A/N- Okay I'm going to keep this author's note short, and I'll try to address you all.
Eggomypeggo and Maximo- what makes you so sure Lilly will die? Anyone could, but I'm glad for your continued reviews and support and you'll see how things turn out in this chapter.
Lockdown-thanks and It would be interesting to hear how you got your name.
apathy and Rebloxic- Thanks for your reviews! Don't worry I haven't built up this conflict just for it all to be nothing, you'll see how things play out this chapter. But I'm glad that it's suspenseful!
Legionary Prime and Emily Carver- Both are you are concerned about that ending line. You'll see how things turn out this chapter, and also thanks for your reviews and continued support!
AquaDestinysEmbrace- Thanks! and I really liked "In The Pines" so henceforth Anne using it as a sort of lullaby to get Clementine to go to sleep was great!
and finally Obsessed naruhina fangirl, thanks a ton for your reviews and advice and I'm glad you helped me decide on the ending! I hope it does you justice and you enjoy it!
P.S Extra points for anyone who finds the Game of Thrones reference in this chapter! (and this chapter is noticeably much shorter than the past couple of chapters)
The rhythm of bullets shattered the cold night air, as the first row of the stumbling walkers were brought down to the concrete ground. Sweat trickled from Lilly's temples as she aimed into the approaching herd. Curses were muttered as the store survivors stopped to reload their weapons. They fired until their fingers were sore, until bodies started to pile on top of each other, as dozens of walkers began to crash against the other closed hanger doors.
"SHIT! THEIR GONNA GET IN!" Lilly roared, she was running low on ammo as the walkers were encircling the store. Clementine dropped her (out of ammo) pistol, her fingers were numb as she stared into the abyss, of the never ending dark forms approaching the store. This defiantly felt like a last stand...
"Hurry the hell up Bonnie!" Wyatt screamed to the celling, as he continued to fire into approaching grim reapers. Nothing but death and hellish figures were getting closer with each passing second. The hanger doors were swaying more violently...
Bonnie ran through the store, aware of the threat and now aware that her finding this flare, is what would ultimately save the group. She tried to calm her panicked mind, looking around wildly, she breathed deep and muttered "Okay... okay Bonnie. You got it. You got it." she struggled to remember where Carver had kept that damn flare. Well she was observant, all she had to do was remember... just remember...
"HA!" Bonnie mused aloud, sprinting towards Carver's office, remembering now that's where he kept most of his things.
"This flare will be used to distract the herd if things get too hairy..." she remembered Carver lecturing the group a long time ago.
"Yeah, well we could really use it now Bill" Bonnie thought, bursting open the door to his office, she didn't flinch at the two corpses laid on the ground, instead she simply threw open drawers, as papers and bits and bobs of metals flew all around the room...
"C'MON WHERE IS IT!?" Bonnie screamed to the drawers, she flung out another one and caught sight of the gun, before she moved her feet and slipped on the blood on the floor and went flying...
She banged her head against the desk, causing it to bleed slightly. Yet after the injuries she had attained tonight, this was nothing. Bonnie stood up slowly wiping the painful bleeding lump on her head. Her wound didn't matter, she had seen the gun, just before she had gone flying... where did it land? Where did it land!?
She received her answer a second later ,as she glanced at Carver corpse. to see that, the gun had fallen into the hole where his stomach once was. The smell was repulsive, as Bonnie's hand quickly darted into the gory hole and around the silver flare gun. She felt like she was playing a very sick game of Operation.
"GOTCHA!" She exclaimed in triumph, she wiped splashes of blood from the gun, before tearing down the stairs again. Praying she wasn't too late and praying that walkers weren't already flooding into the store...
To her relief she hit the ground floor, to find that the walkers weren't in the store. But approaching it fast...
"HURRY UP!" Mike bellowed, the walkers now were merely feet away from him, as he fired his last rounds into them...
Bonnie wasted no time, she leapt past a shaky looking Clementine, as Bonnie leapt out into the car park, the walkers were so close to her now... gritting her teeth... she aimed the flare upwards, and snapping her eyes shut she pulled the trigger...
There was a resounding POP! As the flare shot up into the sky and navigated itself towards the tree-line, Bonnie stared on. as the smoke trail that the flare left, made an arching shape from her to the treeline.
With a louder POP! The flare lit up the night sky, a scarlet red, as it sizzled, these sounds turned every walker head in the vicinity, as they looked upwards with blank faces.
"Quiet y'all" Bonnie muttered in fear, as all gunfire ceased and the group were silent, as only the sizzling of the bright red flare continued to light the night sky.
All of their faces a red shade from the vibrant flare, the group only looked at each other, as the walkers slowly but surely began to walk towards the flare... their interest in the hardware store forgotten, as the store survivors didn't even breathe... the bangs on the hanger doors ceased... the herd of walkers dispersed into the treeline...
Bonnie slowly walked back inside the store, hardly daring to believe it, as Mike (carefully) closed the hanger door. The slight bang it made when it shut, seemed to confirm something.
"It's over" Kenny seemed to whisper, his first words since Lilly had saved him.
"We did it! Looks like this place is our's!" Lilly responded, with a huge grin, replacing her usual scowl.
"Better not celebrate too loud, we'll draw them back" Luke said approaching them, being supported by Nick and Sarah, as Kenny looked over at him.
"You look like shit"
"Don't we all?"
The group laughed collectively at this, the sweet taste of a hard earned victory finally resting on Clementine's shoulders.
And boy it felt good!
The group's laughter died down, as the group remained giddy at their victory, never the less there was an empty feeling in the air, as Stephanie asked, "Well... now what?"
"Now what? We'll make this place a stronghold. We get people in proper living conditions! We make a community again!" Luke spoke up, a determined charisma returning to his tone, as he looked around the empty store. It was for them to use now...
"Who made you the one to start barking out instructions? Who made you leader?" Kenny asked of Luke, who simply shrugged.
"No one, it simply fell on my shoulders. If anyone has a problem with that, speak up!"
No one did. Clementine could agree that Luke had a drive about him that kept the group moving. Of course, he wouldn't be the same man (after what had happened with Jane) but he was (for now) pulling himself together to lead the group in a new direction.
"So, we clean this place for starters!" Luke began...
Clementine smiled, it was if it was a dream. She had started at the bottom and she... no... now they were all here. She had used her second chance to take over Carver's community and build a new home for her and her friends, some old and some new.
She didn't know who had given her the second chance, but she could place a very good bet, on who she thought it was. She looked down into her pocket, where the photo of Lee still resided.
"Thank you Lee" She muttered.
Luke carried on like a true leader, assigning jobs based off everyone strengths, listening to what others had to say. Eventually he turned to Clementine "Clem, this community wouldn't be here without you, how would you help me like to lead it?" he offered her, as Clementine's mouth opened in shock.
"But... I'm only eleven..." she began.
"Only eleven my ass, you were born for this Clem" Kenny told her lightly.
"Kenny's right. Everyone seems to look up to you" Lilly stated, Clementine was shocked, not because Lilly had given her a vote of confidence to become leader. But because she agreed with Kenny. Kenny looked just as surprised.
"Well?" Luke asked, Clementine saw the whole group smiling at her, well... she didn't want to disappoint them.
"I'll do it" she said firmly.
This earned some cheers from the group, these cheers finally seemed to wake a still out of it Eddie, whose black orbs fluttered open, as he looked around confused at the scene...
"Woah... what's going on?" he asked of a nearby Wyatt, who simply looked down at him.
"What did I miss?" Eddie asked again.
"Everything" Wyatt replied on monotone.
In the end, the dead always won. That was fact.
But this was not "The End".
What could the store survivors say to the walking dead?
Not today.