Chapter 15

The smell of flesh burning... the screams that cried throughout the smoke filled air... the blood in her mouth that wasn't her own. They were the only things she could sense at the moment.

She couldn't see anything but an inky red and an orange flickering in the distance. Her body felt heavy, painful, and weak.

"...!" She could hear someone screaming, and arms around her body. But all she could hear was the screaming.

'Too loud!' She tried to cover her ears but her arms wouldn't move.

"CLE...!" She could faintly hear whoever was carrying her try to say something.

She felt like something was pulling her down now, a sharp pain in her legs and forehead. And then it all went black.

The war with Phoenix's group had only worsened in the past month. One of the communities up north had fallen, its remnants fleeing towards Howe's, Albany, and wherever else. Phoenix was obsessed, his men had only become more rabid, the man himself... was worse than ever now.

He'd taken to burning people alive in front of their loved ones personally, but he always put them out just before they passed.

He had... lots of practice to do that...

The attack during the Scottsville trade reemerged in her head. Reminding her of why she was even in this shuddering truck. And also reminding herself of the new scars she had acquired on her head and legs.

They were going to Knoxville, the outpost had spotted Phoenix's men in the area. "The Burned" is what Phoenix referred to his gang of raiders as.

She looked around at the people around her. Many, like Mike, were trying to make the mood lighter. Others, like Bonnie, were praying, and some, like Mia, just... stared into space. Their eyes reminded her of a corpse's, the glazed look and emptiness behind the eyes. They were tired, and she had been the same at one point, maybe she still was.

Her fists clenched tightly, she felt a rage build up in her chest. She wanted blood, she wanted the bastards to burn alive like Vince had. She wanted to... she wanted to just take a break. The changes in Howe's hadn't made it any easier either.

Bill's temper had worsened lately, the man had even started forcing other groups they'd come across into the fighting. She didn't blame him, but she'd be lying if she wasn't afraid of the man now. He had even personally tortured a raider they captured for trying to kill Carrie. Bill didn't even bother to do it in private. Clementine could still feel the warm blood that splashed on her face when it happened. And she could never forget the look of satisfaction on Becca's face. But she couldn't blame her friend, especially not after what happened to Vince.

She was terrified of what they were becoming, what she was becoming. Not that she could stop it anyways. War is pure, unadulterated horror, and she could only wonder what it was like before. Bill had only mentioned the wars he fought in briefly, and Marcus and Carrie hated talking about it.

Al had mentioned world war one at some point, the war to end all wars as it was nicknamed. The man explained that the antiquated uniform that he wore, was once his great grandfather's trench raider uniform. The man had described the war as the first time that the species had accepted their knack for brutality. Mustard gas, flamethrowers, no man's land, artillery, and more. She could only imagine the destruction and horrors as the man described it.

Clementine closed her eyes, attempting to get some sleep before they stopped.

She dreamt of fire and the screams of those that burned alive in Scottsville.

By the time they arrived in Knoxville, the outpost was already getting attacked. They had to exit the truck earlier than intended, lest they come under fire immediately after arriving. She was separated from the rest a few minutes ago, because of a molotov full of napalm that was thrown at them.

She ran behind a concrete barrier on the road and searched for any raiders around the area.

Seeing nothing for now, Clementine kept running with her head down. The sound of fighting getting closer the longer she ran. And she could smell the rain that was soon to arrive.

'Damn.' Was all she thought as their camouflage would be useless in the outside for now.

A group of three burned men ran across the street, their telltale burnt firefighter uniforms distinguishing them from anyone who came from Howe's or Albany.

She placed her rifle on top of the barrier and aimed it at the trio. Some walkers appeared from an alleyway as she did. She couldn't get a clear shot at the men so she ran around to a better spot.

Next to a wrecked car now, she took aim again. She had a clear shot on all of them now. She placed her sights on one's head, but then a thought arose in her head.

'That's too good for them.' She instead aimed at their legs.

The first man screamed as the bullet tore his leg apart, the walkers lunging at the screaming man. The other two didn't know how to react as she fired at both of them. Their screams were like music to her ears.

But the silence afterwards had only made her realize what she had just done. And she didn't feel a single ounce of regret. She didn't know how to feel about it, but she couldn't dwell on it. Now wasn't the time.

Clementine continued running towards the Knoxville outpost, dodging walkers left and right. The rain had started falling as she approached the outpost. Burned men and walkers were everywhere, and she couldn't yet see anyone she arrived with.

She hid behind another ruined car, aiming at some raiders close by that were fighting walkers. She shot their legs out as well.

'They'll distract some of the herd for me.' Clementine ran past the screaming group as she got closer and closer to the outpost.

"Get that bitch!" A woman yelled, five of them charged towards her. She took aim, but someone beat her to it as a multitude of molotovs struck the aggressors.

They couldn't even scream for more than a second, as the oxygen was pulled from their lungs.

"Over here!" Another woman yelled from a building nearby. Clementine didn't recognize the woman, but she was right next to Tisha and some others from Howe's.

She ran over to the group and checked her magazine. Only five bullets were left in it so she switched it out, and reloaded the old one.

"Shit kid, the fuck you doin' running through a herd in the rain?" The woman exasperated.

"Clementine's mute Rachel." Tisha informed the woman and went back to defending their current position.

"You serious?"

"Yup." Tisha made a popping noise, not bothering to look away from the warzone.

Rachel stared at Clementine incredulously before sighing. She opened her mouth to speak but her head blew open before she could get the words out.

"GET THE FUCK DOWN!" Tisha ordered to everyone as more bullets impacted the building.

Clementine threw herself to the ground and stared at the dead woman's eyes that seemed to be staring back at her. She laid there for a few moments until the bullets stopped flying.

Clementine crawled towards the corpse, taking her AK, checking for ammunition, and any supplies she held.

"Fuck man. Hasn't even been a minute yet." Wyatt whispered quietly in some form of disgust.

'Doesn't need it anymore now though.' Was all she thought, as she grabbed what she assumed to be a food bar that was wrapped in beeswax paper, stuffing it in one of her pockets.

Looks of pity and disgust were plastered on everyone's faces. But they couldn't argue against her actions.

She peaked over a shattered window to see if she could spot any raiders.

There was a group of ten or so in the building across from theirs. She signaled ten towards Tisha, the woman nodding and passing it down quietly.

Clementine drew her rifle and aimed at the group across. But another idea came to her head as she looked around the area of the raider occupied building. She could sneak through the alleys and weed them out with a molotov.

Clementine slung her rifle and crawled towards a molotov sitting under a window. She grabbed one, and a lighter next to it.

"What are you going?!" Tisha quietly yelled, Clementine ignored her as she exited from the backside of the building.

She searched for any walkers around and started slowly moving around to the enemy building. As she approached a walker slammed a chainlink fence nearby.

"What was that?"

'Fuck!' Clementine unsheathed her knife and stabbed the walker before it could make more noise. She stood still as she waited for some sort of response.

"Sit the fuck down Ronnie." A man ordered.

Clementine let out the breath she was holding in relief as she got closer. She could see a broken window, someone walking past it. She drew the lighter from her pocket and ignited it, lighting the molotov fuse soon after. Tossing it through the window she ran off and grabbed the AK she looted from Rachel's corpse. Setting it to full auto, she laid prone as she waited.

Five exited the building from the window she threw the molotov through. Squeezing the trigger, gunshots echoed through the alley as she let loose. She stood up, ignoring the ringing as she reloaded, slung the rifle across her back and grabbed her knife.

Approaching the bodies, she stabbed each one in the head before they had time to reanimate. She got ready to finish off the last one when the raider started coughing blood.

"H-help-p mee." The woman gurgled, Clementine felt a scowl form on her face. She decided to leave the dying woman to suffer, and looted the bodies for anything useful instead.

The dying raider kept pleading until finally kicking the bucket. She stabbed the now dead woman's head and searched her body.

'Drugs, more drugs, and even more drugs.' She tossed them into the fire and checked what else she had managed to find from the other bodies.

Some ammo for a gun she had never used before, some type of pistol ammo using carbine she'd never seen till now. Snacks, lighters, and napalm molotovs. That last one put a smile on her face, but she had no way of carrying all of it at the moment.

She searched for the others, they had already finished the other raiders off.

A small herd was headed Clementine's way, attracted by the noise no doubt. She grabbed one of the napalm molotovs and lit it. Throwing it as hard as she could at the walkers. The fire would take a while to kill them, but they would spread the fire amongst themselves and any other walkers that joined them.

She grabbed another molotov and caught up to the others. They had finished looting those they killed and were just waiting for her.

"You're crazy kid." Tisha rubbed her hat and then ordered everyone to follow her.

Clementine fixed her hat and chased after them, the weight of the AK was starting to slow her down, so she handed the rifle to Wyatt.

"Thanks man."

Clementine just nodded and looked ahead, drawing her own rifle. Looking around the area as she followed the adults. There were so many bodies, burned and otherwise. The fighting had quieted and radios started going off around them.

"They're retreating for now, good job everyone. Over." Tavia's voice sounded throughout the block from all the radios. The group around her let out a sigh of relief and thanks as they slowed down.

Clementine and the others finally entered the outpost, that was in some type of history museum, where she saw the others she arrived with. Everyone seemed to be fine, with no serious injuries thankfully.

"Thanks for the support. Probably saved our asses." Tavia offered a handshake to Al.

"No problem, jus' doin' my duty." The man accepted the handshake and sat down.

Clementine sat down next to Mia, the girl still had that glazed look in her eyes. Her mouth, neck, and shirt were covered in blood, but no visible wounds. She frowned once she realized that the girl had probably bit someone's throat out.

'I hate this.' She rubbed the girl's back, who didn't even seem to care or realize that she was there.

"Goddamn it."

Clementine was woken up from the sudden commotion. She searched around, but it was much to dark to see anything.

"Don't back out of this now."

She heard the voices coming from outside. Unslinging her rifle she started to slowly walk towards the noise.

"You're asking me to just up and leave?" A woman's voice, she could tell now, but she still couldn't tell who it was exactly.

"This ain't our fuckin' war." This voice was a man, his tone desperate.

She approached the doorway, looking through the slight hole.

"I know... but I can't just go back out there, by ourselves not knowing when our next meal is."

"I get that honey, but it sure beats gettin' cooked alive by some drugged up maniacs!" The man was getting angry now, and she could see the desperation in his eyes start to morph into something else.

"Keep your voice down!" The woman shushed the man, and then sighed.

"I-I'm staying." The woman started approaching the door, when the man had snapped.

He drew a knife from his belt, and time seemed to slow down for Clementine. She burst through the door and aimed her rifle at the man, firing a single shot and disabling him.

The woman fell down in shock, and the man screamed in pain as his shoulder now had a large hole blown through it.

There was running and shouting behind her. Clementine just stared at the man crying on the ground, blood pooling around him.

'An artery.' She watched as his eyes began to close, the woman was staring blankly at the knife the man had pulled out.

"Clementine the fuck!" Someone forced her to the ground, their knee digging into her back painfully.

People were yelling at her, but she wasn't hearing them. She was more focused on the man she had just killed.

She had just killed one of their own, even if the man was about to hurt someone, she expected there to at least be something, that felt wrong about what she had just done.

She... didn't... feel... a single... thing.

This war was changing her, and she was terrified by the fact.

Clementine was staring at the door of a large freezer. The woman, who's actually named Honey, explained that the guy, Phil, had pulled a knife on her while she was walking back inside.

The silence was a good change of pace. Let her ruminate on what happened an hour ago without interruptions. She didn't regret her actions, and she certainly didn't regret saving Honey's life. But she wished that she never had to do it in the first place.

She checked her pockets for anything that she could pass the time with, they took her guns and any weapons she might've been carrying. Her lighter was missing and all she had was a battery, and some snacks.

Sighing, she grabbed the food bar she took from Rachel's corpse and unwrapped it. It smelt very smoky, and beefy. Taking a bite, she tasted what felt like jerky and dried fruit, her mouth immediately was coated with fat as she chewed. She didn't hate the taste, quite enjoyed it actually, but the oily feeling in her mouth was unpleasant to say the least.

'Might be better in a stew.' She casually thought as she kept chewing on the bar.

The freezer door opened as she finished the meat bar, the sounds of fighting echoed throughout the museum.

"Clementi-" Tisha was cut off by an axe slamming into her skull.

She pushed her back to the wall and stood up. She searched for any possible way to escape. But there was nowhere for her to go, as the only escape route was where whoever killed Tisha was standing. The hispanic woman's body was pulled back and another person took her place.

'Phoenix.' She felt her entire body tense as the disfigured man stood over her.

"There you are." The man knelt down to her level with a maniacal grin on his face.

"I've heard so much about you, Clementine."

The man suddenly grabbed her, she tried fighting him off, but no avail as he butt her in the head with his axe handle. She fell down with a thud, groaning as the man tied her hands up with a zip tie and lifted her back up. She tried desperately to pull herself away, but the man just yanked her back.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to you. I just want to talk to you is all." He laughed as he drug her past the bodies of people who died in the fighting. She saw Mia tied up as well, two of the men around her were fighting.

Phoenix noticed what her gaze was focused on, "She won't come to harm either, if that makes you more cooperative."

She glared at the man, which only made that grin on his face widen. She stared back at Mia, her features softening as she looked down and nodded.

"Good. Brothers, Sisters!" The two men stopped fighting, and the rest looked to their leader.

"No touching the girls!" One of the men that was fighting grumbled, which was followed by a bullet entering his skull.

"I hope I need not repeat myself." He glowered around at his men.

Clementine was bewildered, as she hadn't even seen the man draw his gun.

"Yes Phoenix!" They all shouted as they got back to doing whatever they were doing.

They exited the museum, more bodies were laid out throughout the road, she didn't see Al's body anywhere. Which had left her feeling hopeful as she was lifted and locked inside one of their own trucks. Mia and three others following soon.

Clementine sat herself against the wall and wrapped her tied hands over her knees.

'Shit.' Was all she could think as the truck turned on and started driving.

A/N

I know that it's progressing fast, but to be fair, the first flashback scene in ANF takes place not that long after season two. Depending on your ending choice, the flashback scene is only a few weeks, to barely even a year or so after the ending of season two. Which doesn't really give you a lot of time to write something to lead up to her first interaction with the NF. Which she's only been twelve years old for like three-four months when that happens, and she gets exiled not long after that.

So you might be seeing where I'm coming from, there really isn't actually all that much time left when season three chronologically starts, and I don't plan on straying from that chronological marker all that much. Which leads to the events of this war and so on being relatively quick. To give a brief idea just how far away that is. Summer is just ending in this chapter, which places us around late September. Which only leaves us with about four to five months, before she originally meets the new frontier. Now I'm not saying that it'll happen exactly as it goes down but she won't exactly be that far off from the original timeline.