Thanks to gaara of the sand of helping out.
The ride was silent, moods were sober and no one spoke,
Once they returned back to the motel, they didn't say much to the group. Lilly took the supplies and praised them for a job well done.
She spent the rest of the day anguishing over what had happened.
She couldn't eat; her stomach churned and her mind was running wild.
Clementine sighed, telling the group she was going to her room.
"She alright?" Kenny asked, noticing the girl's suddenly change in mood.
"Yeah…" Carley said. She knew the girl was disturbed by what had happened, but she honestly didn't want to tell the group what had happened. She was sure it would only make matters worse if Kenny decided to scold the teen for going.
"Did something happen?" Katjaa asked.
"Well… Don't worry about it…" Shawn sighed. "I'll try to talk to her."
"Alright." Kenny shrugged.
Shawn made his way to the room that Clementine had entered, giving a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Came the teen girl's voice.
"It's Shawn…" Shawn replied. "Can I come in?"
"Sure…" Clementine mumbled.
Shawn opened the door and entered the room. "I wanted to make sure you were alright." He said as he made his way over to the bed and took a seat.
"I'm fine…" Clementine muttered, not looking over. She was a bit flattered that he had come to check on her. She really appreciated how much this group looked out for her.
"I know that's not true." Shawn said. "Listen, I know things have been hard, but I'm here if you need to talk…"
"Thanks…" Clementine said. "I really don't want to talk right now… I just want to be alone for a while."
"Alright kid…" Shawn nodded in understanding.
"Thanks for checking on me." Clementine said, she was glad that the group cared about her so much.
"Of course." Shawn said. "You were there for me… I'm here for you too."
"I really appreciate that, Shawn…" Clementine said.
"Right… So… just let me know if you wanna talk." Shawn said.
"I will." Clementine said.
With that Shawn left. Clementine sighed, burying her head into her pillow.
The day flew by after that, the teen stayed in her room wondering why everything was so bad, wishing she could be back home with her family.
She cried, unable to hold back tears. She felt so sad, everything that was happening around her was so cruel and terrible. She had seen so many people die. She didn't know the world could be so cold and bitter... The girl could barely bring herself to watch the news back at home, because of the bad things that happened, and now she was living in a nightmare, seeing things she never thought she'd see.
Before she knew it, it had turned into night. She could hear the group starting to head to bed. Clementine jumped, startled when she heard a knock on her door.
"Clementine?" It was Kenny. "You alright?"
"Yeah." Clementine answered, trying to keep her voice normal.
"You've been in there all day." Kenny said, sounding concerned. "You sure you're okay, darling?"
"I'm fine, Kenny." Clementine said. "I promise."
"Alright, hon. We're all heading to bed. Let me know if you need anything." Kenny said to the teenager.
"Okay. Goodnight, Kenny." Clementine said.
"Night, darling." Kenny said.
Clementine decided it would be best for her to try to catch some sleep as well. She was exhausted from the day's events and all the crying she had just finished doing.
The girl laid herself down and closed her eyes, not too long later she fell asleep.
Her sleep was anything but peaceful. Clementine thrashed on the bed she lay on. Her head tossed side to side, legs kicking violently.
With a gasp Clementine shot upright, eyes wide with a mixture of fear in shock. She had just had a nightmare.
She could still remember the little girl sinking her teeth into her brother's skin and then all the shooting that went on.
Clementine shuttered at the thought of the horrifying incident.
Her heart was pounding a mile a minute. She thought it would explode in her chest.
The girl took a couple breaths to calm down.
The girl sat for several minutes in silence. Finally, still exhausted, she fell back into a restless sleep.
She was in her house. She didn't know how but she didn't care. The girl smiled, opening her bedroom door. She ran downstairs excited to see her parents. Her mother must've been cooking; she could smell food. With a smile she made her way into the living room but was frozen at the sight. Her heart nearly stopped as she noticed blood covering the living room. She screamed as she saw her father laid on the couch and her mother on the floor. The teen dropped to her knees, tears falling from her face, "No… No!" She reached out to her father, but was surprised when he suddenly grabbed her. She struggled, trying to get away from the snarling creature that was once her father. She pleaded for him to let her go as he brought her wrist closer to his mouth and-
Clementine shot upright in bed, her eyes wide open in fear as she breathed deeply. Her heart was once again racing.
It took her a moment to realize she was still in the motel room.
Trembling, she sat up, drenched in sweat.
She sat there for a remainder of the night, her stomach twisting in a knot.
She waited until she noticed the dim glow of the sun beneath her door.
Rolling out of bed, she walked outside.
Everyone was just starting to wake up.
"Hey, Clem... You alright. Thought I heard you scream last night." Carley said.
"I just had a nightmare..." Clementine admit.
"You don't look like you slept much." Carley pointed out with a frown.
"I didn't." Clementine sighed. "I uh... I was wondering if we could try to find a place to shower."
"That sounds like a good idea." Carley said. "It'd be nice to get clean."
"Yeah." Clementine nodded.
"We'll talk to the group about it. I'm sure everyone would like that."
Later that day Clementine asked the group about finding a place to shower.
"That's actually a good idea…" Lilly said. "And you know what… There's a military base not too far… The water most likely still works."
"Really?" Katjaa asked. "It would be great to get cleaned up."
"Yeah." Lilly said. "We can head out after breakfast."
"I don't know… What about the motor inn, are we really going to leave it unattended?" Shawn asked.
"Why not?" Larry said.
"What if someone shows up?"
"Well, we don't really have much a choice. I'm sure we could all use a shower." Carley said.
"Yeah, unless we go in rounds, but we don't have the gas to be wasting it like that." Lilly said.
"Alright…" Shawn reluctantly agreed.
"We'll try to make this quick." Lilly said. "And we'll probably find some supplies, so the more people the better."
"Yeah…" Kenny said. "Let's just hope we don't run into any trouble…"
"Right…" Carley said.
Clementine knew that the chance of the trip going smoothly was slim to none.
She felt her stomach churn again as nervousness filled her body. Clementine fought to regain control over her emotions. Her nerves gripped at her stomach like a vise, but she tried to calm down, not wanting to worry the group.
Everything would be fine; she told herself as the group continued their chatter during their meal. She just hoped if she forced herself to believe things would be alright, that it would actually be true.
Right after breakfast the group started to head out. Lilly made sure to pack up their supplies just in case people did manage to stumble upon the motel. After that they had set out.
Clementine was lost in her thoughts for a majority of the ride to the military base. She barely noticed Duck's yammering in her ear.
She didn't even respond to him which, after about fifteen minutes, caused him to call her boring.
Clementine didn't care, she didn't want to interact with anyone right now.
She needed a distraction. She just had to shut her mind down, if only for a few moments.
She decided to try to get some much needed rest, for the remainder of the ride.
She hoped that a shower would help her to relax a bit.
Her anguish was compounding her and she didn't know how much longer she'd be able to hold herself together. She feared that she would simply crack from all the stress.