The sound of a car hitting gravel in the road, an old man humming to himself and other vehicles speeding by… This is what I woke up to. I was lying down in the back seat of a police car, unsure of what had just happened. All I knew is that Clementine shot me and then I found myself talking to a weird enigmatic smiling man who told me he was giving me a second chance?
As I pushed myself up into a seating position, I was filled with shock. I saw a cop driving the car. He wore a beige uniform and had white hair. He was slightly balding and had a large chin. There's no doubt that this was the same police officer who was driving me to prison almost 4 months ago.
I looked outside the window and realized that everything had gone back to the way it was before the Walkers. There were cars all around us being driven by living people. The roads weren't littered with corpses but instead old takeaway boxes and road kill.
Was that all a dream… The prospect of that idea filled me sadness. Despite the horrible situations we were in, and all the lives that were lost I still couldn't help but feel sad. Some sick and twisted fantasy, huh? I sighed deeply and placed my hand on my forehead as I was contemplating why I had such a dream, and why it had affected me so deeply. That's when I realized that the cop in front was talking to me, "Hey, you alive back there?"
As I snapped back into reality I realized that he had been staring at me from his rear view mirror, "Oh! Uhh…"
"Hmph." he scoffed, "Y'know it surprises me that a man in your certain predicament can fall asleep so easily. Sometimes I feel like asking some of the people who're up in here if they're able to sleep at night, knowing the things they done." He squinted his eyes, "Well, I guess you just answered that for me."
Slightly dazed I asked him, just to be sure, "W-what date is it today?"
"Date!? Hah, that's a new one."
"Huh?"
"Never had someone pretending to be a time traveller before."
I raised an eyebrow and then stated, "I'm serious."
The police officer frowned, "You must have some real nerve to not know the date of your own incarceration." He then sighs, "But, I can't kid ya, you seem like an alright fella to me. At least you're not like those fuckers who sit back there screaming on about how they 'didn't do anything' or that it was just all some 'big mistake.'"
This conversation seems familiar, I thought to myself.
"I did follow up a bit on your case, by the way. Interesting situation you managed to get yourself into. Now, I bet you're wondering why someone like myself is interested in a mess like yours."
I took a brief pause and thought I'd take a wild guess, "You from Macon?"
The police officer widened his eyes and then smiled, "uh… Yeah. How did you know that?"
Trying to think of a quick answer I said, "I've… just seen you around is all." I turned my head and looked out the window, How could I have known that? Could that dream have been somehow real?
He looked at me and squinted, "Really? You see I moved up to Atlanta in the 70s and barely visit home nowadays. Chances of you seeing me around are quite low."
I decided to change the subject, "Tough work at the Georgia state patrol?"
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. This job is very demanding of my skills." He said, triumphantly.
"Skills?" I asked turning my gaze from the window.
"Well you haven't gotten out of this vehicle yet, right?"
"I haven't tri—"
"Yep, I got some unique skills right there!" He stated, interrupting me.
I paused and looked out the window again. The scene was familiar; police cars speeding into the city with their sirens on full blast. Everything had played out like the first time with the minor exception of dialogue.
Suddenly the car hit a bump in the road and I snapped out of my window gazing. "Goddamn it, I hit something… again." The officer said, rolling his eyes.
"Shouldn't you go and check on that?" I asked.
"Nah, it's probably just some animal or something."
Things were definitely playing out differently from the first time… Did what I say to the cop act as some form of 'butterfly effect' to cause the death of whatever we just hit? Did that mean that every step that I took could change the future negatively? Should I tell him to watch the road? It might save him… but what if he goes past the walker he's supposed to crash into. I'll never get to Clementine. I'll never be able to save her.
I decided to stay quiet let the cop carry on talking to himself. After a while I saw a figure shambling in the distance. It was on the road. I knew that, that figure was the same Walker that would soon lead to the officer's death. Even though I had the chance to tell him what was going to happen if he didn't watch the road, I stayed silent. Then he turned to me laughing, taking his eyes off the road, "Can you believe that? He said to me-" the car crashed into the walker and drove off the side of the road into a forest. As the car flew off, I put my hands behind my head and put my knees to my chest; hoping that I could minimize any damage done. I felt something hit the back of my head and I was instantly knocked unconscious.
Time passed and I opened my eyes, it was dark out. I closed them again and when I reopened them I saw daylight. H-how long have I been in and out? I thought to myself looking around. I was still stuck in the back of the police car. Oh shit, my leg! I quickly checked both my legs to see if there were any wounds but, to my surprise, both my legs were fine.
Without a second thought I looked out the back window to see if the police officer was there. Of course… The motionless corpse of the once chatty police officer was lying there with blood smeared from his body to the car. As I looked at him all I felt was remorse. I could've stopped this… But I didn't. I had to get to her. I had to get to Clementine. I turned my attention to the cracked window in front of me. I have to stay focussed.
Without any hesitation I put my foot to the glass four times and shattered it. Bits of debris fell into the vehicle whilst, thankfully, the larger shards of glass fell outwards. I shuffled my way to the opening I made and crawled out. I fell onto the ground and, luckily, didn't cut myself. I pushed myself up and walked slowly around the vehicle until I saw the dead cop. I looked down at my hands, I was still cuffed. I sighed, I still need to get the keys. I knew he was going to come back and attack me but, despite knowing that, I still walked over to him.
As I kneeled down to pick the keys up, I felt very nervous. It was like popping a balloon, despite knowing it was going to happen the anticipation was painful. I grabbed the keys and calmly stood up. I was getting ready to unlock the cuffs when I heard a slow, long exhaling. I looked at the cop's face; his features started to twitch, and his eyes began to flutter open. Oh shit, I spent too long trying to get the keys that he's already started to—
The cop suddenly reached up and grabbed my arm. I was still cuffed. I kicked him but to no avail, he was grabbing onto me as if his unlife depended on it. I pulled my arm back, quick and fast, and was able to get free, but I then lost my balance and fell. The cop started to drag himself along the grass, His legs are broken from the crash! I brought my foot back and then pushed it down onto his head. He then grabbed my leg, trying to pull it off, this'll hopefully keep him at bay long enough for me to get these cuffs off.
I was able to free my hands but I now needed a way to kill him. I looked over to a shotgun that was lying nearby, I wanted to avoid using this but I guess I have no choice. The noise for sure would've brought more Walkers but time was a factor here. I took my foot off of the cop's head and grabbed the supposedly empty shotgun and checked for any ammunition lying around. I couldn't see anything and the cop started drag himself closer, Ah fuck this! I aimed the shotgun at the cop's head and pulled the trigger. His face exploded into a shower of gore; bits of brain and skull littered the area around me.
Fuck… I was panting as I felt the adrenaline rush through my body. Luckily for me, the gun was already loaded when I picked it up. I threw the it down and stood up. I stayed still for a brief moment listening, until, out of the corner of my eye, I saw her.
Up on the hill, there was a short figure standing there watching. It was Clementine. It had to be. Despite her being a silhouette I was able to recognize her. I was about to call out to her when she suddenly started backing away and then disappeared behind the hill. That's when I heard a rustling in the bushes, Walkers! I ran up the hill, watching my footing making sure that I didn't fall over, and reached a fence. I took a quick look behind me and found that they were closer than I thought. I quickly climbed over the fence and hit the ground on the other side.
The fence was creaking and squeaking, the sound of Walkers banging against it filled my ears. However, before they could break the fence down they were drawn away by the sound of gunfire. I looked around and knew straight away that I was in Clementine's back yard. I then turned to a large tree. It had a makeshift ladder and a wooden platform and box at the top. It was a tree house, Clementine's tree house. From what happened the first time, I knew that she'd be up there, so I walked up to it.
I stared at the door for a few seconds before opening my mouth to speak, "Hello? You up there?" I didn't receive a response. I looked around my environment making sure that there was nothing else dangerous that could jump me. I figured I was safe, for the time being, so I yelled up at the tree house again.
"Don't worry, I'm not a bad guy… So uhh… don't drop a hammer down on my head, okay?"
I heard a slight gasp come from inside the tree house and then a loud thunk. Was she really getting ready to drop the hammer? Clementine slowly opened the door and crawled out. She looked afraid. I raised my hands and spoke to her calmly, "Don't worry, like I said I'm not a bad guy. My name's Lee."
Clementine was hesitant to say anything. She took a brief pause and then asked, "D-do you know what happened to Sandra?"
"Sandra?" That was the name of her baby sitter. The one that attacked me, "Oh… Sandra didn't make it."
Clementine looked down but then nodded slightly, "I-I know… I heard her screaming two nights ago… I think the monsters got her…"
"So you've seen them then?" I asked her.
"Yeah… I saw one of my neighbours get eaten. Th-then they came back… but different."
I looked over to the back door of Clementine's house and then looked back to her, "Yeah. Right now Sandra's in there. She's... also a monster."
Clementine climbed down from her tree house, she was surprisingly trusting even though in her eyes this is the first time we've met. Clementine, stared at me with a slightly curious expression and then asked, "Do I know you?"
My heart skipped. For a split second my heart stopped and after that all I felt was a pain in my chest. A part of me still thought that she'd remember who I was. Remember all the time we spent together. I couldn't help but feel sad when she asked me that question. My mind went blank and I fell to my knees. I felt overwhelmed. The lump in my throat was unbearable. I tilted my head downwards.
Clementine walked up to me and put her hand on my head, "There, there. It's okay. Don't cry."
I slowly looked up at her, I could tell that she was still afraid of me, but I could also tell that she felt I was trustworthy. I calmed down and smiled at her, "What's your name?"
She looked at me with a slightly warmer expression and said softly, "Clementine."
"How old are you?"
"Eight."
"Where are your parents? They left you with a babysitter."
"I think they said they're in Savannah."
"You've been all alone until now?"
"Yeah." She looked down slightly.
I sighed in acknowledgement. It's the same situation as before. Her parents are in Savannah and she was left with a baby sitter.
"Look, I think our best chances of survival are sticking together. I can… look after you, until we find your parents, okay?"
Clementine nodded slowly and then I stood back up. She looked up at me, "What should we do now?"
I raised an eyebrow looking around our environment and then looked back at her, "Let's look for help before it gets dark."
"Y-yeah… It's dangerous at night." Clementine grabbed my hand before I could give it to her. She asked, 'Do I know you'. Does that mean that shoe does remember? Or am I getting my hopes up?
We walked over to the gate leading out of the backyard and onto the street. I then looked down at her and asked, "Are you ready?"
She looked up at me somewhat nervous, "Umm…" She then looked back at her house.
I reassured her, "Don't worry, I promise I won't leave you alone."
She then smiled, "Okay…"
"Now, let's see if we can get to somewhere safe that's close, okay?"
"Okay." She smiled again, "That's what I was thinking."
We opened the gate and left.
