Disclaimer: The Walking Dead Series is NOT my work. It is owned by TellTale, all rights, commendation and acknowledgement goes to them.

However, "Derek Brooks" is my own fictional character and apparently the only thing I own in this story.

AN: Sorry for the long wait! I've experienced some major writing block and couldn't write properly. This is also a two-parter chapter. I wish you guys would enjoy! Leave a review or comment about your thoughts, suggestions, or anything really. I would love to hear about them!

Previously on the last Chapter...

"Wait, wait. You're not American?" Louis interrupted.

Derek shook his head. "I'm Canadian." He clarified.

=S=

The silence was starting to feel deafening for Derek to bear, and immediately moved on to the story to end it in a lighter note. "I-In any case. I was moved to a much bigger and more fortified safe zone with concrete walls surrounding us. We kinda survived there for over four years living mostly from the rations the military provided."

Derek jumped back in surprise as they exploded into a cacophony of surprise. "Four years?! In the cities? How?" They demanded.

Derek shrugged. "We just did." He said cryptically, not expounding anymore information as he kept quiet, finished with his story.

=S=

"Goodnight Clem."

"Goodnight goofball."

A tiny groan could then be heard, making Clementine smirk by herself. A few quiet moments passed, a blissful sleep washed over them.

They didn't hear the radio crackling to life coming from Derek's backpack, saying: "I've got them..."

Chapter 9 – The Past that Defines us (Part 1)

Derek twisted and turned in his sleep. Sweat poured from the pores of his skin as vicious memories flashed in his head. He clenched his hands into fists, as his mind drifted back to his past, his memories swirled in a haze of surrealism, blurring the lines between reality and the ethereal realm of dreams.

Two years ago,
Derek Brooks (16 years old)
Outskirts of Washington D.C

Cold. The first thing I felt was cold. However, it didn't feel like a thousand daggers was piercing through my skin like most people would say. It was more of a cold embrace; it was strangely comforting. However, this peace didn't last as sounds of gunfire made my eyes snap wide open and I forced myself to get up. I immediately regretted my actions as a strong migraine passed to my head. I clutched my head in pain but was stopped by my helmet. Confusion went through into my head and when I looked down, I realized what I was wearing. A camouflaged jacket which was one size larger than me, a tactical carrier vest filled to the brim with useful tools, and a pair of cargo pants. I took my helmet off me in attempt to clear my head and my eyes widened as I saw the damage. Just above a few inches at the top, was a clear indent of a deflected bullet. My hand subconsciously went towards my head where the bullet could've been and sighed in relief.

'I must've been knocked out when that bullet hit my helmet.' I thought to myself.

I put my helmet back on top of my head. Better to be safe than sorry. On the corner of my view, I saw a metal glint, buried beneath the snow. I moved to grab the object in question and realized it was my pistol. I must've dropped it when I was knocked out. I racked the chamber and saw it was still loaded. I nodded in approval.

I still have a mission to do.

A few minutes earlier…

There was a large raider stronghold hidden deep inside the forest outskirts of Washington D.C. They have been terrorizing nearby settlements including ours for months. They've been mostly stealing food and water, sometimes the occasional weapons and ammo. To make matters worse, other settlements claim they've been stealing people as well.

So, after several months, we finally tracked down their base of operations and organized an all-out assault alongside the help with other settlements. Unfortunately, Kareem and Julian were still serving their sentence for the unauthorized scavenging expedition (see chapter 4) and Captain Vasquez was preoccupied with another mission but left me and a few others as additional support.

It was later promptly named Operation Hammerfall. I don't know where these guys get the names but it's what they called it. I was assigned on one of the recon teams, our job was to set up explosives on the enemy's walls to create a breach big enough to flank them from both sides or at the very least, set things in disarray. Things were going great until we reached the 100-meter perimeter and the last thing I remember was a small metallic glint before everything turned black.

I shuddered to think what could've happened if I wasn't wearing my helmet. I looked around and saw footsteps leading towards the compound, as well as bullet impacts.

'Others could still be alive.' I deduced.

I felt a tinge of frustration that we were seen too early but then again, our clothes weren't exactly helping us blend in with the white snow. I followed the tracks ahead but stopped when I saw the first body, his blood pooled around his body, tainting the white snow. I recognized him almost immediately as one of our own. He was a pretty nice guy, has a wife and kid with one more coming in the way. He cracks a lot of jokes in his spare time and he was overall a pretty stand-up kind of guy. Was

I approached the body carefully, kicking the side of his leg to make sure he was alive. When the body didn't move as I expected only two things came in mind. Dead or unconscious and I highly doubt it was the latter.

But I can't be too sure either.

I reluctantly used my boot to flip him over and my doubts were instantly cleared. Two bullet holes penetrated him, one in his chest, another in his head, on what order I would never know. I grabbed his dog tags and took a quick look. "Callahan, Henry R." I muttered out. Funny. I didn't know his name until now. I pocketed his dog tags and proceeded onwards.

I only managed to get past a few meters when a barrage of bullets suddenly whizzed pass through the air with deadly intent, their telltale cracks echoing dangerously close. The bullets tore through the icy air, leaving trails of vapor in their wake as snowflakes danced around them. My heart pounded with adrenaline and I sprinted for the nearest cover. Thick white clouds formed in front of me as I dashed through the wintry landscape. I spotted a thick tree big enough to cover my whole body, with a surge of adrenaline and strength I dived towards it, offering me decent protection as the tree stopped the bullets in place. My breath came in ragged gasps from the near-death encounter.

"Psst!"

My head jerked towards the source of the sound and saw another soldier from the recon team. To my surprise, our team leader, Sgt. Lopez, was still alive just a few meters away from me. He looked surprised as well when he got a good look at me. "Holy shit. Brooks? Is that you?" he asked incredulously.

I let out a dry chuckle. "Yup. Still kicking."

"When we saw you go down, we thought you were done for. Lucky bastard." He shook his head, smirking.

I mirrored his actions. "Lucky enough, I guess. Where's the others?" I added.

A dark look passed unto the sergeant's features and lowered his head. "We're the last ones."

My eyes widened and I felt my heart still for a moment. I lowered my head and in despair, while I didn't know any of them personally, they were still one of us. Some of them atleast.

"We tried moving cover to cover, exchanging fire but they had the high ground and picked us off one by one." The sergeant added. "Mandrazo managed to take one of them down but was gunned down right after."

The only sounds we could hear now are the howling winds of the cold winter. My thoughts started to wonder if this whole plan was a bad idea when a sudden burning question imbedded in my mind, and turned towards the sergeant in alarm. "Won't they send troops to investigate?! They know we're here!"

The sergeant didn't look unphased one bit. "They could but they also know they're safer behind their walls. They're not gonna risk flushing us out if they already got the upper hand."

Which means we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. Which leaves us slowly freezing to death or get shot. Neither was pleasant.

After a short beat, I added: "What about walkers?"

"The temperatures are cold enough to freeze them in place and the snow is thick enough to hinder their movements but still keep an eye out."

I nodded in response.

"Should we retreat?" I asked. It was a cowardly thought but the most logical one. The situation was fucked either way and staying here would inevitably result in death and for what?

Thankfully, the sergeant didn't look all too bothered by the notion but the response wasn't something he was hoping for either. "Unless you're willing to get shot, I don't think it's a good idea. I radioed in command earlier about the situation and they just said to sit tight and let the second recon team set their explosives first. Once they detonated it, they'll launch the first assault wave in response."

A huge wave of disbelief and anger washed over me. "That's it?" I angrily asked.

He took out a rolled-up cigarette and a lighter and let out a puff of smoke. "Pretty much."

I banged my head backwards to the wooden tree, defeated. What a life.

*BANG*

A loud impact hit the tree I was behind in, shards of wooden fragments exploded into tiny little pieces, scattering the ground. I flinched in response and gritted my teeth. That was the tenth one this time. It's been a few minutes and still no progress. Just as the sergeant suggested, the enemy didn't send any soldiers towards our position but instead made our entire stay a nightmare. They would occasionally fire a few rounds at us, hurl out insults or goad us to come out. When that didn't work, they started firing at the already lifeless corpses wheareas the sergeant amply called it as 'psychological warfare'. We tried our best to tune it out. We tried contacting command and the response was still the same. We wait for the second recon team to finish the job much to our annoyance and frustration. I looked towards the sergeant and could see he was already shivering in the cold. I don't know if it was my Canadian blood or something else but I handled the cold much better than he did.

Suddenly, the cold wind was disrupted when a large explosion occurred on the other side of the compound. We could see the guards from the top of the walls screaming at the top of their lungs as they scrambled towards it.

*PREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*

A loud whistle was then heard followed by a chorus of war cries and gunfire. As promised, the first wave of assault teams started charging at the stronghold's defenses, scattering their defenders. We watch from our cover as enemy soldiers above the walls started peeling away from their position one by one, leaving only one soldier behind.

I turned towards the sergeant. "Any ideas?" I asked.

The sergeant pulled out his own rifle and loaded it, he glanced towards the guard then back to me. "Just one. Think you can run fast enough?" he asked suggestively.

I looked down at the weapon at hand and looked back at him. He wants me to run in the field as bait while he tries to take the guard out. I have zero faith in that plan.

I shook my head aggressively. "Fuck no." I said. My eyes darted towards one of our teammate's corpses and a wild idea went in my head but it's not going to be pretty. I grabbed the corpse and removed my helmet and placed it on top of his.

'Sorry buddy. But your duty does not end here.' I thought to myself as I mentally block out all sorts of judgement.

The sergeant's eyes widened at my actions but didn't comment on it. Instead, he gave me a mix look of reluctant agreement and disappointment. He prepared his rifle and grimly nodded at me. I grabbed a fistful of hair from the corpse and let it peek out of cover.

*BANG*

A single shot rang out followed by a deadly whizz. The ground nearby exploded at the impact and I pulled the corpse back to cover. The sergeant took aim and fired a shot of his own.

"Shit!" he cursed out.

I looked at him in concern. "What? What happened?" I asked.

He looked at me in frustration and anger. "I fucking missed. "

I peeked over my cover and saw the sniper took cover as well. Things are now more complicated as both of us are now at a standstill, waiting for each other to make a move.

I grabbed the corpse again and nodded at the sergeant. "Again."

He pursed his lips and nodded, taking aim. I repeated what I did earlier and another shot rang out but this time the shot grazed the helmet, violently knocking it away a few meters upwards. I jerked my hand back at the impact, hissing in pain.

The sergeant let out another shot of his own but cursed as he missed again. "One more! I just need a better shot!" he said with a tinge of frustration, gritting his teeth.

I pulled the corpse back and this time, let it peek out on the other side. This time, the enemy sniper didn't miss this time as the bullet hit the corpse's head. It violently exploded on impact, staining myself and the white snow with dark crimson blood. I suppressed the urged to vomit.

The sergeant returned fire almost immediately. "Got him!"

I looked down at my bloodied hands and could feel my sins crawling behind my back.

'Just do what you have to do. Just do what you have to do.' I keep telling myself.

I felt a hand land on my shoulder and saw the sergeant's comforting but regretful gaze. "It's alright corporal. I don't blame you." With a gentle tap, he left without another word.

Almost instantly, I felt the burden lighten a little bit right after he said that but it didn't erase the fact that we disgraced our own people. I wiped my hands on the nearby tree and followed the sergeant. He picked up a backpack from one of the recon team and beckoned me to follow him towards the wall. "Come on corporal. We're not done here yet."

I gathered the dog tags of the fallen soldiers as a sign of respect, something to bring back to their families then followed the sergeant towards the wall where he laid down the backpack and opened it, revealing its contents to be plastic explosives, wires, and a handheld detonator. He grabbed a few of the plastic explosives and looked between each of them, weighing both of them on each hand. After a few moments, he looked at me in the eye and said: "Do you know how to handle explosives?"

I hissed in reply and shook my head. He clicked his tongue in disappointment and looked away, grabbing his radio and contacted command. My curiosity got the better of me and I gave the wall a closer look, at first glance it seemed like a mixture of wood, metal, and makeshift materials glued together to make this monstrosity but at a closer look there was a mix of concrete as well. No wonder we needed explosives. Yet despite its horrid look, it was still a formidable wall separating them from the rest of the world.

They should've left us alone and stayed away. I formed a fist and pounded it against the wall.

"What?!"

My head snapped back towards the sergeant, my instincts kicking in, my gun at the ready. I scanned the area for hostiles but found none, instead, I found the sergeant speaking over the radio angrily.

"What do you mean you can't spare anyone?! I've got a bag full of explosives here but no one to plant it."

The radio crackled to life, speaking with an electronic tone but I couldn't hear it well enough.

The sergeant's eyes darted to the deceased member, specifically the one who was carrying the explosives. "He's dead." There was another beat of silence. "Figure something- What the fuck do you mean?! Hello? Hello!?"

The sergeant looked at the radio with intense fury, glaring into the small device. He gripped into the device angrily before letting it go, shaking his head in disappointment. He looked back at me and towards the explosives. "Corporal. I need you to cover my back while I set these charges. Head to the tree-line and keep watch on anyone."

The increasing intensification of combat from the other side of the settlement reminded us that there is still a battle raging on, the longer we stay here doing nothing, the more casualties we're going to rack up. I didn't waste any time and agreed, nodding in reply. I headed towards the tree-line, my pistol on hand. I gazed upon the enemy walls, my hand gripping tightly with my pistol on hand.

I should've grabbed the rifle from one of our members, I could've atleast used them right now but going back for it now would leave the sergeant vulnerable and decided not to. The situation was tense as every second we lingered around, the more at risk we were at being attacked, armed with only a pistol and only two of us, chances are extremely low for us if we were discovered. Again. What seems to be an eternity later, the sergeant picked up the detonator and rushed back towards me. He gripped the detonator firmly on his hand and we exchanged determined looks. He pressed the button down and braced for impact.

Nothing happened.

He looked at the detonator in confusion, pressed the button again and still nothing happened. He pressed the button a few more times with increasing frustration. He gritted his teeth and threw the detonator away in frustration and anger. "Fucking piece of shit!" he cursed as he set a course towards the explosives.

I don't have much knowledge in plastic explosives so I didn't understand why it didn't work. Nor understood why the explosives detonated when the sergeant used his radio. It happened so fast that I didn't comprehend it at first. I remembered the sergeant cursing the shit out of his luck then the next thing I knew was his body getting obliterated into chunks of blood and flesh by the immense shockwave from the resulting explosion. The explosive wave passed through the field like an unrelenting force followed by a huge ball of flames, engulfing the area with a torrent of fire.

I was on the tree-line when it happened, opting to cover the sergeant just as he ordered me to. I didn't expect it to be this loud even at a distance. My ears started ringing and everything was a blur for the next few moments. My mind was at a daze and the world danced around me. It was hard to think, hurt to think, all I could do was curl up right there and then, hoping everything would be alright.

What seemed to be an eternity later, my hearing finally went back to normal and my vision cleared. I could finally think straight. I stood up from my position only to falter a little, my legs felt like jelly but I steeled myself and forced myself to get back up.

It was there and then I saw the destruction caused by several blocks of plastic explosives. The ground and surrounding area of the wall was covered in thick black soot and a small crater was formed. It also punched a sizeable hole on the wall, big enough to fit five or more people at the same time.

My instincts flared when I spotted movement at the corner of my eye. I gripped my pistol tightly and aimed at the perpetrators, ready to exchange fire when needed. The soldier looked surprised to see me and faltered in his steps. It took my mind a brief moment to identify him as one of us and I lowered my pistol. He visibly relaxed and approached me slowly. "Almost scared me right there." He gave me a once-over. "Are you alright? You okay?" he asked in concern.

As if on instinct, my mouth moved before I could think. "I'm fine." I waved him off.

Seeing no visible injuries, the soldier left me to join the fight with the rest of the troops, storming through the breached wall. I gathered my courage and with grim determination, followed them to battle but stopped short when my eyes caught sight of a disturbing image.

A small charred hand missing a few fingers.

I could feel bile rushing through my throat and my hand subconsciously flew over my mouth. Luckily, I stopped it just in time. I tore myself from the image and shook my head. I have to stay focused. As I went through the breach along with other soldiers only one thought occurred to me.

We're ending this once and for all.