who she should go with. She didn't want to leave the other one alone, though. A walker grabbed her shoulder and she screamed, quickly whacking it off and shooting it. She had to make a decision...quickly! But who should she go with?
[Go With Kenny]
[Go With Luke]
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I spent a lot of time making it. By the way, I may remove the voting if you all keep just voting and not reviewing the chapter, so please review the story too! The next chapter will likely be uploaded next week. See you later!
P.S Thanks so much for over 1,200 views, everyone! I really appreciate it.
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Results Of The Voting:
Shoot Mike: Eight Votes.
Let Clementine Do It: Six Votes.