Chapter 30
Clementine watches the door from behind the couch with her pistol out. She ordered Mariana to stay in the bedroom until she came to get her or someone else did.
The thudding of multiple footsteps running up the many sets of stairs made her tense.
The doorknob began to turn, but she made sure to lock it beforehand. Then loud banging shook the door violently.
"Clementine it's us!" Javi shouted from behind the door.
"Mariana come out! I need you to open the door for me." Clementine stood up slowly and hopped over to follow the younger girl who had already begun to run towards the door.
"Uncle Javi! Dad!" Mariana hugged the two men.
Javi returned the hug, but David squeezed himself out of it.
"Not now Mariana. We're busy."
Mariana was saddened by David's rejection but moved out of the way.
'Asshole.' Clementine thought as she watched Mariana walk away.
Javi and some of the others quickly flooded the room as they began to grab anything of import.
"Clementine, I need you and Mariana to stay here just a bit longer."
"What the fuck happened out there?!" Clementine hadn't seen Becca or Al arrive with them, which had her worried.
"We got Joan, but during the fighting a hole might've been blown into the wall and the muertos are seeping in."
"Where's…" She cut herself off as she saw Becca run through the door.
"They're both fine. Al had to go make a call to someone on his radio. Becca's gonna stay here with you until David and I can figure something out."
Clementine sat down on one of the kitchen stools, rubbing her forehead from the stress of this entire situation. Right now there were potentially tens of thousands of walkers threatening to plow through the city, and she couldn't even run or walk ten feet without falling or hurting herself.
"Clem?" Becca sat down next to her.
"Yeah?"
"Sorry for treating you like shit. I... it was wrong."
Clementine sighed and put her hand down.
"It's fine. I deserved it."
"No! No you didn't. I didn't want to understand your side. If it was me and... Shel instead, I'd probably do the same."
"What happened to Shel?" Clementine caught on to the way Becca hesitated.
"She..." A quiet sniffle escaped Becca.
"She died a few days after the baby was born."
'Oh.' Clementine looked down at the kitchen table.
"What about the baby?" Clementine hoped that the answer was a good one.
"Stillborn."
"Sorry." Clementine cursed in her head.
"Shel wanted to name her after you..." Becca laughed, but it wasn't a happy one.
Clementine rubbed her eyes with her sleeve.
'I should've been there.' Clementine scolded herself.
They took a minute before continuing their conversation.
"Anyways, last night I was going to ask you if you wanted to come with us back to Tennessee."
"Would that be okay? Won't Bill you know, be pissed?" Clementine was curious on how that'd work out.
"That's what Al's taking care of. He'll explain things once he gets back." Becca explained, her eyes still red.
"S-sure. I'd like that." Clementine smiled softly.
"Javi! Grab everyone! We gotta go! I have a plan!" David yelled from outside the apartment.
"Or not." Becca slumped.
"Coming! Uh, you two stay here until we get back." Javi and the others bolted outside, leaving the two of them alone.
"Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" Clementine asked, wondering about what happened before the fighting.
"Not really. Just some sneaking around and shooting. Eleanor betrayed us, but nothing came out of it thankfully."
"Betrayed?"
"She told Joan about our plan. How'd she even get out without you noticing?"
Clementine thought back to the pill Eleanor had given her when she changed her bandages. The extreme drowsiness and woozy feeling she felt minutes after.
"She drugged me." Clementine blurted once she made the realization.
"She what?!"
"When you all left, she woke me up to change the bandages on my leg. She gave me a pill that I thought was just a painkiller. I remember becoming really tired and dizzy all of a sudden. Then I woke up to the sound of the gunshots."
"That bitch!" Becca cursed and clenched her fists.
"The second this is over I'm giving her a piece of my mind."
Clementine held back a snort, it was nice being able to talk normally to Becca again. But she had a sneaking feeling that this was only possible due to her nearly dying a few days prior.
"You think everyone will be alright?" Clementine asked, changing the mood.
Becca gave her a strange look before smiling.
"That's better." Becca smiled, a genuine real smile.
"What?" Clementine was confused at what she was talking about.
"You were all moody and depressed last time I saw you. Back when you were still… you know."
Clementine frowned, she remembered that time vividly.
"When I couldn't speak… I forgot or didn't want to remember how I sounded. It drove me mad for years… I miss it sometimes." Clementine admitted.
"Why?"
"People left me alone when I didn't want to be bothered. But after Phoenix… did those things and made me hurt people like that… I saw their faces everywhere and I was afraid, angry, and I just wanted to be left alone. It was nice, being alone, but now I realize that I hated it. Stuck with nothing but my thoughts that were just constantly flashing those images in my mind and hearing that terrible voice." Clementine choked up and removed her hat.
"So that's why you couldn't look us in the eyes." Becca whispered to herself.
Clementine checked her waistband for Kenny's hat, but remembered these weren't the old jeans.
"Shit! Where are my old clothes?!" Clementine panicked and nearly fell to the ground as she rushed off the stool, being stopped by Becca catching her.
"The hospital maybe? I don't know, I wasn't there when they found you."
"Kenny's hat is with them! I need to find it!" Clementine hopped to the door, her better judgment thrown out the window.
"Woah, Clem. You can't go out there." Becca cut her off and blocked the door.
"Becca you don't understand. I made a promise to give it to his kid. I can't… I need to find it." Clementine begged desperately.
"No! Stay here. I'll find it for you. It was the red and white one right?" Becca made Clementine sit on the couch as she ran back to the door.
"Yes… thank you, Becca."
"Don't mention it." Becca ran out of the apartment, leaving Clementine alone with Mariana who was still in the bedroom.
"Be safe." She whispered to no one.
Clementine bit her nails as time passed and Becca didn't return. Her mind was racing, panic running through her, and the soreness of her body wasn't helping.
"Calm down Clementine. She'll be fine."
Clementine looked around the room trying to distract herself. A bookshelf caught her attention, it was something at least. She hopped towards it and began to search for anything she might be interested. Her eyes fell on a survival book, a smile broke out across her face. She grabbed the book and began reading it.
"A mushroom with skin that can be used as a bandaid?" A strange concept in her mind. Who even figured that one out?
"Clementine?" Mariana exited the bedroom with a worried look.
"Yeah?" Clementine put the book back.
"When are they getting back?"
Clementine frowned, "Soon I hope."
Mariana didn't like that response but did her best not to show it. Javi was right about her being a strong kid. Clementine wondered what her brother would've been like.
Clementine suddenly had a thought. Did Mariana know how to protect herself?
"You know how to shoot?"
"Like a gun? No…" Mariana tilted her head, wondering about the sudden question.
"Wanna learn how?"
"M-my dad said he'd teach me."
Clementine looked the girl dead in the eyes. She was definitely lying, David didn't seem like the type to catch onto these things.
"Think about it as getting ahead. David can get really mean when it comes to these things. Trust me I know." Clementine gave a half-truth, David had extreme anger issues that wasn't a lie. But he never taught her shit, he just didn't really like her.
"I uh…" Mariana was struggling to find the words to refuse.
"Come on. It's not that scary. What if you have to protect someone you love from a walker or something but you're too scared to shoot?"
That seemed to hit Mariana hard, the clenched fists, the distant look.
"O-okay."
Mariana approached Clementine, and she grabbed her gun from her waistband.
"Alright, we don't exactly have the best place to do this right now, so we're just gonna get you used to holding it alright?" Clementine removed the magazine and racked the slide to empty the chamber.
"Uh-huh." Mariana oogled the gun that was placed in her hands.
Clementine spent a while getting Mariana used to carrying her pistol. Becca and the others had still yet to return as it began raining.
"What is taking so long?" Clementine thought out loud.
"Maybe they got stuck somewhere?"
A loud, thunderous noise drowned out the sound of rain. Not lightning, but kind of like a vehicle of some kind.
"I'll be right back. Give me the gun."
Mariana handed it back to her and Clementine inserted the magazine. She checked the window in the hallway that showed the part of the city that was previously protected by walls. A large dozer was rolling through the countless number of walkers.
'They're back!' Clementine returned to Mariana to relay the news. Becca stormed up the stairs as she did, covered head to toe in guts.
"Found it." Becca panted heavily, a bloody hat in her hands, Kenny's hat.
"Thank you." Clementine would've given her a hug, but considering the gunk on her she decided against it for now.
They both returned to the apartment, Becca went to clean herself off in the rain, and Clementine informed Mariana of their return.
The roar of the dozer went on for hours. The clouds cleared up and the number of undead on the streets had lowered considerably. It got to the point that guards were able to go outside to assist, judging by the significant increase in gunshots. Speeding the process up even more.
"How long do you think this'll go on for?" Becca asked her, sitting across from her. They were playing checkers to pass the time.
"All day I think." Clementine took two of Becca's pieces.
"Yeah… I just want to get out of this state to be honest with you. Too many weirdos here. You know there's a group here that wears dead walkers to blend in with herds. Call themselves Whisperers, they're a bunch of sickos."
"Never heard of them." Clementine stated bluntly.
"How? They were like the biggest fucking problem for communities here for like months."
"Becca, you do know I hate being around people I don't know right? The longest time I spent with a group after getting kicked out of The New Frontier was three days." Clementine explained.
"Kinda forgot that you're paranoid like that to be honest. Damn it!" Becca cursed as she lost the game again.
"Loser." Clementine laughed, and Becca flicked her middle finger in response.
"How can she even sleep with all this ruckus?" Becca pointed at the passed out ten year old sitting on a chair.
"Meh, I've slept in herds before." Clementine joked although she wasn't exactly lying.
Becca raised an eyebrow then shook her head, "God you are weird."
"Back at you."
"Hey! I'll have you know that I've gotten a lot better at interacting with others. I've even gotten a boyfriend." Becca crossed her arms in pride.
"Really? I thought no one would ever date you with that personality of yours." Clementine poked fun at the older girl.
"Meh, helps when they're just as socially inept." Becca shrugged.
Clementine snorted at the way Becca just admitted to that.
Someone knocked on the door twice.
"Girls! It's me, Al."
"Coming!" Becca opened the door, and Al walked inside covered in guts.
"Phew, I need a vacation after this." He removed his jacket and plopped down on the couch.
"So you comin' with us Stiff?"
Clementine nodded.
"Alright. Gonna warn you, Bill thinks Joan was keepin' you locked up. I left it up in the air as to why that was." Al informed.
"She told me I reminded her of her own kid when I first met her."
"There we go. A sick ol' lady keeps a girl locked up as a pretend daughter. The injuries we can just chalk up to you barely escapin' and stumblin' upon us." Al decided before laying his head against the couch pillow.
"Now if you'll 'scuse me. Imma hit the sack."
Clementine returned to her checkers match with Becca, moving to the dining room table to play as Al took up an entire couch.
It took three days to clear out the walkers and plug up the hole. Clementine was able to walk without the crutch now, but still couldn't run without making the flare-up. She was standing on the street watching as everyone gave their goodbyes.
The city had seen better days and the guard numbers were low, but luckily they decided to stop shooting at each other once the walkers breached the walls. Most of the guards at least.
David decided to step down from leadership and instead chose to train more guards. Leaving The New Frontier leaderless for now as Clint disappeared, and Paul was busy taking care of the wounded. Javi could do it, the man had shown himself to be a lot smarter than she took him for when they first met. But it was up to him to decide that.
"Clem?" Mariana waved a hand in front of her face.
Clementine hummed in response.
"I wanted to say thank you, for helping us back at the junkyard. Sorry for waiting so long."
Clementine smiled warmly, "Don't mention it."
"Clem! We're leaving." Becca called out, and Clementine waved in acknowledgement.
"Goodbye." Mariana said timidly.
Clementine nodded and headed towards Al and Becca. She sat down in the back of a van they were given in appreciation for their help. Javi waved them off with a grateful smile on his face.
Clementine returned the wave as they began to drive off. The ride would be long, but she didn't mind if it meant getting back home. Even if she wasn't the biggest fan of Bill anymore.
"So what're you gon' do once you get back Stiff?" Al asked her once they left the city.
"I dunno. Haven't thought about it. I've been busy looking for a group of people that I've already killed for the last year and a half." Clementine admitted.
"Hmm, well that's fine. Just know it ain't exactly how you remember things. Bill's still a hardass, but he's got a kid now, well twins actually so he's kind of calmed it down a bit."
"He what?" That was surprising news to her.
"Yeah, him and Carrie hit it off about three months after we thought ya died. The little bastards are menaces I'll tell you what. Don't tell him I said that though." Al chuckled lightly.
"Huh." Clementine nodded to herself.
"Yeah, they're barely two years old and they're runnin' around biting people and calling them names. Mine's Jackass." Becca said a bit proudly.
Clementine couldn't help but laugh at that.
"How big is the Militia now?"
"Hmm, if you just count the outposts and settlements. 'Bouta couple hundred folks. Alliances and whatnot, I'd say 'round two thousand plus easily. Found some big community of a few hundred folks out west in Arkansas. I found them, Bill made pals, and I got the position of makin' friends out here."
She whistled, "Damn. Bill's been busy." An oddly comforting piece of knowledge.
"Yes, he has. I haven't gotten a full night's sleep in months 'til I came over here."
"I never had to deal with that. I mostly just guard things and go with Al sometimes." Becca chipped in.
"Well, you ain't exactly the brightest bulb in the box when it comes to talkin' to folks." Al joking insulted the teen.
"What does that even mean?"
"It means you have no people skills, Becca." Clementine chimed.
"Hey! Clem doesn't either." Becca pouted.
Al gave a hearty laugh.
"Well, this ride is gonna take us more than a few hours. But if things go on like this, it'll be over before we know it."
Clementine stared out the window, taking in the landscape. It was finally over, she'd be back home.
A/N
We've approached the end of Season 3. Which to be honest might be where I wrap things up with this fic as I don't really have a plan on how to actually bring up Season 4. There just doesn't seem to be an obvious motivation to involve West Virginia or bring up The Delta. I personally see Bill forming up an alliance or steamrolling through them all things considered. And considering what causes the lead-up to the season just doesn't exist anymore. There just really isn't a point in bringing it up or writing about it. Maybe an epilogue or something, but other than that, The Delta just isn't a threat to The Militia, and Ericson's is so out of the way of any communities that there just isn't any reason for them to try and look for it.
There'll be a few epilogue chapters after this one, maybe some one-shot chapters detailing other characters like Marcus's return from the fire department, where Grace went, and so on but other than that this fic is finished.
Thank you all for reading this fic, and supporting it.