Chapter 29

Clementine sat down on a log with an agonizing thud as pain coursed throughout her entire body. The gasp that escaped her only made the pain in her ribs exacerbate. She took multiple slow recovery breaths to try and regain her stamina so she could finish the trek back to the warehouse. Her leg felt warm, and the rest of her body started to feel cold.

"Fuck me." She groaned as she slowly stood back up.

It couldn't be much longer before she got back, but the temptation to just give up and lie down had started to set in.

"One… t-two…" Clementine quietly counted each step to distract herself from the pain.

The camouflage had luckily still retained its ability to hide her scent. Otherwise, she'd just be a red stain on the forest floor.

A light quickly drifting through the forest caught her attention. Then the loud rumbling of some vehicle echoed through the trees. Clementine tried to raise an arm to catch the attention of whoever was driving but dropped her arm almost immediately after she felt a stabbing pain in her side.

Her body felt incredibly heavy now, her vision twisting and blurring. A truck drove past her, stopping a few dozen feet away. She turned to try and make her way to it but suddenly found herself falling to the floor. Everything hurt now like she was boiling in a vat of acid or stuck in a pit of needles digging into every pore of her body.

"Shit, is she bit?"

"Doesn't matter now, let's just get her inside."

Clementine lost consciousness soon after.

"How's she doin'?"

Clementine could hear voices, but she couldn't see anything.

"Alive all things considered. Three fractured ribs, fractured radius, and her left leg is mangled to shit, luckily didn't break her femur or nick an artery, just sprained her ankle. It's amazing she could even walk, or survive whatever she came out of for that matter."

'God, everything hurts.' She tried to rub her forehead but found that she couldn't even move her body.

"Tough as nails this kid. It's not the first time she's crawled out of a situation like this." Clementine faintly recognized the voice as Al's.

"How many times has this girl been near death?"

'Ava?'

"Hard to say. Becca's known her longest. But from what I've known of her… I'd say about three, maybe four times."

"Damn. Well, she's been stabilized is all I can tell you right now. Are you going to be taking her with you?"

'That's Eleanor.' Her mind was just trying to put faces to the voices she could hear but not see.

"Why do you ask?"

"'Cause I need to know if she's going to need medicine on the road or not."

"Haven't thought about it to be honest with ya."

"Well, you have… three days to give me an answer. After that, it's in God's hands."

Clementine drifted back to sleep.

Clementine's eyes shot open and sluggishly raised herself up. She took in her surroundings, a hospital room of sorts, and it was nighttime. Her eyes moved toward her own body, some sort of splint on her left wrist, and bandages were wrapped all over her left leg.

"What the fuck happened?" Clementine was confused, lost on how she ended up like this, or even how she ended up in this room.

Flashes of the warehouse, taking Javier hostage, the truck, and her brutalization of Lonnie gave her all the information she needed to understand what happened.

She looked over to the table on her right. Her hat and a new set of clothes were neatly folded on it. Clementine rubbed her eyes and attempted to stand up. Wincing and gasping loudly as pain shot up her leg and body. She instead settled for pulling the table over to herself.

A knitted dark blue and gray sweater sat in front of her, denim jeans with a leather belt, and a pair of hiking boots with long socks accompanying it.

Clementine hummed in slight approval at the new set of clothing to wear. She moved to begin changing when the door opened.

"Javier?"

The aforementioned man looked at her in what seemed to be joy, but he held a finger to his mouth. He closed the door behind him.

"You're alive." Javier sat down on a chair next to her bed.

"How did I…"

"We found you on the trail, David brought you here."

'That's surprising.' Clementine never expected the man to save her of all people.

"Why?" Her voice cracked as regret began to crash into her once again.

"Didn't feel right to leave you there."

She bit her lip and looked down, mentally scolding herself.

"Anyways, have you seen Doctor Lingard?"

Clementine wiped her nose with her free arm.

"N-no. I just woke up."

Javier frowned and cursed under his breath.

"Well, we're looking for him. Joan's the one orchestrating all the raids. We need him if we want to take her down for good."

"Course it's Joan." Clementine muttered.

"Do you think you could maybe find me something I could use to walk while I change?"

"Ah fuck." Javier realized that she was only wearing a hospital gown and quickly turned his face.

"Sure, just uh let me know when you're done." He stood up and began searching the room.

Clementine let out a slight chuckle as she began the lengthy process of putting her clothes on. Minutes would pass as finally managed to get the jeans and socks on. A frown crossed her lips as it dawned on her that she wouldn't be able to put the boots on herself. The stubbornness within her refused to ask for help, but right now she didn't care. She just wanted out of this place at this point.

"Um, Javier?" She called the man.

"Yeah?"

"Could you maybe… could you help me put these boots on?" Clementine asked the man, embarrassment making her cringe from having to do so.

"Sure. I found you this crutch by the way." He placed a wooden crutch by her side and then knelt down.

"Thanks…" Clementine winced as Javier started with her left.

Javier worked in silence, Clementine bit down on her sleeve to try and keep herself from crying out.

"So what exactly happened to you after you ran off from the warehouse?"

"I hid in the backseat of their truck. Lonnie jumped in, I killed him, and then we crashed… hard." Clementine took a shaky breath as Javier finally finished tying her left boot.

"Damn, well that explains how we caught her by surprise." Javier smiled at her before getting started on her right. Which only made her feel worse about what she had done.

"Sorry. I wasn't thinking straight."

"Hmm, oh no problem. I get it, I would've done the same to anybody if I had to spend, what was it, two years? Searching to no avail for whoever killed Gabe. Don't beat yourself over it, I don't blame you."

"You're a good person Javi."

"Thanks, Clem." He finished her right boot and helped her stand.

"Alright, after I find Lingard, I'm taking you to Eleanor's place. Most of us are already there."

"What for?"

"To keep you all safe when this all goes down." Javier immediately gained a look she had found surprising to see on him. When she first met him, she honestly thought he was just a lucky idiot. But now? He was like a different person.

"Oh… Did y'all find out if Al and Becca are okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine. Apparently, their, well your group already had a prior deal with The New Frontier. So they're giving them a car to get back home."

"So they're safe." Clementine let out a sigh of relief at the news.

"Not exactly. They're planning on helping us out here before leaving. Al got in contact with his leader and he doesn't think it's a great idea to have a woman like Joan in power. Too aggressive or conniving, anyways he doesn't like her, and would much rather continue their deal with a leadership that won't stab him in the back." Javi clarified for her, defeating her hopes.

"Deal?" She was under the impression that they'd just started to expand into Virginia from the conversation Al had with Tripp back at Prescott. She was curious, what deal might they have had?

"Their group gives The New Frontier fuel, weapons, ammo stuff like that, in return, The New Frontier takes care of any overly hostile groups in the western parts of the state. Guess Joan had other ideas when it came to that deal of theirs."

'Sounds like something Bill would do.' Clementine realized she'd become disillusioned with the man after being gone for so long.

"This militia of yours… how big is it? Al hasn't exactly been clear on that front." Javier checked down the halls before helping outside the room.

"I dunno, if Bill has been keeping up with his plan… could be hundreds, maybe thousands. He's always been one for expanding his sphere of control."

"Shit." Javier gave a respectful nod.

"And no one ever disagrees with him?"

"They do, but he always gets his way. He's really smart and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. I remember how he used to be before the Militia grew to be massive, back when we were just Howe's. He was downright tyrannical, then when the community started to grow he became more, I dunno calm or less strict when it came to some rules. He's basically a dictator or emperor as soon liked to joke." Clementine explained as they reached another room.

"He's in here." Javier opened the door and led her inside.

"Shit, he's out like a light."

"Yeah, he's a junkie. More concerned with getting high than saving their meds." Clementine told Javi with disdain.

"Elle mentioned something about this."

Clementine sat down on the office chair, her stomach had started cramping.

"I'm going to check these drawers. You try to wake him up or something." She began searching for any medicine or bandages she could use to treat her wounds.

'Menstrual pads…' Clementine held the box in her hands, she had left her own box in her backpack. She held onto the box and kept searching around.

The next drawer contained some bandages and materials for stitches. She held onto those as well and moved onto the cabinets above. Using her crutch to help her stand up, she began opening cabinets.

"I found some painkillers." Clementine informed, Javi slaps Lingard across the face hard just as she tells him.

"Damn, he's really out of it." Javi rubs his neck.

"Yeah, he is." Clementine took a pill and then stuffed the bottle of painkillers into her pocket.

"You find anything that might wake this poor bastard up?"

Clementine shook her head.

"Guess we're just sitting here till he wakes up."

Clementine sat back down the painkiller had started to kick in. Her leg went from feeling like it was being burned over a fire, to just an extreme throbbing. Which to her was tolerable compared to everything else she's been through.

They waited for a short while, Javi making conversation with her to pass the time.

Paul began to stir.

"Clementine? What a surprise. Thought you'd never wake up. How's everythin' been?" His voice was tired and the man was still woozy.

"Fine." Clementine didn't feel like interacting with the man more than she had to.

"Ah, Javier. Thought you were rotting in a cell with David. There any chance he got out, too? I hate to think about what Joan might do to him. Despite all her pleasantries, she's a cruel bitch."

"No, but a lot of the guards aren't exactly up to snuff with her plan."

"That's good… gives him a chance."

"Enough of this, we need you to help us out tomorrow. Joan can't get her way."

"I'd like to… but Joan's roundin' everyone up. It'll be a bloodbath."

Clementine started getting fed up with the quack of a doctor.

"She can't win. Almost a third of the guards are still loyal, and her deal with the militia isn't going to go the way she thinks."

Lingard sat there listening, before giving a sluggish nod.

"Fine. I'll help you out. Your brother's done a lot for me. I'm just returnin' the favor."

'Finally.' Clementine stood up and hopped towards the door. Javi followed soon after and opened the door for her.

"You should be in a hospital bed."

Clementine saw Ava smirking straight at her.

'Still bald.'

"Yeah." Clementine grumbled and looked away.

"You all good?" Ava switches her tone to a serious one as she moves her gaze to Javi.

"Yeah, we're all set."

"Let's roll." Ava leads them outside the building.

Javi leads them to an apartment building, and up to a room. Javi opens the door and they enter.

"Javi, you're back! And... Clementine." Tripp sounded almost disappointed.

"Jeez kid, should you even be moving?" Tripp gave her a surprising amount of concern considering what had happened in the warehouse.

"Guys, this is Ava, she's-" Javi begins introducing the bald woman but is cut off.

"Oh, yeah, I know who she is. She's got a hell of a punch."

Clementine raised an eyebrow towards Tripp and looked at Ava. She guessed that maybe size didn't actually matter after all.

"Nice to meet you." Eleanor greeted.

"Good to see ya, Ava." Tripp followed Eleanor's example.

"Kate's lying down in the other room for a bit." Eleanor pointed towards a bedroom.

"So you got the guns, huh?"

Clementine looked at the duffel bag Javi was carrying. She was wondering why he was carrying that around, now she knew why.

"Yep, got a couple of rifles, and some pistols." Javi then began handing them around. When he got to her, he hesitated.

"You think you can protect Mariana and Kate for me?"

Clementine nodded, she wasn't in fighting condition, even if it pissed her off. But that's what she gets for getting herself in a car wreck.

"Thanks." Javi handed her a Glock and some ammo.

Clementine looked around the apartment once she took the gun and decided to lay down on a couch. The exhaustion was getting to her, and the painkiller she took made her a bit drowsy. She stopped paying attention to the conversations happening as she placed her right arm over her eyes.

Sudden yelling prevented her from falling asleep. Talks about some truck in an outpost, it didn't matter to her now though, she only cared about getting some rest.

"Clem?"

She groaned as she removed her arm from her eyes and turned to see who had bothered her.

"Wha-" Clementine saw Becca standing a few feet away, a look of horror and concern on the older teen's face.

"What happened to you?"

"Car wreck." Clementine laid her head back down on the couch.

Becca sat down on a chair nearby.

"You okay?"

"Peachy."

Clementine at this point didn't feel like being bothered to have a conversation at this point. She just wanted to get some sleep while the painkiller was doing its job.

"Al and I are heading back home soon. Do you wan-"

"Becca, we can talk about this tomorrow but right now I'm tired and everything hurts. So please, just let me get some sleep." Clementine shut Becca down and immediately tried going back to sleep.

A soft nudge on her shoulder brought her out of her slumber.

"Clementine wake up." Eleanor was kneeling next to her.

"I need to change your bandages."

Clementine yawned, she lifted her head up and noticed the red splotches soaking through her left pant leg. She groaned and moved to sit up, the painkiller had definitely worn off at this point.

"Let me take these off for you, just take this in the meantime." Eleanor handed her a pill and some water, which Clementine took without a second thought. She let out a loud gasp as alcohol was used to clean the stitches on her leg. What caused her to need the stitches was anyone's guess, probably glass shards cutting against her leg and she didn't realize or notice until now. Adrenaline was a wondrous thing after all.

The bandaging wasn't all that bad, but it certainly wasn't very pleasant.

"Alright, don't put your left boot on until you can walk on it by the way. Makes it easier for me to clean your wounds, and it'll hurt less." Eleanor ordered as she helped Clementine get her jeans back on.

Clementine would've usually been stubborn, but right now she was no better than a cripple, a hindrance all things considered.

"Where is everyone?" Clementine asked, suddenly noticing how empty it was.

"Stealing a truck at some outpost Ava told them about. Kate chose to leave with them, so it's just you, me, and Javi's niece."

Clementine attempted to stand but started to feel really woozy all of a sudden and nearly fell forward.

"Woah there. Don't get up, just lay back down on that couch." Eleanor gently caught her and placed her back on the couch.

"I'll watch out for anyone coming along. Just get some more sleep."

Clementine tiredly nodded her head and passed out.

When Clementine finally woke up again, she noticed Eleanor was gone. She grabbed her crutch and stood up, she began to search the apartment. Only finding Mariana sleeping on a bed.

"Hey." Clementine called out Mariana, waking the ten year old.

"Huh?"

"Where's Eleanor?"

"I dunno." Mariana stretched loudly.

"Where the…" Clementine checked the hallway. Completely empty of a single soul or voice.

Gunshots cause her to jump, making her accidentally drop her crutch and fall to the ground. She yelped loudly as she attempted to get back up.

"You okay?" Mariana runs to her side and helps her stand.

"No, not really. C-can you hand me that?" Clementine points to the crutch on the ground.

Mariana nods and quickly grabs it for her, and Clementine immediately places it under her left arm.

"What's going on out there?" Mariana runs to check a window down the hall.

"Wait up!" Clementine slowly hops her way towards the window. Her eyes widened at the scene below, thousands upon thousands of walkers outside the walls.

More gunshots rang out, and then a loud boom reverberated throughout the building. Shaking her bones, and making her use Mariana for support as the pain exacerbated.

'The fuck is happening?!' Clementine quickly hopped to the window across from this one.

War enveloped the streets, infighting between those who supported Joan, and those who supported David. Tear gas filled the air, and walkers swarmed the streets.

"Jesus..."