Chapter 8: Storm in Our Hearts
Clementine was surprised to feel unusual warm weather this afternoon as she makes her way to the fishing shack with Louis. She knows fishing is not his preferred thing or favorite chore to do but she needs to switch up the order and not have the same people doing the same duties. And strangely Violet offered to do scouting for supplies, which is very unusual for her to do. Clementine wasn't going to question it as they need some more supplies, like medicine, and hay for Scarlet, and find any more weapons or supplies that could be useful.
Clementine even offer to scout with her but Violet immediately objected and said no. Clementine doesn't like anyone going alone on scouting missions so she told her to take Rosie with her for company. Violet was going to refuse but obeyed Clementine and decided to take Rosie with her. Violet took off in the early afternoon to set out in search of supplies. What Clementine didn't see coming is Violet has been sneaking off to meet Maya in the woods in the meeting spot they established a few days ago.
With each passing day since Violet met up with Maya again, she has been keeping her meetings with Maya a secret from everyone. And the two have been growing close. Violet is still unsure of making the move to confess to Maya she has been devolving romantic feelings for her. She feels something there with her but she is uncertain about expressing them and afraid to have her heart open to another person to love again.
Clementine holds out her knife to keep it close to her for walker danger as she walks with Louis to the fishing shack. A distant crow call echoes in the woods. Louis hears that and then brings Chairles out to be on guard for walkers.
"You see any walkers?" Clementine hisses.
"No." Louis scans the distance. "That doesn't mean there aren't around."
"Well, out of all the times I've been out this way, I only spotted a few," Clementine said.
"No sign of your walker friend, James huh." Louis looks at her.
Clementine shakes her head. She hasn't seen or heard from him since the cave, and that was weeks ago. She looks at Louis, "I wish I can find him, and apologize."
"Why you did nothing wrong. He attacked you and AJ, from what Tenn told me. If anything he should be apologizing to you." Louis pointed out.
"Maybe. But I feel I shouldn't have left things the way I did." Clementine looks to the ground.
"He will come around to you when he is ready to." Louis looks at her to cheer her up. He then sees the fishing shack in view, "Remind me why you and I are out here fishing?"
"Because everyone else is assigned elsewhere. Why you don't like to fish?" Clementine asks as she raises her eyebrow.
"I'm more of a hunter thank you. Fishing feels too bland and boring. Rather be shooting at rabbits, or a deer, or a bore or a possum." Louis said.
Clementine rolls her eyes at him in a playful manner and gave him a playful teasing comment back, "Well…you are a poor shot with the bow and arrow, doubt you will snag a rabbit for dinner."
Louis gave a sneer at Clementine, "Okay, okay show off your badass archery skills. I will get better at it one day. Without you as my distraction from being a master at archery."
Clementine looks at him and gave him a playful nudge to the side, "Yeah because I cause all your misses at the target when I am not around you."
Louis snickers at that and walks in line with her to the stairs of the fishing shack. Louis then had a thought and eyes the truck they just passed, "You know we can always make out in that truck. No one will find us."
Clementine looks at the truck and slowly her eyes meet Louis. With a teasing glare, she takes a step forward inching closer to him. Very tenderly she spoke, "That does seem tempting to do for a little bit."
Louis was surprised she even consider the idea, but he senses a downside to her tone, "But…"
Clementine was standing a foot from him and eyes him with her amber eyes, "But we have work to do Lou. Maybe another time."
Louis rubs the back of his neck out of nervousness, "Right…it was just a thought. I mean how often do I get to do work with my girl."
Clementine shakes her head and giggles a bit. She hates it his charming one-liners get her all mushy for him. She then regains her posture and looks at him, "So you want to check the traps, or sphere the fish."
Louis looks at her and sighs, "I guess I will check the traps since I have no patients for sphering any fish."
Clementine nods before she turns to head into the shack to grab the spheres so she can fish, she puts a finger under his chin and leans up, and kisses him tenderly. When she kisses him, she felt Louis sinking into her kiss. Clementine pulls back and eyes him. "Maybe when we get the task done we can goof off some if you want. I am not that strict."
"I like that. So you are considering making out with me?" Louis asks as he arches his eyebrow at her.
Clementine looks down for a moment as she teasingly eyes him with her eyes, "Considering the possibility." Louis leans forward for another lip lock with her but Clementine puts her hand over his lips. "But we got work to do. The group comes first before our personal desires and time together." Clementine spoke in a firm voice to her boyfriend.
Louis nods and kisses her hand sweetly, "Sure thing, darling." Louis smiles at her and then swings Charlies over his shoulder proudly. Clementine lets out a small laugh and she turns to go into the shack. She grabs a sphere from within the hut and turns to head back outside. When Clementine comes out of the shack she sees Louis taking off to check the fish traps in the river to see if there is any fish.
…
Violet goes off alone without Rosie as she makes her way to Maya and her meeting spot, a little farther down from the covered wooden bridge. It has become Violet and Maya's secret spot the past several times they have met. And Maya has been slowly teaching Violet how to read the earth and use the earth as a natural resource for medicines and other ways of survival. At that time, they have been getting close to each other as sparks of romance were forming in both of their hearts.
Violet already sees Maya at work laying out herbs a bit away from the edge of the river. She looks so beautiful in the sunlight. Violet shakes her head to clear it, and not let her blossoming feelings get in the way.
"You already collected the herbs without me?" Violet asked.
Maya looks up from her sorting out the herbs she already collected and a glow on her face beams and she smiles at Violet. "Yeah, there is a storm coming I can sense it. Wanted to get a head start on it and my lesson of teaching you how to use herbs maybe on the short side."
Violet looks up at the sky, "It is a little cloudy but nothing that will cause a storm."
Maya giggles and flirts with Violet a little, "I am not talking it is going to storm now, but later, which may cut my time short with being around you."
That soft voice that Maya spoke to her that way made Violet melt a bit. She smiles a kind of giddy smile to her as she was flattered by her compliment. "Well, I guess we just have to make the best of the time we have." Violet shakes her head as if she said something stupid. "Okay first lesson how do I make stuff to calm down fevers."
Maya looks down at the pile she stored, "Well there are different plants that can cure fevers, but the ones I find that are native to these lands are catnip, yarrow, and white willow bark. Catnip is gentle on children and I know you have a least one youngster in your group, AJ if I remember right." Maya looks up at Violet who is sitting comfortably across from her.
Violet looks at Maya and spills a little more information about the people in her group with her, "You have a good memory. Actually, there are a few kids in my group. Not quite as young as AJ, but younger than me that is for sure."
"I have a least a seven-year-old girl in mine, and she is always catching some kind of illness that I have to make herbs just to keep her healthy," Maya said.
Violet looks at Maya and decides to ask her some personal questions, "How many people are in your group Maya."
Maya looks into Violet's eyes, "Including me, at least seven. What brought that up?"
"I don't know. Trying to get to know you more, and just curious of how many are in your group." Violet looks to the ground.
Maya didn't say anything for a minute then repeats the question to Violet, "Well…since we are in a sharing mood, how many are in yours."
Violet looks up at Maya as she feels the fire between them. Violet eyes the flowing water as she counted with her fingers how many people are exactly in her group, "Including me, there are about eight in mine, including a dog. And we have no adults running my group, all kids like myself and my leader Clementine."
Maya leans forward a bit learning this new information, "No adults at all?"
"Nope," Violet replies.
"Did they all die or something." Maya was genuinely intrigued.
"No. They all left and abandon all of my fellow friends and other kids like me, back when the world went to shit and walkers started eating people." Violet said with a bit of resentment in her tone of voice. She looks at Maya, "I am or was part of a boarding school that used to function out here. We all band together and fend for ourselves when all the teachers and adults left and left us behind to fend for ourselves."
Maya looks at her with compassion, "Wow, those adults were real assholes to abandon smart kids like you. You kept alive all this time, you and the other kids."
Violet felt warmed by her soft voice and compassion for Violet's hardship, "Dickheads is more like it." That got a giggle out of Maya and it made Violet smile too. "We have a system in place that works well to keep us all alive. And it is so much better now that we don't have the added drama of adults."
"I wish I had that," Maya said as she cast her gaze down on the herbs in front of her. "I sense a tension between Bonnie and Arvo, and I trust neither of them. The only one I strangely trust is a man named Robert." Maya looks up at Violet. "I get no bad vibes from Robert when I am around him. The only vibe and sense I get from him is the guilt he has of sending his one and only son away that he wishes he hadn't done." Maya doesn't want to give away what Robert told her a few weeks ago, and she knows if she reveals it to Violet, Violet will think she is a spy, and Maya doesn't want Violet to think that about her, because she is starting to fall for the blonde hazel girl. "Anyways, before we get distracted and talk about our lives, want me to show you how to abstract the juices of the plant? You can have a few of my vials to put in. I don't mind sharing."
Maya was about to get up but she felt a hand on her arm and made her look into Violet's eyes. Violet then retracts her hand and scratched the back of her head. "Actually I kind of like talking, and sharing. Something I haven't done…since…since I've met my leader." Violet then looked at the ground all nervous.
Maya then read Violet's emotions and she sees she has a crush on her, and this is Violet's weird attempt to say she wants to get to know Maya more as a person. Maya was speechless for once, as she doesn't know how to respond. Come on Maya think of something clever. Maya then swallows hard and tries to be charming. "We can share as I teach you about my culture if you want. I too…would like to know the deep wonders that are behind those beautiful green eyes." When Maya said those words an immediate blush is seen on Violet's cheeks, she knows Violet can't really flirt worth a damn, but it was cute to watch her blush with the flattery.
…..
Clementine made a few catches better than what she had in mind. She looks up at the sky as it was turning deep gray. A cold settles on her skin as she knows a storm is about to come their way. Clementine gathers the pale of fish and heads to the shack to put the fishing spear away. Clementine comes out and hears a distant boom of thunder.
She looks downriver and sees Louis coming back with a whole net full of fish. The fish are flowing in well for now, but in a few days or weeks, it would be back to the drawing board for new ideas to replace fishing as a source of food during the winter months. "Looks like we will be eating good for the next few days with your haul."
"Yeah, they are really biting. Wish it is like this all the time." Louis admits.
"Hopefully when summer comes around again we will have more chances at hauling in food," Clementine said in a hopeful tone.
"Yeah…so you and Aasim figured out what we will do with another food source other than fishing in the winter?" Louis asks out of curiosity.
"Still working out the details. We have come up with scouting farther into the woods beyond the old safe zone, and doing two rounds of hunting parties instead of fishing. It seems the most logical and sensible thing to do, and I don't see any other options to go around it." Clementine admits.
"That sounds reasonable to me." Louis agreed with her.
"And Ruby is working on growing some herbs and veggies now so we should be alright. Maybe not as comfortable or well off when I came to Ericson, but we can manage." Clementine said. Clementine looks up at the sky and notices it is getting darker as the wind picked up and blows up cooler air that skids across Clementine's face. "We should take what we can back, I can sense a storm coming."
Louis looks up at the sky and nods in agreement. However when they gather up the fish Clementine hears a bunch of groans and moans from the far distance and it is getting louder and louder, and making its way towards Louis and Clementine, "Louis, do you hear a bunch of walkers."
Louis stops what he is doing by bagging up the fish they collected and listens. He hears the steady groans of moans of the dead walking. Louis nods and was about to say something but Clementine shushed him with her finger. Clementine squints her eyes as she concentrates on the sounds and the direction it is coming at. She looks north of them and in the far distance, she sees a whole herd of walkers making their way toward the shack. "Louis, to the shack now!"
"But…the fish." Louis looks at the fish half-packed up.
"Take what you can and hide it in the shack. We are about to get a whole swarm of walkers heading our way." Clementine uses her knife to point where the direction the walkers are coming.
Clementine and Louis bagged up as much fish as they could and Louis toss the net on the little porch of the shack and they both barred the doors to the shack. Clementine looks in panic at Louis and he does the same. It was too late for them to head back to the safety of the school. Within a few minutes of them barring the door of the danger outside, the groans of the walkers echoed throughout the woods. Clementine pushes herself up against the wall as fear and panic struck her, as she is reliving the trauma of getting bit and losing her left foot. Louis saw and left the door and came close to her.
Louis didn't say anything, as he knows she is struggling with her fears and anxiety just as much as he is about killing a living person. Louis grabs hold of an old paper bag and gave it to Clementine as she hyperventilates in it, as she rides out her panic attack. He felt pressure on his forearm as she squeezes it to find solid ground to level out her fear. Louis finally spoke in soft whispers only Clementine can hear. "Slow down. Take deep breaths. You are going to be okay."
Clementine felt Louis's hand touch hers and she squeezes it. The soothing words calmed her mind and soul, and his soft voice was memorizing. Clementine slowly removes the bag from her mouth and leans her head on Louis's shoulder. Clementine snuggles into his chest breathing in his scent to calm her mind as he holds and soothes her into a calm state. He rubs her shoulder in a loving way to help her out of her panic attack. Once Clementine's breathing was even she slowly moves out of his embrace and looks up at him with reassuring eyes, "I'm okay."
Louis tilts his head to one side and repeats her words back, "You're okay." He reaches out and tucks a loose strain of hair behind her left earlobe and Clementine smiles a cute giddy smile at him.
"Thank you," Clementine says as she looks into his eyes.
"You're welcome." Louis said as he, too stares back into her eyes. Louis looks down at his feet, "I know what it is like to have panic attacks and reliving trauma. It is what I wake up to a lot of the time and you find me crying."
Clementine looks at her prosthetic foot and then to the door as she hears what sounds like hundreds of walkers marching outside. "I never thought it would affect me this much. I dealt with walkers before but never thought it would trigger a panic or relieve my fear of getting bit. I thought I was passed it." Clementine knits her face in disgust at letting the sound of walkers get to her.
Louis wants to say something to soothe her but he doesn't know the right words to say. "I don't know the right words to say, as I am still struggling with my own problem. Just take it one day at a time maybe, and we both be struggling together with our traumas."
Clementine gives a half smile to him, "Thanks for the bag. It helped." She then looks at him, "How do you know the bag trick will get someone in a calm state and out of a panic state?"
"Oh…ah…Had practice with Brody several times after….after the disappearance of the twins. She was a fucking mess all the time and used to watch old movies where someone was in a panic state, they give them a bag to hyperventilate in." Louis said out of nervousness.
Soon the rain poured down and Clementine and Louis can hear the pelting of raindrops hit the shack roof with the roaring of the walkers groans. Clementine looks to Louis and asks, "How many do you think they are out there?"
Louis looks at her, "I don't know…a hundred, maybe three hundred or so. A lot."
"So we are trapped in here for a bit," Clementine said.
"I'm afraid we are." Louis agreed with her. He saw Clementine looking worried and he offered a comment to help ease the worry on her face, "at least on the bright side…. the walkers didn't see or hear us as long as we keep quiet in here they should go right past us. We may be sitting ducks, but at least we don't have to worry about them breaking in. And if we get hungry, we can dive into the fish we caught."
That made Clementine chuckle a little as she softly spoke, so the walkers don't detect their voices, "You always look on the bright side of things?"
"Yeah. So my mind doesn't go crazy." Louis said as Clementine rolls her eyes.
"Well, we will wait for a few hours. Maybe they will move on." Clementine said.
Louis senses her worry as he looks up at the door, "yeah, anything you want to do while we wait."
Clementine shook her head as she brings her knees up to her chest and puts her head down to rest on her knees. Panic still floods her heart as she stares at the floor. "I am worried about the others. Especially AJ. They will wonder where we are."
"Well try not to think about that, Clem. I know you can't help it and have concerns about AJ's safety but he will be fine in the walls of the school." Louis said trying to soothe Clementine's anxiety some.
Clementine cast her eyes onto Louis, "that is not what I am concerned about. I know the school is well-protected and has sturdy walls to withstand a whole horde of walkers. What worries me the most is that AJ will go off on his own, to try to find me. He doesn't like me to be out in harm's way. And he certainly doesn't like me to be out on my own with walkers. If I….If I lost him…"
Louis now understands Clementine's concern and her fear of AJ going into the herd to find her and Louis. Louis scooches near Clementine so his body heat is giving her comfort, "AJ knows when it is too dangerous for him to be on his own without us to supervise him. If not I know Ruby, Aasim, Omar or Violet will stop him if he tries to be a hero and find you. I know Aasim, Ruby or Violet will not let that munchkin out of their sights. He will be okay Clem, I promise." Louis reaches for her hand and stroke it to ease her worries.
Clementine looks at their joint hands together and smiles at his tender touch and stroking her hand. She then moves so her body so it is sitting up and slowly she leans her head onto Louis's strong shoulder as she closes her eyes. She has to believe Louis is correct, that AJ will not go off on his own. Hoping AJ will have common sense. She then tells Louis something she never voiced to anyone about AJ and how much he means to her. "I never told anyone this….but AJ is more than just a kid I looked after and protect." Clementine raises her eyes to Louis, "he feels more like my son, and I feel like a mother to him. I raised him since he was born. Held him when he was a few hours old even."
Clementine smiled at the memory of holding AJ as a newborn. "When all the adults in my life that were supposed to care and look after AJ died on me, I became his surrogate mother figure. And he got to my heart that no one else could." Clementine pauses as she looks at Louis, "He is pretty much my whole world, besides you, and if I lose AJ…or anything happens to him…" Clementine trails off as she can't finish the sentence because the very thought scares Clementine as she doesn't want to think about that scenario.
Louis looks down over his shoulder and gave a comfortable smile to Clementine to ease her racing thoughts, "I kind of figured AJ was more like a son to you. I kind of got the sense he was when we first met. And how AJ talks about you nonstop the whole time." Louis felt Clementine entwining her fingers to his and he felt a warm sensation flowing down his arms and legs from his heart. "I can see why he got into your heart as he did with me. I love the little dude. And knowing how much I trust him, I know he will not put himself in dangerous situations to make you worry. He is not like me. He will be okay Clementine. Let's just focus on trying to make a plan for us to get back to the school and back to AJ. Together."
…
Ruby was just coming in from the greenhouse when the rain started to come down. She dropped the herbs by Omar's cooking station as well as some veggies. She looks and sees Aasim and Willy come in from hunting. Ruby pulls off her outer jacket and held it up over her head to keep from getting drenched. "How is hunting?"
Aasim looks at Willy and Willy looks back at Ruby. Aasim looks at her, "We got a huge problem."
"What kind of problem," Ruby asked.
Willy said, "A whole shit ton of walkers are heading this way."
"Willy! Language!" Ruby shouted.
"Sorry, but we just got back in time before it cut us off from getting back in," Willy said.
Ruby looks to Aasim, "How many are we talking about? A herd of walkers like the kind we had when sneaking onto the boat, or the number of walkers when the boat blew up."
Aasim looks at her, "About the same or probably more than the time the boat blew up."
"Jesus...How far are they from here?" Ruby asked.
"About a few miles north. They should be at the fishing shack by now, I can't tell how many there are this time. Willy and I rushed back when we can." Aasim said.
"Shit. Clementine and Louis are out fishing today. Are they back?" Ruby asked.
Aasim shook his head, "I haven't seen them."
"Shit…" Ruby murmured.
Aasim eyes her, "AJ would want us to go after them."
"I know but it is too dangerous," Ruby said.
"I know. Look I will keep an eye on AJ or you, and in the morning we will go out and find Clementine and Louis. If I know Clementine, she and he are bunkering down in the shack." Aasim said giving Ruby some reassurance. "I will take charge temporarily, until Clementine comes back, okay." Ruby gave Aasim a kiss on the cheek and smiled at him as she relieves a sigh.
"Thank you. I am no good at taking command. I leave that to you or Clementine to do." Ruby said.
"No worries, go inside the admin building and out of this rain, I will tell AJ," Aasim instructed. He looks around, "Where is Violet?"
"Shit..that is anything thing. She took off this morning for a supply run haven't seen her all afternoon." Ruby said.
"So Violet is out with the horde of walkers too?" Aasim asked.
"Yes," Ruby replies.
Aasim closes his eyes out of frustration and then shakes his head, as rain poured off his head. "Okay, I will keep watch tonight in case Violet comes back. Maybe she has seen the horde too and is sheltering in places like Clementine and Louis are. Once this herd moves past us, I will take a search party out and find our friends. Sounds good?"
Ruby nods to that plan. Ruby then squeezes Aasim's hand for support and the two part ways. Ruby heads inside the dorms instead to dry off and for her to comfort Tenn as rain storms still give him nightmares of what happened one stormy day that burned his face.
Aasim heads to the watch tower to keep watch out for Violet, Clementine, and Louis and to keep AJ in his sights and tell him of the plan on what to do when dawn breaks and the mass herd of walkers moves away from them.
…..
Maya had just finished putting the medicine in her bag and was eyeing Violet with admiring eyes, watching as she puts the medication of her own in the small bag she brought with her. She looks so goddamn beautiful, and it made Maya's heart swell as she wanted so very much to tell her how she feels about her, or share her first kiss with a girl. Maya was so focused on Violet that she didn't hear the moans of walkers until they echoed through the woods.
Maya shook out of her love gaze and turns to look north of them. Violet looks up and hears the moans of walkers. Violet slowly rises to her feet, "Maya do you hear…"
Maya didn't need to hear as she sees in the distance in the woods north of them a whole lot of walkers making their way to them. "Quick Violet to the trees! Now!"
Violet slung the bag of medicine around her shoulder and Maya did the same as Maya led them to a big oak tree. Violet looks to Maya, "What would an oak tree help us from a horde of walkers?"
"How good are your climbing skills." Maya looks at her.
"Somewhat good, but…I haven't climbed trees since…I was nine." Violet admitted.
Maya glances back behind them to gauge how much time they have. "We need to climb high in the trees so the walkers don't get us. We don't have much time." Maya turns to look at Violet, "I'll go first and help you up the best I can okay."
Maya takes a few paces back and then took off at full speed to use her momentum to build up her speed so she is climbing the truck to reach the first branch. Once she is in a good spot, she turns to look down at Violet, "Okay your turn. Hurry, Violet!"
Violet nods and she copies Maya actions. She took off full speed and ran up the tree like Maya but her momentum wasn't fast enough and felt her feet slip on the trunk. Panic set in Violet's eyes as she thought she was going to go down. She hears the moans of walkers as they surround the clearing Violet and Maya like to meet. A strong hand caught hers as Maya grabbed her hand and pulls her up. Violet never knew how strong she was until this moment. Violet makes it to safety as Maya led her to a safe branch as they settle down. The rain started to pour down, making the branches of the oak tree very slick.
"Jesus...I haven't seen so many in a long time." Maya said as she looks out through the canopy of the oak leaves of what was left. "where did they all come from?"
Violet looks at her "I don't know. Most I've seen was fifty or sixty of them and that was when Clementine had an idea to blow up the Raider's boat a few months ago."
Maya turns her eyes to look at her, "You blew up a boat. What kind of boat?"
"I don't know…an old timey river boat thing," Violet answers her. "I got kidnapped by them and they got in my head, and Minnie…the whole thing was a mess."
Maya looks at Violet as she hugs a sturdy branch to relieve her pain. Maya comes a little closer to Violet and reaches out and touches her hand for support and for a lover's touch, letting her know she cares, really cares for her.
Violet flinches and turns to look at Maya and feels a welcoming warmth in her touch. Each time she meets with Maya, she is slowly breaking down the walls she built for so long and learning to let a new love in her heart. Violet soon accepts Maya's touch and squeezes Maya's hand in return. Violet looks out through the branches and sees hundreds of walkers. "What are we going to do Maya, we're trapped."
Maya looks out and sighs, "I know. But at least we are safe in the tree. As long as we don't fall asleep, we should be fine."
"Don't fall asleep. We are not staying up here all goddamn night." Violet said.
"You got any other ideas? It could take hours for these walkers to clear with how many are down there and more filling in from the north. Unless you have a better plan to get past the herd, I don't see many options, except for us to wait it out in this tree." Maya said.
Violet looks down and realized Maya is right. She was thinking of using Clementine's trick of covering themselves with walkers' guts and getting to a more secure spot than a tree, but the rain will wash it away. Violet closes her eyes and looks over at Maya, "You're right. I just don't want to stay in this tree all night. You know how uncomfortable this will get."
Maya thought for a moment, then pull something out of her pack. Violet looks at her with her eyebrow raised. "What are you doing?"
Maya pulls out old nylon cords and used them as a sturdy solid rope. "Making you a makeshift hammock."
"Out of your rain tarp. No, I don't trust it. What if it is not secure, and I fall right down in the herd?" Violet panics.
Maya looks up and a smile broke out, "So you are afraid of heights?"
Violet's face went red for a moment then she huffed, "Only heights that will get me killed."
That got a giggle out of Maya, "You are so cute when you try to hide your fear and your blushing. It's adorable." Maya then eases up on her teasing and switches to a serious tone, "I only want you to be comfortable, which is why I was going to make a hammock for you."
Violet eyes her and melted when Maya thought of her needs instead of her own. Violet unexpectedly came close to Maya and rests her head on Maya's shoulder, and she closed her eyes and softly whispered to her, "You thinking like that of putting my needs before yours is a sweet gesture that I haven't had anyone who did that for me before. Not even…." Violet opens her eyes slightly as the rain soaked her body, as she looks down at the herd.
Maya glances down over her shoulder and realizes Violet was talking about Minerva. Maya smiles a warm smile and reaches behind her and pulls the rain tarp around their bodies to persevere heat on this chilly cold early evening. Her heart melted in Violet's embrace as she knows she was defiantly falling in love with her. The thing Maya is uncertain about is, whether Violet feels the same about her. She doesn't want to force Violet in liking her if she is not ready to give her heart to another. Maya breathes softly and looks down at Violet, "I will stay up all night, and keep watch and let you sleep if you want."
Violet looked up at her as rain dripped down her wet brown hair, "You do that for me?"
Maya nods and half smiles, "Not the first time I kept night watch. I will let you know if it is safe to get down and get to safety. You need the rest more than me."
Violet looks at her as if she is very different from her previous girlfriend. Maya is actually looking out for her own well-being which is more than Minerva has done. And for some strange feeling, Violet has a warm sensation in her heart just then. Violet then softly murmured, "Thank you." She leans her head down on Maya's shoulder and felt Maya's arm around her other side, firmly holding her in place. In Violet's mind as she rest on Maya's shoulder and heard her strong heartbeat. Violet's mind kept saying, What is wrong with me? Why does she get me to feel this way when I thought love was dead with Minerva? Uh Oh. Am I falling for….No Violet….keep your heart strong…you are not falling in love….you are not…damn it…I think I am..fuck.
….
Clementine looks at Louis as the herd of walkers will not budge and looks to be hundreds out there, as the storm rages on outside. Louis is by the window near the door and Clementine is by the fireplace.
"I see no way out for us. We are stuck here until morning." Louis looks at her.
"Louis, we can't just wait in here all night. Everyone will be worried." Clementine replies.
"I don't see much choice." Louis looks outside with worry in his brown gaze.
"We can cover ourselves in walker guts like before," Clementine suggested.
"That would have worked in the past, but…." Louis looks at Clementine's missing leg, "But your leg. I don't want to risk it." Louis looks at her now with hurt in his eyes. "Seeing you, the day I found you and AJ in the woods, as you bleed out, then I was afraid you would turn from the blood loss…I can't…. I can't go through that pain again."
Clementine looks at Louis and comes to his side. She brought him near her as she embraced him. Clementine then looks into his eyes, "It won't happen again. I swear."
Louis is unconvinced, but he trusts her. He looks out the crack in the window briefly before turning to look at Clementine and softly spoke to her as tenderly as he could, "Besides it will be pointless with it pouring down rain outside. The rain would wash the guts away even if we did manage it." He then brushes off the negative feeling he has in his mind, "Well…since we are stuck in here for a while, why not a little game for you and me."
Clementine looks at him with a confused look as she glances around the shack, "And what game do you suppose we play, spin the bottle?"
Louis gave a little chuckle at that as he moved by the fireplace and sat down. "No, but that would be a fun game to play in a group setting, don't you think, or if you don't mind playing it one on one with me or objects in this room." He winks at her as Clementine rolls her eyes. "No, what I have in mind is a card game," Louis exclaimed as he pulls the deck of cards out of his pocket within his long coat. Clementine and Louis had a lantern glowing for a while when the shack started to get dark. They kept the lantern dim lighting so it doesn't attract the walkers.
Clementine looks at him from the spot she is standing and arches her eyebrows a bit, "You have your deck of cards with you?"
"Never leave Ericson without them. Never know when I will need them." Louis smiles as he shuffles the deck of cards.
Clementine glances out at the herd, and then she shrugs and thinks, what the hell? Who knows how long I will be in this shack with Louis? What could happen? Clementine eases herself across from Louis as she looks at him, "So what game do you want us to play, war, truth or dare, bullshit, or some other card game."
Louis thought for a moment, then looks at her as he made two piles, "How about some more war? Still lots of questions I love to ask of you."
Clementine nods to that. "Sounds good to me."
Louis hands Clementine her stack of cards. Then both of them turn over their first card. Louis has the eight of clubs, and Clementine has the five of spades. "Looks like I win round one." Louis smiles. "So, Clem, before the world went crazy, what was your favorite book or book series?"
Clementine looked at him as she squinted her eyes, "You just want to know because you are a big Tolkien fan, right?"
"I'm genuinely curious, is all, and partly yes." Louis answers.
"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but no. When AJ first brought up Lord of the Rings, I had no clue what he was referring to." Clementine watches as Louis puts his hand over his heart as a sting as she chuckles a bit at his reaction, "But, to answer your question, my favorite book is Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice. "
Louis nods to that, "Never heard of that book before, but it sounds cool to read, and a bit…." Louis pauses as he looks at Clementine.
"A bit what?" Clementine leans forward a little raising her eyebrow just a bit.
"Don't hate me, but it sounds a bit like chick flick things." Louis shrugs, and he sees her cast the 'I'm not amuse' look his way, and Louis saves face, "Not that I am against it."
Clementine chuckles at his reaction, "well, if your school has a copy of it, I would love to reread it, and for the record, it is a bit on the chick flick side, but it is one of Jane Austin's best work of literature, and very intelligently written. My mother used to read it to me when I was younger. It just, kind of stuck with me I guess." She looked into Louis's brown depths as the slight glow of the lantern lit up his eyes, "And it is a timeless classic, along with your Lord of the Rings book."
"Tolkien was a master in his writings, and greatest book ever written and told by mankind." Louis said as he beamed at Clementine with her love for literature as much as he was. "Pride and Prejudice sounds a bit like princes and princesses to me." Then Louis gave a cheeky smile and said, "Is that why you called me Prince Charming when you wanted me to distract those walkers from getting to the train station because of your book Pride and Prejudice?"
That comment got Clementine laughing, "What? No. The book is not about princes and princesses. There is more to it than that, Lou. It is about different social class structures. Like the rich cast judgment on another class of people, mainly the poor, and have a deep disdain and prejudice over them. And pride in oneself of a certain character, hence the title, Pride and Prejudice. And having two unlikely characters come together and learn to drop their pride and prejudice over one another and embrace and love each other. One of the best love stories that are ever written, given it is a timeless classic."
"I'm just messing with you, although it does floor me that you called me that. But if I find that book of yours, I will see if I can read it. Always looking to expand my taste in ligature." Louis said as he eyed her. "Isn't it sort of like Romeo and Juliet?"
"Oh, way better than Romeo and Juliet, no contest." Clementine adds in. They both glance away then Louis gestured down at their pile to continue their game.
Clementine and Louis flip over another card. This time Clementine comes up with the nine of hearts, and Louis has the four of spades. "I win this time." Clementine smiles as she eyes Louis.
"That you do. Ask away, princess." Louis grins.
"First off, don't call me that," Clementine warns as she points her finger at him.
"Would you like to be called maiden then? And to be fair, you called me prince charming when you met me, and every prince charming needs a princess. You know how old fairytale stories go." Louis said as he smiled at Clementine.
Clementine shakes her head at his comment and does a little eye roll, "I shouldn't have given your ego a boosting back there."
"No, you shouldn't have. But it is fun to mess with that. I promise the nickname of princess will be between you and me." Louis smiles. "Anyways, ask away."
Clementine thought for a moment, then looked up at Louis with her question, "How old were you when you started to play the piano, and what made you drawn to that instrument?"
Louis looks at the cards and then at her, "I was either seven or eight. And what got me into playing the piano was a fond memory of my grandmother. She always loved going to the symphony, and it was a bonding time I had with her. And I don't know, I guess I was drawn with how a pianist melts away from the world whenever they play for an audience, and it just always seems to transport me to another space and soothing to me." Louis looked back at her as Clementine's eyes were sparkling at his answer. "What…did I say something wro.."
Clementine shook her head, "No, just never thought you had a sensitive side to you, is all."
Louis blushes when she made that comment, "Well, no one seemed to want to know that part of me, so it was easier to be the jokester of the group."
The last comment made Clementine want to go over and hug him. No one truly loved or cared for Louis and viewed him only as a clown. She gets why he does it so he will not get hurt. "I understand why you put up that persona as the class clown or a jokester."
Louis looks at her, "really, and why is that."
"So you don't feel pain when someone hurts you. It is your wall you built to guard your heart." Clementine saw right through his defenses a bit. "I also built some walls to guard my own heart. Being closed off and hardening my heart some, so I don't get hurt." Clementine looks away at the empty space in the fireplace, imagining the glow and warmth of a blazing fire. She can't remember the countless times people around her hurt her.
Louis clears his throat some as he continues, "shall we continue."
Clementine reaches for another card and turns it over, and so does Louis. Clementine drew the four of hearts, and Louis drew the seven of spades. "I guess it is another victory for prince charming here," Louis said, kind of cocky, and Clementine shook her head,
"You are never going to let that one down, are you." Clementine eyes him.
"Nope," Louis chuckles.
Clementine decides to play along with him, "Ask your question, prince charming."
Louis stretches out his legs a bit and looks into her golden amber eyes as the flame in the lantern dances in her iris. "What ah…..I mean…" Louis tries not to be distracted from her beautiful stare that leaves him paralyzed at times. He composes himself to ask her the question he always wanted to know. "When is your birthday?"
Clementine smiles a warm smile at his nervousness, "October 26. Would you want to know what year I was born too?"
Louis looks up at her, "If you don't mind sharing?"
"1994," Clementine answers him. She then asks him his, "I know this is against the rules when playing, but since you brought it up, when is yours."
Louis looked into her eyes and proudly said his full birth date, "July 5th, 1993."
"Really?" Clementine asks in shock.
"Surprised." Louis picked up her shocked voice.
"Yeah, a bit. So before the world turned to shit, did you celebrate your birthday on the 4th?" Clementine is curious about her boyfriend's life a bit.
"Yeah. I mean, I still get cake and ice cream on my actual birthday, but it is nice to have fireworks for my birthday. I guess both me and America celebrate our birthdays together." Louis smiles proudly at the memory. His smile slowly sinks as he realizes he doesn't get any more fireworks for his birthday since the outbreak that happened in the summer of 2003. "Gosh, I miss those days. Marlon, Aasim, Brody, Vi, Ruby, Minnie, and Sophie would give me sparklers for my birthday, and we lit them off on the steps of the admin building. It's a shame we don't have anymore."
"Well, I am sure we can find some when we scavenge. At least sparklers never die out." Clementine pointed out, which seemed to light up Louis's face.
Louis smiles, "So your birthday is on the 26th of October. That is interesting. That is like nine days from now."
"Yeah. Wait, how do you know what day and month it is? They stopped making calendars when this whole world went crazy." Clementine looks at Louis. "Do you even know what year it is?"
Louis looks at her, then turns away kind of shyly, "Yes. We are in the year 2010. And after, when the age of walkers came, I secretly marked up a room in at the boarding school with a marker, but once the ink ran dry, I used my knife. Been keeping track of the days and years." Louis admitted to her. He looks at her and is pretty sure she can see him blushing. He clears his throat, "So how old will you be nine days from now?"
Clementine giggles slightly as she eyes him with her flirting eyes this time, "ah uh, you have to win a round of war for me to answer that question."
Louis nods to that, "Touché. Okay, next question I ask when I win."
Clementine looks back at him as she reaches for another card to turn over. Louis draws a king of diamonds, and Clementine draws the jack of clubs. Louis grins a bit as he looks at her. "Yes. So how old are you going to be in nine days."
Clementine sighs, as she has no choice but to comply with answering him, "17."
"Wow, the same age as me. Well almost. I got you beat by one year." Louis smiles.
Louis reaches for another card and so does Clementine. Louis drew the nine of spades, and Clementine drew the six of hearts. Louis can't believe his luck of winning three in a row. "I guess I win again." He thought for a moment and looked at her as he always wanted to know about her singing voice, "You are going to hate me for this, but I am curious, do you have a musical singing voice or bad like me."
Clementine's face turns red for a moment, not wanting to share her secret talent. "Are you asking me if I can sing?" Louis nods in silence. Clementine wants to say no, she doesn't have a good singing voice, but she will be kind of lying. AJ is the only person she sings to, to get him to sleep or calm him down. Clementine closes her eyes, not wanting to admit it to her boyfriend, "yes." She replies in a low tone.
Louis perks up with her answer, "You sing, for real?"
"Only to AJ when he was a baby," Clementine said in her defense. "It was the only way I can get him to calm down, or I want him to be quiet from the walkers."
Louis nods and dares to ask her this question, "Can I have a preview of it? If you want to share. I promise I won't laugh. Your voice will be prettier than mine."
Clementine looked at him and thought about saying no, but knowing the truth was out there she decided to give him a try on her voice. "Ok, but don't make this a habit of me doing this for you. I kind of like to keep this part to myself a bit, and I don't want you looking at me. I get…umm, sort of stage fright. And I will be holding to your promise."
Louis smiled and felt a bit giddy, "Okay, okay, I won't look." Louis closes his eyes.
Clementine resists her urge to kiss him at that moment. She took a deep breath and sang a cappella to a lullaby her mom used to sing to her.
Baby mine,
Don't you cry.
Baby mine
Dry your eyes.
Louis peaked a bit as Clementine sang out the lullaby and was completely in awe of her. Her voice was soothing and got his heart beating faster with every note. Louis then shuts his eyes before Clementine catches them open.
Rest your head
Close to my heart
Never to part
Baby of mine.
Little one, when you play
Pay no heed what they say,
Let your eyes sparkle and shine
Never a tear
Baby of mine.
Once Clementine was done singing, she looked up at Louis. Her cheeks were on fire from her slight embarrassment. Louis reopens his eyes as his eyes glow into hers. Then unexpectedly, Louis reaches across the gap between them and kisses Clementine's lips. Louis gently kisses her for a few seconds and pulls away, smiling. After kissing her, he tenderly spoke, "See, that didn't suck. In fact, it was really beautiful better than my voice."
Clementine then closes the gap between them and tenderly strokes his handsome face, "You sell yourself too short there, Lou. Your voice is not as horrible as you claim it is." Clementine was inches from his lips as she cast down a bit, then looked back into his eyes, "To be truthful, it was one of the reasons that got me to like-like you." She wanted to say to fall for you, but they haven't admitted they love each other yet. Louis then kisses her as Clementine closes her eyes. His kiss was soft and tender as he moved in slow motion. Clementine follows Louis's rhythm and subconsciously moves her hands and reaches up to Louis's cheeks to lightly stroke them as he kisses her tenderly to get a more passionate feeling. They kissed like that for several more minutes, then Clementine pulled away softly, leaving Louis breathless. Her hand still cups Louis's cheek as she lovingly stares into his eyes. He gleams at her and feels all giddy and love-struck.
Louis shakes his head a bit to gain ground, "That was something." As he looked into her golden depths, he tenderly spoke to her, "That was a very nice song, and you sang it very beautifully." Louis beams into her eyes, and he can see Clementine blushing a bit. Then Louis looks at the fireplace and then back at her, "That song sounds a bit familiar." Louis leans forward, "Is that from an animated film from long ago."
Clementine looks at him as she feels him entwining their fingers, as she answers him, "yes."
Louis smiles back at her, "you know what I miss about the old world."
"What is that exactly?" Clementine asks as they forget to play the game and sit and talk.
"You may think this is weird, but I miss having spaghetti. My mother would always make the best spaghetti ever, with homemade meatballs and canned sauce. God, I could kill for her homemade meatballs right now." Louis chuckles at his faint memory of his past. Then looks into Clementine's golden eyes and the real reason that brought that thought on, "Also, I always wanted to try if I ever did snag a girlfriend before the world ended, of wanting to try that famous spaghetti scene with the two dogs on a romantic date in that one animated film." Louis confesses.
Clementine looks up at him as he shares his deepest desires and wants with her. She thought about what he was referring to, then it clicked with her, "You mean like in Lady and the Tramp."
Louis nods, as he is surprised that she guessed the right movie, "I am surprised you know of it."
"Of course, I'm not that young to not remember the animated film. Used to watch it all the time with my mom and dad before the world went to shit. Just never thought you wanted or dreamed about reacting that scene in real life. Besides I thought you were a musician not a movie fanatic." Clementine teases him as she moves a little to be beside him and leans her body up against Louis's left shoulder.
"Hey, I can be both. A movie is not as good without epic music scores to carry the film or epic music to go along with it. I mean, Star Wars will not be Star Wars without the help of John Williams, or Indiana Jones, or Jurassic Park, or even E.T., Extra-Terrestrial." Louis replies.
"What about Lord of the Rings since you love it so much?" Clementine asks.
"John Williams doesn't compose music for that movie series, if I remember correctly. That will be the work of Howard Shore. Two different composers, both are legendary in their separate works. And yes point still stands on that as well. Lord of the Rings will not be Lord of the Rings without the music component. It is what carries the film and makes it so great." Louis smirks. "Just a shame I never got to see Return of the King. Book awesome, though."
Clementine looks at him, "Why not?"
Louis looks down at her, "Well darling, in case you never knew, the world turned to shit before the final film was released, which is a shame because I wanted to know how it all concludes. I know how it does in the book, but I want to see if Peter Jackson strayed far away from Tolkien's work of art. I've seen both the Fellowship and The Two Towers with Marlon. Got to say, for the most part, pretty dang close to the books, and oh my God, the music score to it, pure gold."
"They let you leave the school to see movies like in the theater?" Clementine asks, genuinely curious about Louis's life before the apocalypse and before she came to know him.
"Only on our best behavior if we were good. It was a boarding school, not a prison." Louis smiles.
Clementine rolls her eyes and shakes her head at his reply back. She leans her head on his shoulder, still having her fingers linked with his. "Besides, my English professor is a big Tolkien fan as well, so he treated me and Marlon, to the movies to see it with him."
Clementine smiles at him as he says those words, and a little giggle emerges. She then stares at the flame in the lantern and sighs, linking to their previous conversation, "Well, you know the odds of us finding a box of spaghetti noodles is pretty slim nowadays. Not to mention the sauce. Could be spoiled by now." Clementine looked up at Louis's disappointed face as she says that. Clementine then adds in to help cheer his downer mood, "Otherwise if I could, I would give you your fantasy dream thing."
Louis casts a look down into her eyes and kissed the smallness of her forehead. Then looks at the lantern flame, "I know. But I can still wish and dream about that, can't I? Maybe I can go into the matrix and relive what I have been missing." Clementine looks up at him with a puzzled face. Louis kisses her hands and smiles, "never mind about that reference. Another movie thing." Clementine shakes her head and smiles at him. Louis looks down at her leg and asks, "Is it hurting today."
"Not at the moment," Clementine said. She carefully moves into Louis's embrace and snuggles up in his arms and against his chest, and feels comforted by his heartbeat. She felt Louis slip off his jacket and drapes it around her body. She looks up at him, "You're not going to get cold, are you?"
"Me no. I will be fine. Besides someone should stay awake and keep watch." Louis replies. "You go ahead and sleep."
"You sure?" Clementine asks.
"Yes." Louis caresses her soft cheeks and kisses her forehead once more. He soon felt Clementine dosing off into slumber as he tries to stay awake. But the creaking outside and the moans of the herd made Louis's eyes very tired.
The moans of the walkers were like sounds of crickets chirping. Louis slowly lifts Clementine from the ground and moves her over to the mattress as she sleeps. He smiles a lovely smile when she tucks her head in her arms and soft breathing comes out of her nose. It melted his heart. It was hard for Louis to leave the side of his beloved, but he had to do one last thing to ensure they were safe for the night.
He went to the door and peeked out the window. There are still walkers coming from the woods, which makes it hard to break through to get back to the safety of the school. So he found a piece of board and a chair and bared the door to keep it some pressure. Just in case. He turned to go on the opposite side of Clementine and laid his sore body down beside her. He drapes one arm over her waist and the other above her head. He then leans his head towards hers and nuzzles the back of her neck, kissing it to make her feel comforted. He moves his hand to find hers and entwines his long fingers with hers. Smiling as he felt her fingers move subconsciously with his. Louis soon drifts off into a bit of slumber until the wee early morning arises, and the herd has pretty much moved on.