Clementine ran without stopping for even the smallest noise that set her off, not even the faintest sound of a Walker could stop her. Thankfully, her marathon was coming to an end as she saw the cabin in the distance.

Thank God!

The little one sprints into the back door of the log cabin and finds Rebecca and Carlos sitting at the kitchen table. The latter of the two stood to his feet. "Clementine, are you alright? Luke's not with you?"

"Where's Alvin?!" Rebecca shouted in a panic.

"Is Elijah here?"

"No," Carlos shook his head. "What happened?"

"We got attacked by walkers by the stream and we got separated, Elijah went with Pete and I went with Nick."

"What?!"

"Then why isn't Nick with you?"

"More Walkers got us separated as it got darker outside," Clementine lied through her teeth knowing that they probably wouldn't like hearing that she left Nick alone and drunk in a shed.

"My God..."

"Where were you? Where were you two exactly?!" Rebecca demanded.

"We were by this old shed that used to make whiskey, it was at least a mile away from here."

"We gotta go!"

Carlos turned to Rebecca before she decided anything rash. "Just hold on a minute-"

"My husband is still out there!" But Rebecca was already three steps ahead. "Get the guns!" She orders the Spanish man and he hesitantly leaves the kitchen, the pregnant woman then turns to the little girl. "Luke and Alvin went out looking for all of you. I told them not to go. Damn it, Luke!"

"Here!" Carlos returned within thirty seconds with two hunting rifles in hand, he handed one of them to Rebecca and she wasted no time to leave. "Clementine," The 'doctor' turns to Clementine with a pleading look. "Can you...can you please watch Sarah?"

You've gotta be kidding me...

"She's upstairs," Carlos continued. "Just distract her and don't tell her anything. She gets nervous."

"Just go," Clementine honestly just wanted them to leave so they could find the others and not hear his excuses. "Hurry."

Carlos nods to her response. "You'll be safe inside. Just don't open the doors for anything. We'll be back soon."

Carlos leaves the cabin and Clementine sighs as she brings the palm of her hand to her face. "First he says, 'Stay away from my daughter,' now he's telling me to babysit her? Make up your mind..."

Deciding it's no good to try and make any logical sense of the Spanish 'doctor's' logic, Clementine heads upstairs to the second floor to check on Sarah. She opens the door of her room and is met with her holding up an instant camera.

"Say 'cheese'!" The initial flash of the camera blinds Clementine for a second, Sarah pulls out the instant photo with a huge smile on her face. "I found this in a box under the house. There was all kinds of old stuff!" Sarah hands him the picture she took of Clementine, the little one cringes at how bad she made her look. "It's so cool!"

You're definitely not photographer material, Sarah.

"Take one of me!" Sarah offers her the camera. "Come on, take one of me. Please?"

"I'm really not in the mood, Sarah," But Clementine was a little curious of how much more film the camera had left.

"Sorry. I just wanted to cheer you up," Sarah obliges herself to take a selfie with the camera while making a silly face. "Isn't this the best?"

Yeah, I'm left alone in the middle of the woods while my friend is out there with a bitten guy. This is just the greatest.

"What's wrong?" Sarah noticed Clementine's annoyed and worried expression. "Um... Where's my dad?"

"You should know what's going on," Clementine decides not to keep Sarah in the dark like an ignorant child. "He and Rebecca went out to look for the others."

"What...What happened?"

"Pete got bit by the stream, my brother is with him now."

"..." Sarah turned away from Clementine and started taking several deep breaths, it shook more and more with every intake.

"Sarah?"

"Sorry, I just need to..." Sarah sits down on the floor and wraps her arms around her knees.

Oh, boy... This might be more complicated than I thought. If hearing that was enough to make her like this, I don't know how long she could survive out there...or if she even can.

"...You wanna see what I found?" Sarah looked back up from her legs and reached underneath the bed, she eventually pulled out a pistol and stood up straight with the weapon in her hand. "Will you show me how to use it? I couldn't find any bullets."

How did she get her hands on that?!

"I should know how, right? What if I have to use one? Nobody tells me anything..."

Well, someone has to be the one to do it. "Okay. But it's not a toy."

"I know," Sarah aimed the pistol away from Clementine but kept it really close to her face, the sights was almost an inch away from her glasses.

I've got my work cut out for me. "Okay. First of all, you're holding it wrong," Clementine helped Sarah readjust the way she was currently holding the pistol, now Sarah was holding it how Clementine normally would. "Second of all, it's just a thing."

"What does that mean?"

"My brother taught me that I shouldn't be afraid of picking up a gun, but I should be worried when other people do."

"I guess that makes sense, I thought it would be heavier. What else should I know?"

"You never want to aim from the hip with any kind of gun, you'll spread bullets all over the place and look like an ass."

"Swear."

Jesus Christ... "When you're ready to fire, you squeeze on the trigger, not pull."

"Why?"

"So that way you have a better grip on the gun when it kicks, another friend taught me that. Also, a second before you take a shot, you should take a deep breath." Sarah followed her directions and inhaled a lot. "Not that big," Clementine sighed. "You just do it for a second so you're more accurate that way."

"Right," Sarah takes a moment to practice holding the pistol. What should I shoot?" She asked as she turned around...accidentally aiming the weapon at Clementine's head.

"Well, not me!" She ducked and Sarah lowered the pistol.

"S-Sorry! Sorry!"

"Gimme that!" Clementine snatches the gun from Sarah. "You never point this at anyone unless you're ready to hurt them, got that?!"

"Okay! I'm sorry!" Clementine keeps the pistol in her pocket and Sarah goes over to the window. "Maybe we could practice outside? There's that old tree we could shoot."

"We don't want to attract any unwanted attention with the gunfire."

"Good point, but..." Sarah saw something outside the window that made her smile. "Hey, I think your brother's back!" She immediately leaves the room but Clementine looks out the window, barely catching a glance of someone moving around the corner of the cabin.

I don't think that was him...

"Oh, wait..." Clementine was about to leave the room before she remembered the camera Sarah found, right next to it were two boxes worth of instant film on the bed. "I think this should belong to someone who actually knows how to take pictures." Clementine takes the film and hides it away in her backpack.

Now with that out of the way, Clementine leaves the bedroom and heads downstairs. Once she was halfway down to the first floor, she saw the figure outside of one of the windows passing by. And judging by the winter coat the stranger was wearing...Clementine knew for a fact that it wasn't Elijah. The little one reaches the bottom of the stairs and finds Sarah, she is hiding herself by the wall that leads down to the front door...where the stranger's silhouette can be seen through the curtained window.

"That's not him," Sarah said, she peeked around the corner but quickly hid herself again. "Clem, I think I know him!"

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"He can't see me!" Sarah began to panic, her voice shook along with her hands.

"Just go upstairs and hide, I'll deal with him."

"Where?!"

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Hello?" The Stranger called into the cabin with a low, raspy voice.

"Clem, I can't breathe... I can't breathe!" Sarah begins hyperventilating but Clementine covers her mouth.

"Shh! You need to stay calm. Go upstairs and hide, I'll find a way to get rid of him, do you understand me?" Sarah nods and Clementine releases her so she can make herself scarce. Once she heard Sarah's footsteps reach the top of the stairs, Clementine slowly approached the front door.

"Hello?" The voice called out again as Clementine reached the door.

Alright, he won't just leave this place alone if he's smart. If I lock the door he'll hear me...so I have no choice. With no alternative option, Clementine was just about to open the door when the stranger opened it for her. It was a man who appeared to be in his mid to late forties with dark brown hair, a drooping mustache with stubble around the rest of his face, and a brown winter coat with a faux white fur collar. His eyes locked with clementine and he greeted her with a friendly grin.

"Hello there."

"...Who are you?"

"Well, actually, I'm your neighbor."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, 'neighbor', but I have a gun."

"Smart girl," He nodded. "It's important to have one to survive out here, but I'm not a bad guy, honey. Promise you that." Clementine had a hard time believing that, especially when she saw the revolver that was holstered around his right leg. "You see, my family and I are set up a ways downriver. Kinda surprised we haven't ran into each other yet. What's your name?"

"...Clementine."

"Clementine," The stranger repeated her name to himself. "Well, you do look like a Clementine."

"What's your name?"

The stranger chuckles at how Clementine asked that question. "My name is George, honey," He offers a handshake to the little girl but Clementine doesn't take it, she doesn't think that's her real name. "Either way, pleasure to meet you. You mind if I come in for a bit?"

"..." He's not gonna take no for an answer either way. "No, I guess not."

The stranger comes inside the cabin and closes the door behind him, he takes a moment to take in the layout of the first floor and all of the decorations plastered on the walls. "This is a nice place. Is there anyone around? You don't usually see cabins this big out here. Sure could pack a lot of folks in there," He points to the living room.

"Just me and my brother..." Clementine decided to be vague with her answers just like Molly taught her, she can't give away too much information to this man.

"Yeah? And what's his name?"

"...Elijah."

"Elijah?" 'George' repeats that name quietly to himself, he seems to take pause as a look of...familiarity overtakes his slightly wrinkled face. "Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Where is he now?"

"He's...out, hunting for our dinner for the next week."

"Smart, but I doubt he'll find much out there."

"..."

"Well, I'll cut to the chase;" The stranger started the next conversation after Clementine's silence. "I'm looking for my people, seven of them to be exact. They've been gone a while and...I'm worried they might've gotten lost. Maybe you and your brother've seen 'em. Couple of farm boys and an old man... Spanish guy and his daughter, quiet girl, but taller than you. A big black guy, this big," He holds his arms out in front of him to imitate an oversized fellow. "And a pretty little pregnant lady."

Okay, this is definitely who these guys are running from. "That's a lot of people to lose."

"Tell me about it," He frowned. "This whole damn thing's a pain in the ass..." The stranger kept observing the cabin and eventually found himself in the kitchen, Clementine followed and found him overlooking the sink filled with countless dirty dishes. "That's a lotta plates for two people. Looks like a tornado ran through here."

"Yeah, well, we don't really stick around one place," Clementine states, she then notices a knife that was set down on a nearby counter. Crap...

"Y'all just passin' through, or you been here a while? Don't tell me you and your brother are one of those nuts headed up north lookin' for Shangri-La. Not sure why you'd go anywhere after findin' this place. Hell, I just got here and I already don't want to leave."

"We've heard rumors, so it has to be out there."

"Sure, but I don't believe it, not one bit. I don't get it. Just as much nothin' up there as there is down here. And I can't stand that Yankee weather."

"Have you been north?"

"Well, not since...before," The stranger's voice trailed off. "But I've heard things."

THUMP!

'George' looks up when a loud thud is heard from the second floor. "What's that?"

Dammit, Sarah! "Probably just a branch landing on the roof or something."

"..." The stranger seems to buy Clementine's words and walks back into the living room, Clementine follows him at a good distance. "Like I said, this is a real nice place. Kinda cozy," But his eyes stop when they see a yellow plaid shirt that was draped over the couch. "I knew a guy that always wore shirts like this. Doctor. Real smug sonuva bitch. But a smart man..."

"What's his name?"

"Carlos."

Yep, I figured that's what you were gonna say.

"Well, well," The stranger had his eyes set on a chessboard that was set on the coffee table. "White's in trouble. Only three moves away from checkmate..."

Clementine noticed something sticking out from the man's back pocket as the stranger overlooked the chessboard. At first, it looked like a random piece of black cloth, but when Clementine got a closer look... What the fuck? The little girl's eyes widened when she saw the familiar white and blue butterfly that was embroidered on the piece of cloth, there was no doubt in her mind that this was the signature beanie that her brother would always wear. But the last person to have it...was Molly.

"Hmm?" The man noticed the little one's gaze and smiled. "Ah, like what you see there?" He pulled the woven headpiece from his pocket. "Knew someone before all of this who wore somethin' like this every day...but that was a long time ago."

"...Where are they now?" Clementine hesitantly asked, she didn't know who this man could possibly be referring to...but she did have an idea that made her sick to her stomach.

"Probably dead," The man shrugged, pocketing the beanie back in his pants. "you know how it is these days." Clementine didn't really like how resentful his tone was. "Whatcha got there?" The man eyed down the ice pick that was hanging from the little one's backpack.

"I found it, some...dead guy had it."

"Smart weapon to have, that'll-"

CREAK!

At the sound of an old wooden door, the stranger looked up to the second floor...and he swore he thought he saw a bedroom door close. "I thought you said your brother's out."

For God's sake, Sarah... "He is out, I didn't hear anything."

"Hmm..."

'George' drew his revolver and headed upstairs, where he supposedly saw the door close. Clementine followed and silently prayed that Sarah's hiding skills were as good as her noise-making skills. Once the man approached the room, he entered the bedroom with his pistol aimed out and ready to fire, but no one was in the room. Clementine entered, bewildered by Sarah's sudden disappearance. But the little one soon saw that she was hiding underneath the bed.

For the love of God, Sarah, hide better! Clementine made a scooting motion with her left foot before addressing the adult. "I told you, nobody's here."

"Seems that way," The man holsters his revolver back on his leg. "Didn't mean to be rude, couldn't just leave you here with a good conscience if someone was pokin' around, right?"

"Sure..."The man was about to leave the room...but something on the floor caught his eye. Oh, crap... He reached down to pick up...an instant photo of a certain little girl with glasses, 'George' held up so Clementine could see...bearing a knowing smile.

"Who's this?"

"...How should I know?" Clementine crossed her arms over her chest. "Could be some kid who used to live here."

"...Must be," The man pockets the photo and stares down the eleven-year-old girl...knowing full and well that the barrier between them is slowly fading. "You have no idea who these people are, do you?"

So, no more bullshit? "Do you know them?"

"Lemme ask you this. When you met 'em, how much did they trust you?"

"Well, they locked me and my brother up in a shed."

"If people don't trust you, how can you trust them?" Clementine didn't answer and kept her nerve intact as she stared up at the scruffy man, she showed no fear or even the slightest hint of weakness. "Well, I think I've troubled you long enough. I can let myself out."

When the man leaves the bedroom, Clementine follows him and watches him trot downstairs from the railing. "Don't come back," she warns as he reaches the first floor. He looks back up at her with a blank, vacant expression, his scratchy voice boring into the girl's soul.

"You have a real good day, now."

With how he says that the little one knew for sure that he will remember this...

Clementine waited until she heard the clicking of the front door before she went back into the bedroom, Sarah came out of her hiding space underneath the bed. "Where is he?" She asked.

"He's gone."

"What if he comes back?"

"Then we make sure he doesn't hurt us," Clementine removes the pistol from her pocket and holds it firmly in her hand.

"You'd...shoot someone?"

"Sarah. One of the many rules of survival...it's the dead we don't have to be afraid of."

Approximately one hour later...

Clementine spent as much time as she could teaching Sarah how to hold a weapon properly, only now she was the one holding the pistol because she didn't trust her after what happened the last time she was holding on to it.

"Don't you think I should try holding it now?"

"I don't know," Clementine raised an eyebrow at the girl and a frown tugged down on her lips. "Can you keep yourself from aiming it at me? Again?"

"I said I was sorry!"

"I know, but that still doesn't change the fact that you aimed a gun at me."

"It's not even loaded!"

"A gun can be just as dangerous even without bullets, Sarah."

"Fine..." Sarah looks off to the side, feeling the silence take over. "How much longer do you think until everyone is back?"

"I don't know, but I'm getting tired of waiting around." I'm also tired of trying to teach you for the past hour. Clementine sighs and puts the gun in her pocket. "We need to find the others." She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulders, the next thing she grabbed was Hilda and she held it firmly in her hand.

"We're going out? But-"

"Sometimes we can't just wait, Sarah. Now come on." Clementine storms into the kitchen...just in time to find the rest of the cabin group coming back.

"Clementine!" Luke was the first one to enter and greet her.

"Sarah!" Carlos greeted her daughter as she ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Your brother here?" Luke spoke up to Clementine. "What about Pete? They told me that y'all split up at the river."

"No," Clementine shook her head. "Did you guys find Nick?"

"Yeah, but..." Luke's face grimaced as Alvin and Rebecca carried a slumped-over Nick into the kitchen and set him down at the dining table. "Alvin and I found him passed out drunk in a shed."

"I just need an aspirin..." Nick's words slurred as his head slammed down onto the table.

"Boy, you need a damn-"

"A man was here," Sarah's words cut off Alvin's snarky remark, and everyone looked at her with shock overtaking their faces.

"What?!"

"Someone came to the cabin."

"What?!"

"Clementine talked to him."

Godammit, Sarah! Way to break it to everyone gently!

"And you just opened the door for him?!"

"Calm down, Rebecca."

"Calm down?!" Rebecca did the opposite of what Luke said to do. "I am calm! You calm down!"

"He was coming in either way," Clementine says.

"I told you not to open the door for anyone."

"What was I supposed to do? He had a gun! I handled it."

"Did he say his name?" Carlos questioned. "Did he say what his name was?"

"He said his name was 'George'."

"George?"

"That's what he said," Clementine confirms Rebecca's confusion. "But I'm pretty sure he was lying."

"Cono... Look, Clem, just..." Carlos tried to find the right words. "Tell us what he looked like. What was he wearing? Did he sound...different? How old was he?"

What's with the third degree? "He looked like he was in his forties, and he had a brown winter coat."

"Did it have a lining? A collar?"

"Yeah," Clementines nods. "It was fake fur."

"He talked about you, Dad," Sarah mentioned.

"He specifically said your name too," Clem added.

"You're not going to hurt anyone, are you?"

"Of course he won't, Sarah," Luke answered the scared girl. "Your dad's the nicest man I know, which is why he's not gonna do anything crazy, or...not nice. Right?"

Carlos nods before holding his daughter by the shoulders. "You know these are bad people, sweetie. They will do or say anything to hurt us."

"Alright, what do you think?" Luke asks Clementine. "Did it seem like he's be coming back?"

"Definitely," She nods.

"He..." Sarah nervously holds up an instant photo in between her fingers, handing it to her father. "He saw a picture of me."

"A picture?!" Carlos snatches the film from Sarah which makes her flinch. "What were you doing taking pictures?!"

"Carlos," Luke tries to step in before he can lose his temper.

"What?!"

"You need to calm down, alright? You're scaring your daughter."

"She just found it and thought it was cool," Clem adds.

"I don't care how 'cool' it is!"

"Then just chill out! It's over and now we deal with it!"

"...HE was scouting," Carlos lets go of his rising anger and turns to his group. "We got lucky. He wasn't expecting to find us. Clementine must have surprised him. If she hadn't been there... Well, he was too smart to stick around. But he'll be back with the rest. We don't have much time."

"He's right," Luke agrees. "Everyone pack up. We're moving out."

"Alvin, wait!" Rebecca chases after her husband after he leaves the kitchen angrily.

"We have to leave now, sweetie," Carlos said to his daughter softly, his anger almost gone. "before he comes back with more bad guys. But it's gonna be okay. Let's just go get your things."

"Who exactly is he?" Clementine demanded to know. "What does he want with you?"

"To bring us back. I don't know what he told you, Clementine, but William Carver is a dangerous man. He's the leader of a camp not far from here, and he's very smart. We were lucky to escape. Look, I'm sorry to involve you, but now that he's seen you, you'll be safer with us. We have to leave."

"First, we need to find Elijah," Luke speaks up.

"And Pete!" Nick, now more sober than he was hours ago, stood from the table.

"We'll get 'em both on the way out, Nick. Clementine, do you remember which way-"

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

WHISTLE! WHISTLE! WHISTLE!

All heads turned and paused as the sound of someone pounding on the back door of the cabin echoed throughout everyone's eardrums. Sarah immediately hides behind her father, Luke and Nick move their hands directly to their weapons, and Clementine, who understands the meaning behind the whistling bold of the bunch, moves to the back door.

"Clementine! Don't!"

Unfortunately for the Spanish doctor, Clementine didn't listen to him and opened the door. The metallic stench of blood permeates the kitchen as a certain young man stumbles into the cabin, carrying a pale, sickly old man over his shoulders.

"Elijah!"

"Uncle Pete!"

"Make room!" Elijah moves Pete's body over to the table after Clementine clears everything off, he sets him down on his back and everyone else gathers around them.

"What the hell happened?!" A distraught Nick shouts. "What did you do to him?!"

"He was bitten back at the stream," Elijah wipes the sweat and dry blood from his face. "we've been cramped in a damn truck for the whole day, fought like hell just to get him back here."

After hearing all of the commotion, Alvin and Rebecca returned to the kitchen. "What the hell's going on in here?"

"Oh, my God..." The latter of the two stood in shock as she saw her friend nearly lifelessly on the table. "Pete!

"The hell happened?"

"This is what a bitten person looks like," Elijah points to Pete's ankle while giving Carlos a nasty look. "And that is what a real walker bite looks like, better take note of that, 'Doc'!"

"Woah," The cabin's voice of reason, Luke, steps in to ease any more rising tension. "take it easy there, man."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you have to fight through a horde of walkers for hours just so you could get a bitten guy back to a cabin in the middle of the woods? No? Then kindly shut the hell up, I have had a long fuckin' day."

"All of ya...just shut the hell up!"

"Uncle Pete!" Nick rushed to his side after hearing his pained coughs and croaking voice, unconsciously taking his right hand and immediately felt how cold and pasty his skin had already become. "Can...can you hear me?"

"Nick... Son..." Pete tried his hardest to give his beloved nephew a warm smile despite the pain throughout his entire body. "You're...a good boy..."

"Pete..."

"Sorry, I...treated ya..." Pete coughs in pain, and a small amount of blood drips out of the corner of his mouth. "like a bag of hammers... You just...need to...keep your head on straight."

"Is Pete going to...?"

"Yes, Sarah," Elijah answers before Carlos can get a chance to coddle the girl. "This is what happens out there, people die if you're not ready to survive," He says his last part while glaring at the Spanish doctor. "O Sobrevives...o mueres." (Either you survive...or you die.)

"Nick," Luke tries to pull Pete's nephew away...because he knows what has to be done now, he hugs his friend but Nick can't bring himself to return the warm gesture.

"I'm so sorry, Uncle Pete..."

"Move aside," Elijah speaks coldly...removing the sickle from his belt.

"Wh-What are you doing?"

"...Making sure that he won't come back," Elijah didn't even bother looking back at the doctor's daughter when she asked that naive question.

Before anyone could protest, the young man swings his farm tool down into Pete's skull, the old man's body twitches from the initial blow but his body stops spasming after another second. Everyone minus a certain little girl either gasped in shock or looked away from the mercy killing of their friend, Carlos covered his daughter's eyes by bringing her into a hug. Elijah cleans his blade with a cloth that has been resting on the table, his eyes unchanging as the blood is wiped away from the stainless steel.

"Christ..."

"Damn, kid..."

"It's okay, sweetie..."

"Pete..."

"I don't like it any more than y'all do," Elijah says. "But would any of you want to come back as one of them? I know I sure as hell don't."

"...I wanna bury him."

"That's a luxury we can't afford, Nick," Luke says with a sigh. "We need to get moving before they find us."

Elijah...

"Can't get a damn break..." First, my friends got separated from us, I got bit by a dog, locked in a shed, had a little girl stitch up my arm, then got chased by walkers until I got locked in a truck with a bitten guy, now Clem and I have to stay with these guys just because they're on the run from some guy and his group. "Pendejadas..."

"You said it," Clem whispers to me as we lagged behind the rest of the group. "Do you really think this is the best move? I mean, we still have to find Molly and Christa."

"I know, but I have a feeling that they're not going north anymore, not with how we found those dead people by the river. Molly never goes anywhere without Hilda and we didn't find their bodies, so my gut's telling me that they're with these 'people' that are chasing after them."

"How can you be sure?"

"I'm not," I sigh. "But it's my best assumption, we'll have a better chance of finding them with a bigger group than just the two of us."

"...Elijah?"

"Yeah?" I looked over to Clementine, my tone shifting to a more concerning one as I saw the distraught look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"It's about the man who came to the cabin... He was carrying your beanie."

Clem's confession nearly made me stop in my tracks. "What?"

"It was in his pocket, he said that he used to know someone who wore it all the time."

"...Are you sure it was mine? Black?" Clementine nods. "Blue and white butterfly embroidered on the end?" Another nod. "...What was the man's name again?"

"He said it was George, but I'm pretty sure he was lying."

"..." I don't want to ask...but I have to know. "Did the others tell you who it might've been? Like that...Carver guy?"

"That's what they said, 'William Carver'..."

"..." It can't be... Of all fuckin' people... There's just no way it can be him... It's just a goddamn name... Before my mind could start running with the worst possible thoughts, Luke's voice brought me back to reality.

"You two alright back there?"

"We're fine!" Clem answers so I don't have to.

"Good, 'cause I figure we got about four or five days to reach those mountains. Now, of they're trackin' us, we should be able to lose 'em up there."

"Five days?"

"It's gonna be okay, Bec."

"We have to keep moving now. It's our only choice."

While the cabin group talked ahead of us, Clementine held onto my shaking hand. I can imagine she's probably concerned about me. "You look pale... Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," I nod. But internally, I'm fighting a losing battle with my nerves. I still can't believe that a man like him has such an effect on me even after he wasn't even there for the rest of my life. Even if it's him, what the fuck is he gonna do? You're not the same scrawny kid all those years ago, there's nothing he could do to make you weak.

"Here," Clementine brings me out of my inner dialogue, handing me...instant film? "This'll make you feel better."

"Where'd you get this?"

"I have my ways..." She smirked, making me laugh.

"Thanks, Kiddo," I give her hand a gentle squeeze and put the film in my pocket. At least Clem is still here to act as my silver lining...ironic considering that I'm the one who has to take care of her. But for now, all can really do is hope I can find my friends and keep Clementine safe without messing up again...

But something tells me that we're probably not going to see the last of these 'people' the others have mentioned...