Thanks gaara king of the sand for helping out.
Kenny took a moment to catch his breath, "Let's get the fuck out of here."
Carley nodded before looking around, "Where's Clem?" She asked.
"Shit... She must have run off." Kenny said, glancing into the truck to see it was empty.
"Why would she do that for?" Carley sighed.
"She probably didn't have any other options. She must've got cornered by walkers." Kenny grumbled. "We gotta find her."
"We can't. We have no idea which direction she took off in." Carley said. "We need to lose these walkers before we do anything." She glanced over her shoulder to see the walkers still shuffling forward.
Kenny sighed, but agreed. "Alright."
"We can try to circle around to find her once they get off our asses." Carley said.
"Got it." Kenny replied.
The two got into the car and Kenny immediately pulled off.
Clementine chewed her lip, as she strode forward. She was silently kicking herself as she tried to figure out a plan.
She needed to stay quiet, she didn't want to attract any notice. If she wasn't careful she could end up becoming dinner for a couple walkers. She stayed on her guard, looking right to left nervously. She was on her guard to obvious dangers as well as unknown ones
The girl wondered if she should turn back, but that would have been a death sentence. There was no way all those walkers would have cleared out that fast. Her best bet was to lay low for a while.
With a small sigh, Clementine continued to walk forward.
After only an hour of walking, her body was already starting to ache and her mind was full of panic with the thought of being lost, no, being trapped in those woods forever.
She tried to remain calm, but it was harder with each passing minute she was out there, with each startling noise that was heard.
As her young body started to become leaden, she forced herself to take a break. She leaned against a tree, watching her surrounding cautiously.
Kenny pulled the truck to a stop, letting out a sigh.
"What are you doing?" Carley asked, looking confused.
"We're not making any progress driving these streets." Kenny said.
"You're right." Carley agreed. "But what other choice do we have."
Kenny was silent for a moment before speaking, "I think we're good. We can head back and search for Clem."
"What?" Carley asked, looking worried. "Did you see how many of those things there were?"
"Of course I did..." Kenny said. "But they probably cleared out by now."
They had sat in the car, driving up and down roads that Clementine could have possibly taken for nearly fifty minutes.
"We should be fine to go back." Kenny stated.
Carley gave a nod, maybe he was right. "Alright." She agreed.
Kenny nodded back before starting the truck again.
Clementine was startled awake by a rustling noise. She looked around, panic choking her as she froze in fear, only to find a rabbit.
With a sigh, she stood, scolding herself for falling asleep. She started walking once more. Occasionally, she would glance up, startled by birdcalls or the rustling of trees.
There was still no sign of Kenny or Carley.
Things hadn't looked too good back there. Clementine could only hope they were okay.
After an extensive search of the area Clementine was nowhere to be found.
"She's not here." Carley mumbled.
"Dammit!" Kenny snapped. "Where the fuck could she be?"
"Quiet, Kenny." Carley said. "We don't need to bring any more of those things to us."
"Shit..." Kenny sighed. "Where do you think she is?"
"I don't know, but we've been out here all day. We need to go back and let the group know what happened. Then we can figure out a plan from there." Carley replied.
"What do you mean? We have to find her." Kenny said.
"We can't do it on our own. We've tried. Besides, it will be dark soon..." Carley told him.
"We can't just leave." Kenny protested. "She's probably terrified."
"She can take care of herself." Carley said. "We have to let the others know. They can probably help us."
"Alright... Fine." Kenny said. "This is so fucked..."
Carley couldn't agree more. "I know..."
Clementine walked for what felt like hours. In reality she didn't know how long it had been. She wasn't keeping track of time. All she knew was that she needed to find a way out of those woods.
Realization dawned on her that the sun would be setting soon. She didn't have the supplies necessary to be in the woods. The bag she carried was full of foods, but that was for the group. She knew if need be, she'd have to use some of the supplies they had gathered, but she wouldn't unless she absolutely had to. She didn't plan on staying out there for too long.
Clementine's mood sobered even further at the thought of camping out there in those creepy woods for the night, all alone.
She picked up her pace, determined to at least get out of the woods.
Several miles later, she made it to a clearing. She walked a bit further a came face to face with a small house.
The building seemed sketchy and looked to be abandoned. Windows were broken, and the word "HELP" had been carved into one of the doors. Everything about the place screamed "no good". There was no way she wanted to find out if it was safe.
She made her way pass the building and walked down the abandon road, turning the corner only to freeze in horror.
Her face went pale as her feet skid to a stop.
Only yards ahead of her, was a huge herd of walkers. Clementine slowly began to back away, knowing she wouldn't be able to push through that, when some of the walkers noticed her.
Terrified, Clementine's knees weaken. So much for being careful.
Despite her fear, she turned to run.
The minute they arrived back at the inn, they were immediately met with a panicking group.
"What's going on?" Carley asked.
"Clementine's missing." Shawn replied.
"We know." Kenny grumbled.
"What?" Lilly raised a brow in confusion.
"She was with us." Kenny informed.
"You took her?" Katjaa asked.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Lilly demanded.
"We didn't..." Kenny scoffed. "Kid climbed into the backseat of the truck."
"Damn, she's smart..." Shawn commented.
Lilly sighed. "What did you mean when you said you know she's missing?"
"We got separated." Carley explained. "Herd of walkers showed up. Someone was shooting, led them right to us."
"Shit..." Lilly swore.
"What do we do?" Shawn asked.
"We're going to look for her." Kenny said.
"Alright." Lilly agreed. "We can't all go; some people have to stay here to defend the inn."
"I can go..." Shawn offered.
"You can't." Lilly disagreed.
"Why not?" Shawn asked.
"Your leg." Lilly said.
Shawn shook his head, ready to protest. "I'll be fine. I-"
"I said no." Lilly cut him off. "I'll go."
"Lilly..." Larry called, looking worried.
"Don't worry about me, dad." Lilly said. "Me, Kenny, and Carley can go. It'll be dark soon, so... bring a flashlight."
Kenny and Carley nodded.
"Keep an eye on this place." Lilly said to Shawn. "As best you can anyway."
Shawn let out a sigh, but gave a nod. He had a bad feeling, he just hoped everything was okay.
Clementine was panicking.
She looked to her father's gun then back to the approaching walkers.
She started pulling the trigger as she ran, not knowing if she was hitting any of the walkers.
She had to get away. She ran until her lungs and legs were hurting. Faster and faster until she stumbled, then finally she tripped. She hurled towards the ground, scraping her palms and knees. She forced herself up cradling her wrist, which ached from the unexpected impact with the hard ground.
Clementine forced herself up onto shaky legs. cradling her wrist, which hurt from the unexpected impact with the floor.
Without second though she made a dash toward the sketchy looking house. The door was open. She ran inside, slamming the door shut and using a chair to block it off.
She took a short second to catch her breath before realizing, she was trapped.
Growls from walkers still drifted through the air. Clementine's mind was racing in circles about every possible scenario that could play out.
Her heart was pounding. She ran her fingers over her sore wrist and decided it was nothing more than a simple sprain. Katjaa would be able to look at it when she got back to the inn.
Everything was dark. Pitch black, it was hard not to trip or run into something.
She walked further into the house and was worried something might be hiding in the shadows.
Her body trembled as she noticed another door. She opened it and saw it was a basement. She noticed a faint light at the bottom of the staircase.
The walkers were banging on the door, and she was worried they might break in.
Without hesitation she started to descend the staircase.
The stairs creaked with each step she took. She tried to be careful, not to slip.
Once she reached the bottom, she started to look around when a voice was heard. "Don't move..."
Kenny was pacing nervously back and forth.
"Kenny, calm down." Lilly sighed.
"How the fuck can I calm down?" Kenny demanded, clenching his fist.
"She's probably fine." Carley said in a gentle voice.
"Then why haven't we found her yet?" Kenny asked.
"It's a good thing we haven't found her. It means most likely, the walkers haven't either." Lilly said.
"How can you be so calm?" Kenny grumbled in almost annoyance.
"Because panicking is not going to help anything." Lilly said. "In fact, it'll just make things worse."
"What should we do now?" Carley asked.
Lilly paused, looking to the sky. "It's getting dark; we should head back."
Kenny's eyes widened, "We're just going to leave her out here?"
"There's no way we'll find her in the dark." Lilly said. "First thing in the morning we'll come back out."
Kenny and Carley had no choice, but to agree. They knew Lilly was right.
Clementine looked to see two people. A young man and a woman. The man was holding her at gun point. "Please... Don't shoot." Clementine pleaded.
"Drop your weapon." The man ordered, still aiming his gun at the teen.
Clementine slowly did as he told. "I saw your sign." She mumbled.
"What sign?" The man asked.
"The help sign..." Clementine replied.
"We don't need any help." The man scoffed.
"Yeah, especially not from some kid." A woman spoke.
Clementine didn't know what to say.
"How'd you get in here?" The woman asked.
"I got separated from my group..." Clementine explained.
"By who?" The man demanded.
"Those monsters..." Clementine said.
"Monsters..." The woman laughed mockingly.
Clementine glared at her. "That's basically what they are. They destroy everything they see."
"Fair point." The man agreed.
The woman rolled her eyes.
"Regardless, it'd be smart for you to get out of here." The woman advised.
"What about you?" Clementine asked.
"We have our plan..." The man said.
Clementine was confused by that statement. "What do you mean?"
Suddenly they heard a bang from upstairs, followed by snarls.
"What the fuck was that?" The man asked.
Clementine's eyes widened with stark fear and realization. "The door... They must've broke the door..."
"You stupid bitch. You've lead them right to us..." The woman angrily snapped.
"I... I didn't mean to... I-" Clementine stuttered, face paling.
"Shut the fuck up, both of you." The man said, cutting Clementine off. "They don't know we're down here. We can try to find an exit."
"What for, Skylar?" The woman growled. "We can just end this now."
"We can't, Brooke!" Skylar turned to Clementine. "Unless you want to be a part of this..."
"Of what?" Clementine asked.
"Suicide pact." Skylar replied simply.
Clementine's eyes widened. "W-What?" She was sure her had skipped a couple beats. "Y-You can't do that!" She didn't want to see anyone kill themselves again.
"There's no stopping us." Brooke said, glaring at the teen.
"Why? Are you bit?" Clementine asked.
"No..." Skylar answered.
"Then why?" Clementine questioned, she couldn't understand why they would just give up so soon.
"Why does it matter?" Brooke demanded.
"You can't just kill yourself!" Clementine exclaimed.
"Says who?" Brooke snapped. "Oh, the kid?"
"But... But..." Clementine stammered, looking horrified.
"Look, kid... Our minds are made up. If you were smart you'd do the same." Skylar said.
"No..." Clementine said.
"Figured you'd say that." Brooke shrugged, taking a seat.
"There's nothing left for us." Skylar spoke. "Everyone is dead. Nothing is left. All we have to look forward to is a slow and painful death."
"That's not true." Clementine shook her head.
"It is." Brooke said. "If we're not bitten, we'll eventually just starve to death."
"All it takes is one bullet. One single bullet and it would all be over. No more pain, no more suffering." Skylar said in a calm tone.
Clementine shook her head. They were trying to convince her to kill herself. "Never."
"You're choice..." Skylar nodded. He took a seat beside Brooke. "You might want to reconsidered. You hear that upstairs? No way you're getting out of here."
Clementine ignored him and started searching for an exit. The windows were a little small, but they could probably fit through. "We could go through the window."
"What?" Skylar asked.
"We can leave through one of those windows." Clementine said.
Skylar shrugged. "Go on then."
Clementine approached the window peering out. "Crap..."
"What?" Skylar asked.
"House is surrounded." Clementine sighed.
"Great..." Brooke scoffed. "See, what we mean now?"
"I'm not going to kill myself." Clementine said. "We'll find a way out."
"Good luck, kid." Brooke said sarcastically.
Clementine looked around for any other exits, finding none. With a heavy sigh, she took a seat. "I guess we'll just have to lay low for a bit."
There was no response.
They sat there for hours. Clementine, having nothing better to do, was counting her bullet over and over again.
"This is it... This is how we're going to die. Might as well make it quick." Brooke spoke.
Clementine sighed, but said nothing. She stood and made her way back over to the window. It was dark... she couldn't see anything close by, but she also couldn't see much of anything.
The window still seemed like their best bet.
Clementine pulled the window open. She wasn't tall enough to get out without a boost.
"What are you doing?" Brooke asked.
"This side seems clear." Clementine replied. "We can make it through the window."
"Alright," Skylar sighed. "Better than dying in a basement."
Brooke rolled her eyes, "You're serious?"
"Yep." Skylar stood.
With a sigh, Brooke followed suit.
"Let's go." Skylar said.
"I need a boost..." Clementine explained.
"Sure..." He made his way over to the window beside her, boosting her up.
Clementine hurled herself out the window, wait for the other two to do the same.
Once they were all out the began to walk as quietly as possible. The front of the house was completely surrounded.
"Holy shit..." Brooke said, eyes wide in horror. "What do we do?"
"We're going to have to push through." Clementine replied.
"Are you crazy?" Brooke snapped.
"Maybe..." Clementine said.
She took a step forward making her way towards the crowd of undead.
Her gun had a few rounds and she made sure to use them sparingly. She used what simple martial arts skills she knew to keep the zombies at bay.
Skylar and Brooke weren't too far being, both shooting at zombies as the three of them tried not to get separated.
They managed to duck into the woods before making a dash, hoping to lose the herd of undead.
Stopping was not an option. Getting to safety was all they could think about.
"Alright…" Brooke panted, "I think we're okay."
"Yeah…" Skylar agreed.
"Now what?" Clementine asked.
Brooke and Skylar both didn't response. The two took a seat, staying silent.
Clementine sighed. She assumed this meant they were stopping for the night. The teen took a seat as well, closing her eyes for a moment, listening to the night sounds.
Eventually, she drifted off.
Clementine immediately picked up on the sound of hushed talking. She was nervous, wondering what was going on.
"Close your eyes..."
Clementine suddenly heard Skylar speak, she opened her own eyes to look to the two. Brooke and Skylar were both holding their guns and Clementine knew exactly what they were planning.
"We'll do it on the count of three." Skylar said.
Brooke gave a nod, closing her eyes tightly. She was trembling in fear.
Clementine swallowed, nervously clasping her hands over her ears and squeezing her eyes shut. She didn't want to see this… not again.
Skylar began counting. "One... Two..."
"I can't do it!" Brooke cried shakily. "I thought I could, but I can't."
"Damn it... What other choice do we have?" Skylar demanded.
"I don't know... We'll figure something out." Brooke said.
"I'm doing it, with or without you." Skylar huffed.
"Sky!" Brooke reached for the gun, trying to tug it from him.
Clementine looked petrified as she watched the two struggle for the gun. She wanted to call out to them, but she was too shocked to do so.
She was unprepared for the loud sound of gun fire and even more surprised when she felt a sharp pain in her arm. It took her a moment to realize she had been shot.
The teenager let out a pained yell, clutching her bleeding arm.
Brooke and Skylar looked to the teen with wide eyes, just as young Clementine fell to the ground, completely limp.