Day 5: So, I found my old journal in the bottom of my bag; I hadn't even realized that I still had it anymore, after the number of times that I've had to run for my life, but since I do have it, I guess I will try to write in it, depending if I have time and I'm not running for my life...again.
Anyway, it has been only been five days since Chuck and I managed to find Clementine and we've been trying to figure out where to go. We all agreed that we want to stay away from any the cities, and only go near towns if we are absolutely desperate, but other than that, we've got nothing.
So far, we've only been hanging out in the suburbs, scavenging for any supplies, and while it is not ideal, a lot of supplies were left behind by the former occupants. The only thing that we have to look out for, is the occasional biter, that was usually left behind by the families, most likely hoping to come back and find them all better.
Clem has started coming with me on these scavenging trips; I'm not happy about it, but Chuck and I both agreed that it was better to start teaching her things to help her survive, rather than let her figure it out on her own. So far, we've had no trouble, and managed to find some pretty good canned goods, and I hope it stays that way.
Oh, one final note before I finish writing for the day: I'm only going to write when I feel as though something significant has come up, something that definitely should be documented, so don't expect updates every day, but rather, every few weeks.
Day 16: I found Clementine in my bed again this morning; this is the fifth time it has happened since we found her. I think that she has been having nightmares about what happened to Lee, but since she never talks about it, I can't be certain. Personally, I don't mind it; if it helps her sleep better knowing that someone is there, so be it.
Day 32: Wow, we had a really bad day today. After almost getting jumped by a biter in a run-down house, and having to fight it off using a telephone (don't ask), we ended up getting held up at gunpoint by some crazy guy, screaming that he needed our supplies so he could get north, to some place called Wellington. As I distracted him, trying to get him to put away his weapon, Clem managed to shoot him in the leg, causing him to drop his gun.
After threatening Clem, I was in favor of just leaving the guy without any supplies, but I guess Lee rubbed off on Clem more than I thought; she left him all of his supplies and his gun, but only after taking out the clip and leaving it farther down the road, so that if he did get any idea of shooting us, he would have to pull himself along until he retrieved his bullets. Serves him right.
I'm not sure if Clem realized how far I was willing to go with this guy, but I definitely not going to tell her; not if I could help it, anyway. After getting back, we did let Chuck know about the guy, just so he would know to keep a lookout for him, though if that guy does show up again, I will personally be making sure that he doesn't bother us again.
Day 40: Chuck and I were discussing, and we think that it is officially winter. I mean, it has gotten quite a bit colder, but since no snow has fallen, I guess we don't really have to worry about it too much.
Day 49: Well, I'm not sure how much longer we are going to be here at this house. Clem and I have been needing to go farther and farther for supplies, and coming back with less and less. I've talked to Chuck about this, and he agreed, but since we still have no idea where we would go, he says we need to stay put for just a while longer. I thought about mentioning that place that the crazy guy mentioned, but figured it was just the insane ramblings of a mad man.
Day 64: I'm worried that guy from before may be following us. I can't be certain, but a few times, I thought I saw someone moving by the window of whatever house we're scavenging, but whenever I go to check on it, I don't find anything. I hope that I'm just being paranoid and seeing things that aren't there, but...what if I'm not? I haven't told either Chuck or Clem, and I know that they would want to know, but if I am wrong, I don't want them to worry for nothing.
Day 75: If I've done my math correctly, then technically, today I should be turning 17. Well, happy birthday to me, I guess. Anyway, this will be the only thing that let's anyone know about it, and that's most likely for the best. In this world, we have better things to be worrying about than birthdays. I wonder when Clem's birthday is...I could probably manage to get something for her.
Day 86: I guess we won't be going anywhere soon; while we were researching houses that we already scavenged in case we missed anything (yeah, we were that desperate), we came across a hidden cellar. Apparently, someone had planned for the apocalypse and created a survival shelter, though there was no sign that it had ever been used, making Clem and I guess that whoever made it, wouldn't be coming back. There was enough supplies that we should be able to last for another few months, which was good; when I last did an inventory check, it was looking more and more likely that we would have to leave sooner rather than later.
Day 93: So, last night I awoke to Clementine screaming in her sleep. Since I last wrote about the subject, Clementine has basically taken over my bed, and I usually wake to find her curled up beside me. In the beginning, she would usually go to her own bed, and I would find her in mine in the morning, but now, she just goes straight to my bed. (If the world ever gets back to normal, and this journal ever gets published, let it be known that there is nothing sexual about this, you sick perverts; it is about companionship and comfort, that's all.)
Anyway, I woke her up and stayed awake with her until she fell back asleep. I never ask what her nightmares are about; we've all seen things that haunt our dreams, and keep us up at night, but if she ever wanted to talk about it, I hope she knows that I would be there for her.
Day 119: So, I know that it has been a while since I last wrote, but I really wasn't in the mood to. After everything that happened, I figured there were better things to do than scribble my life story on a piece of paper. Looking back, I'm still surprised that we are all still alive. We woke in the morning to the smell of smoke and to see first sweeping through houses from the city, coming closer to us. We scrambled, grabbing the supplies that we could fit in our bags, and took off running toward the nearby countryside.
We wanted to run toward the river, and if we were desperate enough, swim across it, but the fire blocked our path, forcing us to run farther into the grass, with the fire licking at our backs. The farther we ran, the more I thought we weren't going to make it. I mean, I was running alongside an alcoholic, out of shape, man, and a young girl; with those odds, who wouldn't think it was about to end? Luckily, just when I thought we were about to cooked extra crispy, the wind changed direction, blowing the fire away from us, allowing us to make it far enough that if fire flared back up, we could escape it easily.
That was over four weeks ago, and since then, we decided that we better just keep moving north, looking for supplies wherever we can, hoping to try and regain the supplies that we lost in the fire. I am worried about Chuck, though; while he didn't want us to know, I discovered that he had a secret stash of booze in the house that he regularly accessed when Clem and I were scavenging, and now that his stash is ashes, I'm not sure how well he is going to do now that we don't have any, anymore. Hopefully he will be able to deal with it, but if not...I'm worried I make have to go searching for alcohol, along with everything else we need.
Day 138: So, a weird thing happened earlier today. While we usually stick to the woods, we decided that we should try to walk the highway today, just to see if we could get around the unusually large amount of biters roaming the forest. While we were walking, we came across a scouting party for a larger group, who invited us to stay at their base-camp for the night.
So, after a meal and trading some of our ammunition for food and water, we were talking to their leader, Kyle, when he mentioned they were heading north, trying to reach a place called Wellington, before winter hit. I was surprised, considering that I thought that Wellington was the only a place of a mad man's ramblings, but these people seemed to believed that it existed and was a safe haven from walkers.
While I was still somewhat skeptical, Chuck seemed to be inclined that it might exist, and Clem...was silent on the matter. Personally, I was in favor of just going north and seeing if we can find some protection up there, rather than hoping a rumor will be our salvation, so hopefully, they are both one and the same.
Day 154: Though I was pretty sure that we were in South Carolina already, it was only when I saw a sign for, South Carolina Automotive,did I know for certain. Now, if it was before the end of the world, I know my father would have tried to get us to take a photo by the state sign, but since I haven't seen a working camera in ages, I figured it was better if I didn't mention it.
Day 183: "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." Franklin Delano Roosevelt said that, when America was facing Nazi Germany...I think (It's been a while since I've actually had to take a history course.) Anyway, if Roosevelt came up against a massive horde, stretching for miles in either direction, the smell of death and decay overpowering all other smells, and sound of thousands moaning, causing every nerve in your body to scream at you to run in the other direction and never stop, then I feel that Roosevelt would have changed his saying to, "The only thing we have to fear, is the walking dead."
Looking at the horde, we all knew that there was no way we would be able to go through it; at best, we would have to go miles out of our way, making our journey days, possibly even weeks longer, putting an even larger strain on our dwindling supplies. And, with the horde so close by, we would have to spend part of the days looking for an actual buildings to spend the night in, rather than just out in the open, due to the amount of stragglers hanging around, costing us even more days.
I openly recommended turning around and heading back south, trying to find some place we hunker down, and maybe be able to defend ourselves...like a fort, or a prison, or something. Chuck seemed to not care either way, though he did mention it might be more difficult going back, since we had already scavenged most of the area on the way up. It was Clementine, to my surprise, who suggested we continued on, and that she felt it would be worth our while. Whether she actually felt that, or she was just trying to get escape the horrors that we left behind, who could say.
Day 209: I am so fucking sick of these goddamn walkers! These past few weeks, we have been having to zigzag across the countryside, all due to that damn horde. Our supplies have started running low, and to make matters worse, Chuck has stated that he thinks it is going to be a large winter this year; now, how he knows this, I have no idea, but I'm really hoping that he is wrong. Dealing with a hard winter before the end of the world was bad enough, but with limited supplies, little to no chance of being able to find more...it would take a miracle for us to survive.
Day 237: Today was one of those days that I'm really glad that Clem and I have Chuck with us. I was skinning a rabbit, that we had caught in a snare that we made, when I accidentally cut myself pretty badly, forcing Chuck to teach a quick lesson on sewing up wounds to Clem and I, with me as the guinea pig. The pain was excruciating, taking all of my willpower not to scream out loud as poured the hydrogen peroxide on the wound, stabbed the needle in, and started sewing me up. (This was interesting, for it first, made me realize that Chuck had been lugging a well-supplied first aid kit in his bag, and second, that we had managed to go quite a ways, without ever needing to pull it out.)
Anyway, Chuck always seemed to be trying to teach Clem and I something new, even if we didn't realize it at the time and while I am grateful for having him around, it does make me wonder, what if Lee hadn't died? Would he had been as good as a teacher/leader for Clem and I? Or, my dad, for that matter? Well, not that it really matters anyway; both of them are dead and Chuck is still alive, so I will take what I can, though, I can't help feel that Chuck isn't doing as well as he wants us to believe. Hopefully, it is nothing, but with his dwindling supply of alcohol, (that he has tried to keep secret, but when he went to get the first aid kit, I saw a few, hidden away in his bag, and it didn't look like much was left,) I just hope that he will be okay.
Day 263: My father always believed in the best of humanity, that during times of great crisis, we would come together as a society and be able to help one another; even after we were attacked by bandits and were captured by those insane cannibals, my father never gave up that belief. I wish I had my father's conviction, but during my short time living in apocalypse, I have come to believe that most human beings are selfish, and cruel creatures, capable of unspeakable atrocities.
It was during one of Clem and mine scavenging trip, when Clementine convinced me to let her search the first floor of an abandoned house by herself, while I checked the 2nd story. She had been trying for awhile and I decided to let her, just as a trial run; if it didn't work, I would be close by, and if it did work, well, then we could start discussing about us going farther apart.
Anyway, so as she searched downstairs, I went up, expecting to find maybe some clothes for winter, or a stash of medicine, or something along those lines; what I didn't expect to find, was a message, written in blood, stating, "This is what blood traitors get!" Deciding to go investigate, I crept to the bedroom to find what I guessed to be the family of the house, with each of their heads hanging from the ceiling fan, still snapping their jaws.
Not wanting to stay around in case whoever did this decided to come back, I grabbed Clem and we left. I decided not to tell her, just in case it was nothing to worry about, but I did keep my gun close by me at all times.
Day 300: I'm hoping we get out of this area soon; since that last message I found in that house, we come across 10 other signs, all stating stuff about blood traitors...whatever that means, and each of them are written in blood. We've taken the precaution of staying off of the road, most of the time, and no having any fire, meaning that we are stuck eating cold canned foods. If we are lucky, we won't see any sign of them; if we aren't, well, I hope that we don't find out what blood traitors mean.
Day 328: Well, I guess we won't be finding out what blood traitors mean, after all. We were walking through the woods, when we came across what appeared to be an old summer camp, looking as if it had been abandoned for a while. We slowly searched the area, hoping to find something that might have been left behind, when I heard Clementine shout in fear. I raced over to find her behind a building, staring in shock at the sight of what I had to guess were the occupants of the camp, lying on the ground; it looked as if someone had lined them up against the wall, and then had used automatic weapons to mow them down, without mercy. I quickly pulled Clementine away from there, but before I left, I caught sight of another sign, stating, "The TRUE, blood traitors."
We quickly left the camp, silently having decided that there was no reason to push luck and stay there. After getting far enough away from the camp that we felt better, establishing our own camp for the night, and eating another cold dinner, (yeah, still not risking it; not yet, anyway,) I offered to take first watch, just because I wasn't sure I would be able to sleep and apparently, Clementine wasn't either, because she joined me after a few minutes. We didn't say anything; just sat in companionable silence, until I heard Clementine's breathing slow, and knew she was sleep. While I wished I could sleep, the thought process of trying to figure out who killed those people, kept me for the rest of my watch.
Day 356: Winter is coming and I don't know what we are going to do. It was a bright, warm sunny day, when we heard the wind pick. At first, we thought it was nothing, until it hit us, causing everyone us to visibly shiver, and we knew that winter was on its way. We later discussed and all agreed that we would need to go search for some real winter clothes soon, especially if Chuck was right about his earlier prediction about the hard winter that we were going to have to deal with. This also got me thinking, that we should probably start stockpiling more supplies, so we won't have to go scavenging during the winter and freeze to death.
The main problem, with finding these supplies and clothes, was that the small towns we passed were either locked up tighter than Fort Knox, with armed guards and walls, making it look more like a prison than a town, or, the town was so looted and ransacked, it looked as if it was a ghost town from the Old West, with little to no chance of finding anything of value. The biggest worry for me, was if we couldn't find anything in the towns, was that we would have to head toward the cities, and hope that we managed to get what we needed, and was about to get out...alive.
Day 374: You know those days, where the world seems to be against you, and nothing seems to be going your way? Well, today wasn't one of those days! We were walking along some highway, I-95, I think, when we came across a vehicle, which isn't anything unusual, except compared to the others, it looked to be in pretty good condition, and was filled with food, clothes; everything that we would need to help us survive the upcoming winter. I was worried that we might be stealing from someone, when I noticed something moving in the woods.
Deciding to go investigate, I wandered over to see what looked what appeared to be a failed murder-suicide; apparently, the poor bastards didn't realize that just dying, wouldn't keep them from turning: There was one biter, tied to a tree, with a bullet hole through the heart, moaning and snapping its teeth at me; on the same tree, the other one was swinging from the end of a rope, still trying to grab me, with the so-called murder weapon lying on the ground underneath him.
I felt sorry for the poor guys, but I didn't want to waste the bullets killing them. (I really need to get a weapon that doesn't that doesn't make a loud bang every time I want to take a biter out. Maybe I should get a knife, or a crowbar, or something that won't make everything in a five-mile radius come toward me.) So, all I did was check quickly to see if they had anything of use on them, such as the car keys, grabbed the gun, and joined Clem and Chuck.
I gotta say, that car was a life-saver: with it, we managed to get over 75 miles with it, getting farther north much sooner than expected, and then, just when we thought it couldn't get any better, we came across an abandoned apartment building that someone had obviously tried to set up as a shelter, but looked as if they had to leave, quickly. It was a pretty nice set up, so, hopefully we can make it last for a while.
Day 383: So, we made a good choice deciding to stay at the apartment, because today, the first snowfall happened, dusting everything in white. Now, while it made me apprehensive, not looking forward to having to deal with the winter, Clementine seemed almost like a child again, staring out into the snow with a look of wonderment on her face. It filled with me joy, to see her acting almost like a child again, so I decided to treat her, by taking her outside and playing in the snow. It just like old times, not having to worry about anything and just having fun, and while I know that she'll definitely be sick of the snow by the time winter was over, it was nice to see her enjoy herself for a little while.
Day 401: Chuck was apparently right about it being a hard winter, because it has barely stopped snowing since my last entry. Even though we are in South Carolina/North Carolina, (I'm not sure where we are; if I had to guess, we are in North Carolina, but only barely, but I could be off,) there seems to be a lot more snow than usual; when I asked Chuck about, he mentioned something about global warming and nuclear reactors, which didn't make much sense to me, but whatever. The snow has also been making it very difficult to go out and get any supplies; we even stripped the entire apartment, taking anything that might need, but it wasn't much. I'm not sure if I am going to write much, due to there isn't much to talk about, since we able to do much...at all.
Day 474...I think: I should have realized something like this was bound to happen; in this fucked up world that we call home, I should have expected that it something would have screwed up our best chance of surviving.
It was after a month of being trapped in the apartment, when we heard a knock at the door; at first, we thought we were just going stir-crazy and hearing things, but after we heard it again, I cautiously opened the door to see some guy standing there, half-frozen. Now, normally I am one that is cautious around having complete strangers into the our camp, but this guy looked desperate and unharmed. Taking pity on the poor guy, we brought him in and gave him some food and water but what worried me slightly, was how he kept dodging questions; no matter what we asked him, he kept changing the subject or just remained silent. Eventually, we decided to let him sleep in one of our beds, though after he fell asleep, we also agreed that someone should keep an eye on him.
When we went to wake the guy the next day, he was unconscious, shivering, coughing, and moaning in pain. At first, we thought that he was bit, forcing us to have guard him day and night, but after two days, and no sign of him turning, we figured out that he just was very, very sick, though before we really had a chance to help him, he kicked the bucket, forcing us to stab him in his head and dump the body outside. For the following days, we were cautious, hoping that we had managed to dodge the metaphorical bullet, but just when we got hopeful, Chuck fell sick. Clem and I did the best we could with the limited supplies that we had, but nothing seemed to be working. Just as Clem and I got desperate enough to consider going out in the snowstorm and trying to find some medicine, I started feeling dizzy and nauseous. I tried to ignore and make myself believe I was well, but by the next day, I could barely move, and soon, I was out
I was in and out of consciousness for nearly 3 weeks, seeing and hearing things that I'm still not entirely sure were real or not. Screams, gunshots, blood oozing everywhere; it was as if I was trapped in some insane, slaughterhouse or worse, back at the St. Johns. Eventually, I awoke to discover that I was in a different room in the apartment, and most of our supplies were gone; Chuck was nowhere to be found and Clem...Clem wouldn't tell me what happened while I was out, not a single word. Normally, I would have let her be, but since this involved another member of our group, I wouldn't let it go, until she finally snapped at me, saying, "He's gone and he is not coming back."
The other thing I noticed was the Clementine no longer had this look of innocence about her, but rather, the look of a hardened veteran, one who has seen way too much; occasionally, she will slip back and become more childlike, but then she will catch herself, and the hardened exterior returns. Also, the nightmares, that had started getting better before I fell sick, came back with a vengeance, and just like before, she would say nothing. I...I don't know what to do anymore.
Day 531: Since the death of Chuck, Clem and I have kept to the plan of going north, trying to make do with what we have, stopping only when necessary to scavenge for supplies. Supplies have been far and few between, and we have ended up empty handed more times than full. Eventually, you get used to the constant pangs of hunger, but until that happens, man, are they annoying.
Then, there's Clementine: her nightmares have just been getting worse, causing her thrash in her sleep, and shout out the names of people she's lost. The worse times are when she wakes up, doesn't seem to recognize me, and pulls her gun on me, a look of rage and anguish on her face; it breaks my heart, talking her down and having her realize that she actually knows me. Those are the times that I curse the world, having to hold her as she breaks down in my arms.
Fuck this world; no one should have to experience what this little girl has been through. No one.
Day 594: Since yesterday, Clem and I have both noticed an increased amount of traffic on the road; while we are still traveling through the woods, we are close enough to the what used to be a highway, that we can see anyone coming. Anyway, there have been quite a few vehicles passing by, and considering the face that Clem and I haven't seen another soul since...Chuck, that I'm not sure whether or not I should be pleased that other humans are alive, or worried, that they are heading the same way we are. In any case, all it means is that there we won't building any fires for a while. Yay...
Day 648: Seems as though we hit of bit of luck today: while walking through the woods, after another crappy night of sleeping, Clem tripped over something, sending her sprawling to the ground. As I helped her up, I noticed that whatever she tripped over, was reflecting light from the sun. We both decided to take a look, and after moving away the leaves, we discovered it was a trapdoor, leading down into what appeared to be a doomsday bunker, fully furnished and supplied, complete with its own personal power generator. We both agreed that we would stay here awhile, especially since there was a lock on the inside of the trapdoor, letting us be able to get a full night's sleep, without having to set a watch. I am certainly going to enjoy this.
Day 700: Whoever decided to pack that doomsday shelter, did a shitty job, because, even with Clem and I rationing what we could, the food barely lasted over a month, forcing us to abandon the bunker and head back, and hope to find more supplies in the outside world. However, there was one thing I was glad I did before we headed out: remember way back, when I was talking about doing something nice for Clementine for her birthday? Well, since I was unconcious for mine this year, and Clementine still hasn't told me hers, I figured I would do a double birthday, and just have both us celebrate one.
So, the night before we agreed to leave the bunker, I used the rations of mine that I hadn't eaten, and decided to throw a small feast for the both of us. While at first Clementine didn't seem too interested in it, she eventually wore down, and we actually had a good time, laughing and enjoying ourselves. Then, to finish it off, I pulled out an old tin can from my bag. (It was actually the first can that Clementine shot when I taught her how to shoot; I meant to give to her earlier, but just like this journal, I forgot about it and when I did find it again, there just didn't seem to be any good times to do it.) Clementine gave me one of her rare smiles, the ones I seem to be seeing less and less of, and thanked me for it by giving me a hug.
I know that Chuck talked about how in this world, that people can only be considered living beings, and not by their height, gender, age, etc, but seeing Clementine act like kid, even if only for a short time, gives me hope that one day, maybe, just maybe, the world can go back to being a place where children won't have to grow up so fast, and enjoy they're childhood. One day...but, until that day, Clem and I will continue to do everything in our powers to survive, no matter the cost.
AN: Okay, so I know that I said the last chapter was going to be the last one for this story, but when I started writing the next season, what kept running through my mind was what would happen between the two seasons, so I decided to post one more chapter, filling it in. However, I tried writing it in a different style, so, hopefully it works out alright.
Anyway, this chapter is has been fun to write and I can't wait to publish Season 2, coming soon to a theater near you...whoops, wrong kind of promo. Also, I am looking for some ideas about what to do in the next season; I have the general idea about some of the things that I want to change up, but I would appreciate some help. So, if you have any ideas you think would help the next story be even better than this one, don't hesitate to PM me, or just leave it in the reviews.
Thanks again!