Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help
Thank you, the reader for reading!
The weather was starting to grow colder. They had managed to find warmer clothing for themselves, Danielle and baby Diana. But with the weather quickly changing, they knew they needed to find some shelter.
The last thing they wanted was to get sick. And for sure Clementine didn't want her daughter or Danielle getting ill.
Months had passed since the military base and Diana was now five months old, but Clementine knew she was still fragile and susceptible to illness.
Clementine had become a lot more protective of Danielle. She had treated the child as a sister before but becoming a mother strengthened her instincts and caused her to treat Danielle as if the girl was her child.
As they continued searching for a place of shelter.
They eventually stumbled upon some kind of town. As they noticed the town gave them a vibe that eerily reminded them of Macon. However, the entire town was fortified into a fortress. There were large walls made from metal paneling. Those walls would be hard to break through.
But what bothered them was the fact that they noticed no one on watch or patrolling the area. And as they looked around for a way in, they found only one entrance. That was concerning to them as they knew it would make for a hard escape should the place be overrun by walkers.
"There's only one way in… That doesn't seem safe." Clementine said.
"No… it doesn't…" Carley agreed.
"So, what should we do…? Should we move on?" Clementine asked. "I mean it could be a good place to stay for the night…"
Carley paused for a moment then responded, "Doesn't look like anyone's here to let us in. I say we should probably move on—"
Just as the two we are speaking about leaving the gate doors open and a man's voice speaks to them, "Turn around and put your hands in the air."
Clementine and Carley both hesitate, but turn around, Clementine unable to put her hands in the air as she is holding her daughter.
Danielle, fearfully ducks behind Clementine to avoid the man.
The man lowers his weapon, looking surprised. "You have kids…"
"That we do…" Carley said.
The man studied the survivors, looking at the baby in Clementine's arms. "…Whose baby is that…?"
"Mine… She's my daughter…" Clementine said.
The man slowly walked up to them, Clementine taking a step back.
The man stopped, noting her reaction. He took a moment to look her and the baby over, seeing Diana's resemblance, and the similar eye color. He gave a nod of his head. "You're pretty young to be a mother."
"I get that a lot. But things happen." Clementine shrugged.
"Fair point." The man said. "I take it you people are looking for a place to stay?"
"If possible. We were hoping to get out of the cold." Carley answered.
"I'm sure. I can't imagine being out here with an infant and a small child." The man said.
"It hasn't been easy." Clementine admitted.
"I'm sure it hasn't." The man said. "How about we switch this conversation to inside. Don't want any "eaters" sneaking up on us with our pants down."
Danielle seemed disturbed by the phrase and moved even closer to Clementine.
Clementine and Carley exchanged looks before Carley gave a nod.
"Come on, Dani. Stay close to us." Clementine said.
Clementine didn't have to tell her twice as the young girl was already clinging to the teen.
They followed the man into town a few paces behind.
"So how long have you folks been out there." The man asked.
"Too long, to be honest." Carley said.
"Maybe it doesn't have to be any longer. Tell you what, I'll take you to the mayor and you can spoke with him about a possible stay. I wouldn't want to send the kids back out there. And I know he won't do that either. That is... if you all want to stay..." The man said.
"You have a mayor?" Clementine asked.
"He was mayor of this town much before the walkers. And I'm sure he'll allow you all to stay if you ask him." The man explained.
"We'll see... How about we talk to him first." Carley said.
"Alright. This way." The man urged them to follow him further.
As he led them inside and they began walking through the small city, they kept their guard up. They knew to always expect the unexpected.
However, a sudden giggle did catch them off guard.
To their surprise they heard a few more giggles and noticed a group of children playing in the area of a playground. This shocked both Clementine and Carley as they hadn't seen something like that in over a year. Seeing innocent children at play, was an amazing thing nowadays.
"This town has been around for a long time. It's always been such a peaceful place. And fortunately, nothing has changed that." The man drew them out of their thoughts as he once again motioned for them to follow. They obliged.
"Nothing's changed it? Not even the walkers?" Clementine asked.
"Walkers... Is that what you call the "eaters"?" The man asked.
Clementine nodded.
"Well, no... Not even they have changed much. They were a problem at first and we did have to fortify our walls, make this place more protected, but we haven't had an issue since doing so, yet." The man explained.
"Yet. The keyword is yet." Clementine said.
"We don't see ourselves having one anytime soon." The man replied.
"Most people don't predict it. They just happen." Carley said. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Shoot." The man said.
"How many entrances and exits does this town have?" Carley asked.
"The town itself? Only the front gate." The man said.
Carley had figured as much. "That's dangerous. What if something were to happen? How would your people escape?"
"There's no need to worry about that. Nothing's happened yet. And nothing will happen period." The man said.
"You don't know that..." Clementine said.
"And you don't know that it will." The man responded.
"Trust me, we do. We've been to a lot of places. And give it enough time and things fall apart. Especially if you go on acting like everything is normal..." Clementine said.
"Like I said before, we have nothing to worry about." The man said.
"There should be at least for entrances and hidden exits, not to mention bunker for if an attack were to happen." Carley said. "It would take a lot of work and manpower, but it's worth it to keep people safe."
"Like I said, the people here are safe." The man said. "Now... Come on... this way."
The man continued to lead them through the town and the eventually stopped at what appeared to be the city's courthouse.
Upon arriving at the courthouse, they are led inside to meet with the mayor of the town.
"Sir, I've brought some guests." The man informed the mayor.
The mayor looked to them and hummed to himself. "Guests?"
"Yes, sir. I found them lingering by the gates...walking around the walls. They have children. A baby." The man said.
"I can see that." The mayor responded. "I take it, you are survivors?"
"Aren't we all?" Carley said.
"Indeed, we are. But the people of this town live. We don't worry about surviving. It's peaceful here." The mayor said before looking to the man. "Marco, you are excused. I'd like to have a word with our visitors."
"Yes, sir." With that the man who had escorted them to the mayor walked off.
"Just passing through or do you folks plan on staying?" The mayor asked.
"We haven't exactly decided on that yet." Carley replied.
"I see... Well, you should consider sticking around. Perhaps for the children's sake. Raising a child and a baby out there can't be easy." The mayor replied.
"It's not, but we get by." Carley said.
"Clearly. You all wouldn't have made it long if you didn't get by somehow." The man said. "My name is Oswyn Tucker. I'm the mayor of this town."
Carley hummed, she had thought the man looked familiar. "…I know you. Well... I know of you."
"You do?" Clementine rose a brow.
"Ah, I take it you heard about me in the media?" The mayor asked.
"Not exactly." Carley said.
"Oh? Then how?" Mayor Oswyn asked.
"I was a news reporter back in Atlanta for WABE. The news department I worked at actually covered you during some of your town festivals. I was actually supposed to be the one to give the coverage but had called out that day." Carley answered.
"I see. Well, it's a pleasure meeting you all. May I ask your names?" Mayor Oswyn asked.
"I'm Carley. This is Clementine and Danielle. The baby's name is Diana." Carley introduced.
"Whose baby is that?" The mayor questioned.
"She's mine." Clementine immediately answered.
"You're quite young." Mayor Oswyn said.
"I get that a lot." Clementine repeated her words from earlier, feeling a sense of deju-vu.
"I'm sure." The mayor said. "I don't mean to question. It's just surprising is all."
"It's fine… I understand." Clementine said.
"It's amazing, to find this place still intact and running." Carley commented.
"It's running strong. It wasn't easy at first." Mayor Oswyn said.
"It wasn't easy for anyone anywhere." Clementine said.
"That I know…" Mayor Oswyn said. "When the eaters… first started showing up, people were scared. No one knew what to do… But I knew we had to act fast. Clearly the military wasn't going to be able to solve this and we were steadily losing people… Within four months we had built strong walls around the city and had thrown any of the dangerous criminals out to the walkers. And a quick turn over was made after that. The town was thriving again, and we were able to allow our people to shut out the world and continue living as normal as possible."
"Nothing's normal out there… The world is bad… And they should know that… They should be ready to protect themselves or ready to run if they have to…" Clementine said.
"It won't come to that." The mayor said. "We have police officers to protect the civilians."
"Police officers?" Carley rose a brow.
The mayor nodded. "Many in town. They often keep lookout or take care of the patrols. Everyone here feels safe. Just like before."
"It just doesn't seem safe to me…" Carley said.
"How so…?" The mayor asked.
"Well… for one… you have one gate entrance, if something were to happen it would be bad…" Carley said.
"The walls keep this place protected. Not a eater, or a bandit has made it through." The mayor said.
"Maybe not yet. But you can never say never." Clementine spoke.
"You speak with so much confidence. Like you've experienced it before." The mayor said.
Carley and Clementine exchanged looks.
"We've been through absolute hell." Carley said.
"I'm sorry to hear that… And I don't mean to pry, but I am interested in hearing your story…" The mayor said.
"It's bad… We've been through a lot…" Clementine said. "And it's a long story."
"We have time." The man waited for them to continue. "If you're comfortable with sharing."
"…Okay…" Clementine said.
Clementine and Carley began filling the man in on some of the events they had gone through since the start of the apocalypse. They made sure to keep Clementine's immunity to themselves, not sure how people would react to it. As they continued to tell their story they could see the mayor's expression go from sorrow, to pity, and complete horror upon hearing some of what they had been through. To say the least the man was shocked by some of the things that he heard.
"Things are really bad out there. Both on land and on the sea. It's pretty much the same everywhere we've been as far as we can tell…" Clementine said.
"We've seen a lot and been through a lot of things that can't be changed. But I know one thing for sure, if people don't adapt to this new world, they won't be living too long." Carley added.
The mayor frowned upon hearing this, look almost heartbroken. "It just… hurts my heart to hear that… To hear all you've been through… all so many people have been through… It's unfortunate that not everyone has had the luck our town has had."
"That's just what it is, luck. And it's gonna run out eventually… Your people need to be aware of that and ready to face anything." Carley said.
"I understand your concern, but we're fine here… We continue to reenforced the walls and uphold a system to keep structure… And we've been able to keep this place going with what we're doing…" The mayor said.
"We get it… but you can never be too safe… And it's always better to be safe than sorry." Clementine said.
"I'm know you've seen some awful things… I know you've faced trauma one could never imagine, but this town is safe… You don't have to worry about that, young lady." The mayor said. "Now my question for you all is, do you plan on staying?"
Clementine and Carley exchanged looks.
"I assure you that your concerns about the wall are minor, there's only one way in and no one and no thing is getting past those guards." The mayor said.
"We'd like to take a look around the place. Maybe we can think on it... the place seems okay... but I don't want to rush into the decision." Carley said.
"That's understandable." The mayor said.
"If you could give us a few days, I'm sure we'll have made up our minds by then." Carley added. With every place they have been to, they wanted to make sure that there weren't any surprises in the town waiting to be found.
The mayor nodded his understanding. "Of course… I'll have one of my guards take you to a temporary home, and let you folks settle in."
"That would be great. Thank you." Carley said.
"Anything to help." The mayor said.
They were soon led to a small temporary home where they were able to stay. They settled in, Clementine feeding her daughter while Danielle played with Flopsie.
"So... what do you girls think of this place so far?" Carley asked.
"It's too soon to tell." Clementine said with a tiny shrug.
"Yeah... That is true." Carley agreed.
"Maybe we can take a look around. To see what this town is like." Clementine suggested.
"I could go now. You and the girls could stay here." Carley said.
Clementine frowned a bit. She had wanted to look around the town. "Oh...I...I guess that's fine..."
Carley noted her expression and asked, "Clem, what's the matter?"
"I just... kind of wanted to go... After I put Diana down for her nap." Clementine said.
"...Alright then... I'll stay here with Diana." Carley said. "You and Danielle can do some exploring. Just don't go too far... and be back within an hour."
"Got it." Clementine nodded in agreement.
"Good." Carley said.
Once Diana had finished nursing, Clementine burped her daughter and rocked her to sleep. She then handed her to Carley before the teen and Danielle headed out to explore the town they were in.
They just hoped that there was nothing sinister waiting behind the scenes.
The two girls began walking around town, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Things seemed pretty calm and at ease. And that was such a rare thing nowadays.
Clementine made sure Danielle stuck close to her, holding the child's hand. They town seemed pretty busy, people were bustling around, manning little shops.
It grabbed their interested, they weren't used to seeing stores or shops anymore. Mostly all they would see were ration lines.
Spotting a tiny corner store that's sign had been flipped to "open", Danielle spoke, "Can we go inside? I wanna see what's in there."
Clementine figured it couldn't hurt. Besides, she was curious as well.
They assumed the place would take ration cards, or a supply trade. Ration lines were nothing new and it was how most of them operated. Clementine figured they'd look around and if Danielle found something she wanted they could talk to someone about how to get their own ration cards to come back and get the item.
As they got inside the shop they noticed it was very similar to how grocery stores used to be, except this place was a lot smaller.
"Clem! Look! They have candy!" Danielle beamed. "Can I have this, Clem? Please?"
"Sure, kiddo. Go ahead." Clementine smiled at the girl.
Danielle grabbed the candy before taking Clementine's hand once again. Clementine then began looking around for a toy for baby Diana. She eventually found a tiny stuffed toy and picked it up, eager to give it to her daughter.
The two made their way to the check out and Clementine hand over the two items.
"That's three dollars." The man at the check-out said.
Clementine gave a light giggle, assuming the man was joking.
"Hold on… I think I have a trade…" She dug into her bag and pulled out a pack of batteries. "I'll give you a pack of batteries for the candy bar."
The man cocked a brow, "What? Are you joking kid?"
"Huh?" Clementine was surprised by the seriousness of his question.
"This must be a joke." The man said.
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Clementine asked.
Now feeling annoyed the man spoke, "Come on, kid. Stop messing around. Either give me the three dollars or put the stuff back."
"Dollars? As... in money...?" Clementine asked, not having expected this.
"Yes, girl. What else would you think? Three dollars. As in cash. Money." The man said.
"We... we don't have any money." Danielle frowned.
"Then move aside. I have other customers." The man grumbled.
"I got it..." An older woman offered to pay.
Clementine looked to her and quickly shook her head. "No... you shouldn't..."
"I insist... I can't let children go hungry..." The woman replied.
"Umm… Thank you. Thank you so much..." Clementine said.
The woman paid for them as well as her own belongings.
After that the trio left the little shop.
"Thank you again. I… I had no idea places were still using money to pay for things." Clementine said to the woman.
"Really?" The older woman seemed surprised.
"Really… We've been to a lot of places... but this is the first place that we've seen that's still using US currency." Clementine replied.
"Yes... I would guess to anyone not around here it would be surprising. But it works well." The older woman said.
"Does it though?" Clementine asked.
"I think it does." The older woman responded.
"So... do you use that instead of ration cards. Does everyone get an even amount?" Clementine asked.
"Not exactly... There are people who become... quite stingy when it comes to money..." The woman explained. "We had to build a homeless shelter in town for the...least fortunate."
"So... how do people get money?" Clementine asked.
"Just like before, dear. They get a job, of course..." The woman said.
"What about people with children... or people who can't work... Do they get benefits...?" Clementine asked.
"Some of the shopkeepers will donate food or clothes to those who can't afford it. And the mayor himself will make donations... but other than that... there's not much else to give them..." The older woman said.
"And you don't think that's a problem...?" Clementine questioned.
"It hasn't been a problem yet..." The older woman replied.
Clementine hummed at that. That seemed to be a constant point people liked to make. That something hasn't happened yet. "Just because it hasn't been a problem yet, doesn't mean it won't ever be."
"If it becomes an issue the mayor will handle it." The woman said. "I should be going now dear."
Clementine watched her walk away and sighed. "Come on, Dani. Let's get back to Carley and Diana."
Danielle gave a nod and the two started back towards their temporarily house.
"We're back!" Clementine called as they returned to their temporary home.
"That was quick. Did you two find anything suspicious?" Carley asked.
"Not exactly suspicious... but I did learn something that is... concerning..." Clementine replied.
"What is it?" Carley asked with a frown.
"Dani and I stopped at a shop... And we found out these people don't do supply trades. And they don't use ration cards either." Clementine said.
"What? Then what do they use?" Carley asked.
"Money." Clementine said.
"Money?" Carley repeated.
Clementine nodded. "The people in this town are still using money."
"What the hell...?" Carley muttered.
"That's not even the concerning part. The worrying thing is that the money isn't evenly distributed. So, there's an upper class and lower class and I'm sure that's going to eventually cause problems. If it hasn't already caused them." Clementine said.
"Yeah... Yeah... You're right. Shit... this could be a real problem..." Carley said.
"That's what I'm thinking..." Clementine agreed.
"We need to talk to the mayor about this." Carley said.
"Yeah. We do..." Clementine agreed.
"First thing tomorrow, that's what we'll do..." Carley said.
Clementine gave a nod in response.
The rest of the day went by peacefully, Clementine spent the evening playing with her daughter while Danielle played with Flopsie, and Carley flipped through a book.
They ate a meal from their own supply stash and Clementine nursed her daughter until the baby was once again drifting off.
Once her daughter had fallen asleep Clementine decided to help Danielle with some reading and writing, both she and Carley knew it was important to keep the girl learning academics.
Eventually Danielle grew tired and fell asleep, and Clementine and Carley checked that the door to their temporary home was locked before feeling comfortable enough to follow suit. They knew Diana's cries would probably wake them within a matter of hours anyway.
When her daughter did cry, Clementine got up to tend to her. She had been anxious at first, worried about what reason her child may be crying, but upon checking on her found it was simply because baby Diana was in need of a diaper change.
After changing her daughter Clementine proceeded to gently rock the child back to sleep.
With her daughter asleep again, she checked the locks on the door, and peered out the window. The night was quiet, and nothing appeared to be astray.
The girl sighed to herself, allowing her body to lay back down and fall back into a much needed rest. As she turned her back to the window she didn't noticed a walker outside stumbling by.
When morning came, Clementine started the day by tending to Diana's needs while Carley fixed up some canned food to split between herself, Clementine, and Danielle.
After their meal the set out, wanting to have a word with the town's mayor.
Upon reaching the courthouse they waited until an officer escorted them inside. "Sir, you have guest."
"Ah, you're back… Have you made your decision?" Mayor Oswyn asked them.
"Actually… We wanted to talk to you about a few things." Carley said.
"Very well." The mayor said. "You're excused."
After the officer had left the room the mayor spoke, "What is it that you wish to talk about?"
"We've realized there is… a concerning thing going on in this town… And we wanted to bring our concerns to your attention." Carley said.
"Please do… What has you concerned?" Mayor Oswyn questioned.
"People in this town are still using U.S. Currency…" Carley started.
"Oh, I can see why that has you concerned… If you decide to stay, I'll give you a few wages, but it would be up to you all to properly budget it." The mayor said.
"No… Our concern is that people are still using money, period. Why is that?" Clementine clarified.
"It was a habit before and it's a habit hard to break…" The mayor said. "I haven't been concerned about it… The people here want to imagine the world is still safe… They don't like to think about the things going on outside… We have had a few issues with robberies here and there, but it's nothing too out of control. I have tried to instill changes before but many of the people disagree with doing so…"
"Well, their unwillingness to make changes is going to be the downfall of them and this city… This place will be destroyed by your own people. And when that happens, they won't be able to escape because there's only ONE exit. One exit which could easily let walkers in if they get pass those walls. It could happen at any given moment... And no one could see it coming." Clementine said.
"If you've had robberies shouldn't that in itself, be a concern? You should be worried what people would have less money or none at all might do... People killed over money before, what makes you think they won't do it now." Carley said.
"This town has been generally peaceful…" The mayor said.
"Who's to say it will stay that way? They might not want to make changes, but regardless of that, people change. Their behavior and actions change. And those changes can be for worse or for better." Carley said.
"If people start killing each other and somebody turns, you could have a walker infestation on your hands and only one way out. Just one walker is enough to harm this entire city." Clementine added.
The Mayor took a pained look on his face upon hearing this. With a sigh he replied. "I know the exit could be a problem… It was a flaw they had figured out too little too late… By time we had realized it we were already reinforcing the walls and it was too late to fix it as it was nearly finished. We didn't want to chance making another opening or sending our people outside of town to work on it, so we couldn't change it."
"Why couldn't you change it?" Clementine asked.
"We were having close calls as it was when we first started working on the walls, being swooped by "Eaters" almost every day and everyone care more about getting the wall up then changing what was already done. When it was complete, we considered trying to make at least one other exit but we couldn't without leaving a hole in the wall for eaters to come through, so we declared it finished and that was that." The mayor said.
"Well, I can answer your question now and tell you, we won't be staying… We've be moving on today… It's too risky, and we'd rather just move on…" Carley said.
"I understand your choice… The offer still remains however…" The mayor replied.
"Thanks… But our decision is finally." Carley replied. "I will ask though, if it's possible, would you be able to give us some food and water?"
"Of course, I can donate some things… Consider it a gift to the children." The mayor said.
"We appreciate it." Carley said.
"Yeah, thank you…" Clementine said.
"I'll have one of the officers bring your supplies before you go…" The mayor said.
"Thank you." Carley said. "Come on, girls. Let's go pack out things up."
Clementine and Danielle nodded.
The group left the office, leaving the mayor to his own thoughts.
They had gathered their belongings and had been brought two duffle bags filled with supplies. Enough to last them quite a long while.
Carley checked through the supply bag, inventorying it in her mind, while Clementine was nursing her daughter.
"Do you think the people here are going to be okay?" Danielle suddenly asked, grabbing their attention.
"I don't know, Dani… If they don't change… they might not be for long." Clementine said.
Danielle frowned at that. "That's sad… Why… Why wouldn't they change though?"
"Some people have… trouble accepting change." Clementine said.
"Why though?" Danielle asked.
"It's hard to explain. That's just the way some people are." Clementine said.
"Then why doesn't the mayor make them? He's the leader, right?" Danielle asked.
"He is… But… forcing people to do something they don't want isn't the right way to get them to listen…" Clementine said.
"…That means they'll learn the hard way, right…? People are going to die…" Danielle frowned.
"Unfortunately, if they don't change things here… Yes…" Carley spoke this time.
Danielle fell silent again, simply holding Flopsie close.
Clementine and Carley both sighed. They were worried about the child. She had seen and been through way too much in her young age. They knew all the death and chaos was really starting to bother her. The poor child had been haven't nightmares more and more often, as did Carley and Clementine. But both knew that if the trauma was sticking with them and for sure was going to bother poor little Danielle. No child should have to go through such a life…
And also made Clementine worry for her daughter's safe, raising children was never easy. Raising children in a world gone to hell, was terrifying…
Regardless, they had to do their best to protect Diana and Danielle. And that was why they couldn't stay at this town.
After Clementine had finished tending to her daughter that evening, the group began to head out. Carrying their new supplies, they began preparing to leave, walking toward the exit.
As they approached the gate, they noticed a group charging towards them, their initial thought was robbers, trying to take their supplies, but they were surprised to see their attackers were walkers. And Clementine and Carley felt their hearts break as they realized that a few of them were only children. The children were skinny, too skinny. Clementine wondered if they were young orphans that had starved to death. The same with the adults, these were clearly people who had been struggling to make it, but hadn't been successful...
Clementine held Diana close in her arm, Danielle sticking by the teen's side. It wasn't long before they found themselves being surrounded by the walkers. With her hands full Clementine had Carley take the icepick, that was often her weapon of choice, knowing she wouldn't be able to use it with her daughter in her arms. Carley handed the teen her gun, and without hesitation the two began to kill the walkers, Clementine's heart aching as the child walkers fell to the ground.
Diana was wailing loudly, clearly frightened from all that was happening around her.
As they took out the rest of the walkers, a scream was heard from the distance.
"This is bad... What the hell is—" The girl's question was cut off by another series of screams.
And before long they started to hear screams coming from all over the city, the yells being accompanied by loud gunfire...
They felt sick to their stomachs as both Clementine and Carley realized that exactly what they had went to warn the mayor of was happening.
"We gotta do something. We have to help them." Clementine said, rocking her daughter a bit to shush her.
"Not until we get the kids somewhere safe." Carley said.
"Okay." Clementine nodded.
"Look... you find the kids somewhere safe to hide and I'll help deal with some of these walkers." Carley said.
"You want me to just leave you?" Clementine asked in disbelief.
"I'll be fine. It's gonna take more than the walkers to take me out." Carley said.
Clementine remained hesitant but Carley urged her on. "Go. Hurry."
Clementine gave a nod, taking Danielle's hand and spoke, "Come on, Dani. Let's go."
She ran towards the gate, unlocking it and forcing it open. They ran through the gate and Clementine began searching for a safe place for the children to hide. She looked towards the forest, figuring that would be the best spot.
As they ventured a bit deeper past the trees, she eventually found an abandon car, opening the door she checked that it was clear, before she ushered Danielle inside.
"Alright… you two stay here… Keep the doors locked and keep quiet…" Clementine said.
Danielle gave a tiny nod.
Clementine kissed her daughter's head. "Mommy will be back soon, baby…" Gently she handed Diana to Danielle. "Alright, Dani... you know the drill. Keep an eye on Diana and if anything happens, you take her and run."
"Wh-What about you?" Danielle asked.
"We'll be fine, kiddo. I promise." Clementine said.
"O-Okay… Please stay safe." Danielle said.
"I will, kiddo. You do the same." Clementine said.
Danielle nodded.
With that, Clementine gently shut the door.
She felt nervous about leaving the children, but she couldn't just sit back and do nothing, she wanted to help.
With the children safe and hidden, she started back towards the city. Gunshots could still be heard but they were coming less frequently than before. She knew the sound of gunfire would draw walkers though, and clearly it had done just that. As she entered the gate, she noticed a few walkers that Carley was taking out. She quickly went over to aid the woman.
Once they had taken care of the walkers, Carley spoke, "Are the kids okay?"
"They're fine. They're safe…" Clementine said.
"Good…" Carley said, relieved.
A few more burst of gunfire from the distance was heard, before it stopped altogether. Things seemed to be quieting down and eventually it became clear to them that everything had been put back under control.
As they readied to leave the noticed the mayor approaching, a seldom look on his face. "You were right…"
"Mayor Oswyn, are you okay?" Clementine asked.
"You were right about everything…" The mayor said, not responding to the teen's question.
"Let this be an eye opener to you… Change has to happen. In this world, no one can just stay set in their ways… If people aren't willing to change, they won't make it long…" Carley said.
"I see that now… I really do…" The mayor frowned. "I just… wish I could have prevented this…"
"You can prevent worse from happening…" Clementine said
"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" The mayor said.
"Actually, we will for a while... We need a safe place for the winter. And we could also help you with repairing the damages." Carley said.
"Re-Really? So you'll stick around to help?" Mayor Oswyn said.
"We will. But you have to agree to make changes. It's the only way to keep your people safe... You have a big responsibility...And if you don't step up, it's only going to get worse from here. You'll lose a lot more than you did today..." Carley said.
"I know... And I refuse to let that happen." Mayor Oswyn said. "I'll make changes."
"Good. These people are relying on you. Don't let them down." Carley said.
"I won't." The mayor said.
They just hoped the mayor would keep his word and make sure change came into play. Otherwise, this town wouldn't last...
The two left the city and made their way back to where the Danielle and baby Diana were hidden.
They could hear muffled cries from the car, and Clementine quickly rushed over.
She tried opening the door, though it was locked. Through the window she noticed Danielle trying to calm the baby, but it was to no avail.
Clementine gave a knock on the window, causing Danielle to jump. The child quickly relaxed though as she realized it was Clementine and Carley. Danielle unlocked the door and Clementine opened it.
"You're okay!" Danielle beamed.
"Yeah, kiddo, we are." Clementine hugged the young girl before gently taking her baby into her arm. "Mommy's here, baby. It's okay…"
Diana soon calmed down as she felt her mother's hold.
"Are those people okay?" Danielle asked.
"They'll be fine, kiddo…." Clementine reassured the child.
"Wh-What do we do now?" Danielle said.
"We're going back to the town and we're going to help those people out..." Clementine said.
"Really? Do you think things will get better?" Danielle asked.
"I think we can try to make it better." Clementine said.
Carley agreed with the girl. "Come on, let's head back."
Clementine and Danielle nodded.
All they could do was hope that the city would make changes, for their people's sake.
They returned to the town as they said they would. They suggested changes to the mayor, some that people disagreed with, but eventually they were able to convince them this was best.
They fortified the walls, begin building bunkers, made more entrances, and most importantly rid of the money. They replaced the money with rations, giving an equal amount to all. And as time went on the town was starting to function much better.
Still, they had no plans to stay. Wellington was still their goal. And once the winter had gone by, they planned to continue their journey there.