Clementine

"Nngh..."

Cold, wet, and all alone, Clementine wakes up and feels the freezing water of the creek in her legs. She picks herself off of the ground and crawls more onto the land, coughing a little but not in a sickly manner. Standing up straight and wrapping her arms around herself, Clementine takes a moment to take in her new surroundings. She sees she's still in the woods, but not the one she knew.

"Hello?"

No response was offered for her echoed call, a small pit of fear formed in the bottom of her stomach when her mind came to one conclusion. I'm...alone. Any normal little girl would begin to panic under this circumstance, but Clementine is far from a 'normal' little girl. She steadies her breathing and remembers what she was told to do if she ever got separated from the others.

I just need to keep heading north and whistle three times every five minutes. I'll find them...I hope.

Clementine wastes no more time and starts walking along the creek bank, finding only more forest until she comes along a broken staircase leading up the cliff and further into the woods. If she wasn't alone, Elijah, Molly, or Christa would've given her a boost to get on top of the ledge, but she has to rely on her own skills to get herself up. Lucky for her, she had a blonde ex-courier to teach Clementine how to climb. Clementine takes a few steps back, getting ready to run and use a nearby rock as leverage to jump up to the ledge of the wooden stairs.

Here we go...

Clementine sprints forward, planting her foot on the rock and jumps, she manages to get her upper body over the edge and she pulls herself up. Once she got herself straightened up, she brought her fingers to her mouth and blew.

WHISTLE! WHISTLE! WHISTLE!

Clementine waits for a moment for a chance of any response, but the only one she receives is the call of a few crows throughout the forest. The little one continues on, walking down a dirt path leading deeper into the woods. Along the way, she finds a makeshift grave made with two sticks and a piece of rope, making her remember the many people she has lost in her time of the apocalypse. But she can't think like that right now, she needs to keep moving forward.

Further along the path, deeper into the forest, Clementine finds a sign that reads, 'YOU MAY ENCOUNTER: BLACK BEARS, COYOTES, MOUNTAIN LIONS, POISONOUS SNAKES, OR OTHER SPECIES. BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS'. The girl scoffs in slight annoyance at the warning sign.

Great, more things to worry about. A cool breeze makes the little one feel colder than she already is thanks to her soaked clothes. I really hate this stupid shirt.

RUSTLE...

Clementine suddenly hears a noise coming from a bush deeper along the path, she slowly approaches, reaching for her back pocket...only to find it empty. Dammit, my knife is gone. Seeing that she doesn't have much choice, Clementine peeks around the bush and finds...a dog. It was sniffing the ground but it turned around, picking up the scent of the little girl. When the canine makes eye contact with the little girl, it growls.

"It's okay, boy," Clementine raises her hands, showing that she's not a threat. "It's okay..." She notices the blue collar around the neck of the animal. Curious, she checks it for a name. "'Sam'... Well," She smiles. "it's nice to meet you, Sam."

The dog, seeing that Clementine is no threat, sniffs her hand and soon starts licking it. Friendly little guy, huh? Sam darted his back at the path, letting out a quiet whimper. He walks a good distance away from Clementine and starts sniffing the ground, confusing her. What's he doing?

BARK!

The canine barks when he looks back at the little girl, he then starts sprinting down the path. "Sam! Where are you going? Wait up!" Clementine chases after Sam, soon arriving at a seemingly abandoned camp. It was riddled with trash, torn-up tents, and a worn-down mini-van. This looks pretty run over. This must've been where Sam's owners... Clementine doesn't waste time thinking about that sad thought as her stomach growls.

"Well, what do you say, boy? How about we look around for some food?"

BARK!

"That's what I like to hear," Clementine smiles after Sam acknowledged her proposition. Looks like I have a dog now. Better get him some food too, he looks starved.

Clementine searches the campsite, finding only empty cans, torn-up clothes, coolers filled with... foul-smelling rotten flesh, and only more trash. One of the few things she hadn't checked was the trash barrel in the middle of the campsite. She knows she had to check it, but that didn't make it less gross.

"Well...here we go," Clementine rolls up her sleeves and starts digging around in the trash, she smiles when she feels a can that feels full. The little girl pulls it out from the trash and reads that it's a can of beans. "Oh, my God! Thank you! Look, Sam," She shows off the can of food to the dog. "a can!"

BARK!

"Now I just need..." Clementine sighs. "something to open it with." Wish I didn't lose my knife. Just then, the dog growls, running over to a nearby tree.

BARK! BARK! BARK! BARK!

"Sam, shh! Be quiet! We have to be quiet!" Clementine walks over to the dog to see what is causing him to bark so much, finding...a walker tied to the tree. "It's okay, he's trapped," Sam stops his relentless barking as Clementine kneels down beside the weaker, she eyes down the pocket knife that was stuck in its right arm. He was bitten, I guess he tried to cut it out...but that never works. Ever. Better make sure it's actually dead before I get that knife. Clementine picks up a nearby tree branch and breaks off one of the ends, making it sharp and pointy to stab in the head rather than waste energy hitting it over the head over and over again. Once the walker is dead, Clementine takes the knife out of its arm and cleans it thoroughly with her pant leg. "It's still pretty sharp. Well, now we can eat, Sam."

BARK! BARK!

"But first..." Clementine brings her fingers to her mouth once more and blows.

WHISTLE! WHISTLE! WHISTLE!

Sam tilts his head when Clementine whistles but she ignores it, she focuses on listening for a response from...anyone who could be out there. She sighs after hearing only silence. I know you guys are out there somewhere...please be okay. Now with food and a means to get it open, Clementines takes a seat on a nearby log, the can of beans in her left hand while the pocket knife was in her right.

"Please don't be bad," Clementine cuts into the can, prying it open and sighing in relief when she sees the food inside hasn't expired. "Thank God..." She starts scooping the beans with her hands and eats to her heart's content. Sam sits down in front of her and whines, his eyes pleading with hunger. "...I guess you're pretty hungry too, huh?" Clementine takes another scoop of beans in her hand, handing it to the hungry canine with a smile. "Here you go, Sam."

Seeing the food in her hands, Sam snaps his snout at the girl's fingers, making her drop the can of beans. He takes the opportunity and starts devouring the contents of the tin can for himself.

"Hey!" Clementine picks up the can from the ground. "Don't eat it all!" Sam looked up at her...and he growled. This dog no longer saw the little girl as a companion...but a competition for food. Like a wild animal, Sam snarled at Clementine, scaring her. "E-Easy, boy...I'll give you-"

BARK!

Clementine closed her eyes and raised her arms over her face when Sam jumped at her...but nothing happened. She opened her eyes back up to see...a man wrestling the dog to the ground. She immediately recognized the clothes he was wearing and his brown hair.

"Elijah!"

"AUGH! FUCK!" He cried out as Sam bit directly into his left arm, causing him to bleed as the dog shook his head around. "FUCKIN' DOG!" Elijah shifts his body weight, forcing the dig to be pinned underneath him. He takes out his sickle and stabs the dog in the throat, Sam lets out a whine and slowly stops moving. "...Sorry, boy."

"Elijah!" Clementine runs over to the young man, wrapping her arms around his torso ina warm hug.

"It's alright, Kiddo," He pats her back. "Good job remembering what we taught you, I wouldn't have found you if I didn't hear your last whistle."

"I'm so glad you're..." Clementine's eyes widen in shock when she sees the blood pouring from Elijah's left arm. "Your arm!"

"Yeah," Elijah grimaced in pain, balling his left fist. "That's not good, he tore deep into my skin."

"Don't you have anything to clean it with?"

"No," He shook his head. "Molly has the meds in her bag, we got separated thanks to those fuckers back there. But we'll find them, we just need to keep moving," Elijah covers his wound with his jacket sleeve, and the blood immediately soaks through and leaves a mark. "I'm just glad I found you, Clem," Elijah pats the girl on the head, messing up the way her baseball cap was settled on top of it.

"Me too," Clementine hugs him again. "Will you be okay to walk though?"

"Yeah, yeah," He tried to reassure...but the way his voice was shaking didn't do a good job fo doing it. "I'm alright. We just have to keep moving."

Clementine nods, knowing that Elijah will push on no matter what. Before they leave, she takes one last look at the dead dog. A small pit of guilt forms in her heart because at the end of the day, he was just trying to survive...just like she and Elijah are now.

"...I'm sorry, Sam."

Elijah...

Fuck...

If I wasn't already exhausted, then that damn dog really did a number on me. I already spent the entire night looking for Clementine and on the point of exhaustion, now I'm bleeding and have no meds to clean it up. We just need to find the others or...something before I pass out, I don't want Clementine to have to drag me around a forest. We've been walking for God knows how long since that camp and my head is getting all fuzzy. I lean myself against a big rock, taking a breath.

"Elijah? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I say, but the shakiness of my voice doesn't really reassure the little one. "Just...Just give me a second." God, please don't let me pass out. I silently pray, but my vision is already getting blurry by the second. But that was the least of my worries...because I see a few walkers ahead of us. "...For fuck's sake."

"Crap!"

I grab my sickle, ignoring the shaking in my legs and the pain in my arm. Lee, give me strength. "Clementine, get behind me," I order her, she obeys and hides behind me. I face the approaching walkers and grit my teeth. "Come on, you fucks..."

"RAUGH!" The first one lunges at me, I swing my sickle and slice its head, killing it. I nearly lose my balance and fall to the ground but I catch myself, I can't pass out now. "REAUGH!" The second walker comes along and growls, the grip around my weapon gets tighter and I swing it once more...only to miss and the Walker tackles me to the ground.

"SHIT!"

"Elijah!"

"Clementine, kill it!" I try to keep the walker from biting me, but I can feel my strength failing me. NO! I'm not dying like this. "AAAAAAUUUUGGHH!" I look up at the walker...only to watch its head come clean off from its body. "What?" I shove the walker off of me...and that's when I see a guy holding a machete standing over me.

"Look out!" An older man's voice called out, making my head turn back. I saw the man holding a crossbow and aiming it, he fired it and I followed the arrow as it hit another walker that was only a few feet away from Clementine. He fires another arrow, killing another walker. "I'm out! Grab him and let's go!"

The younger guy nods and grabs onto my right arm, picking me up off the ground. "Come on, man!" He slings my left arm over his shoulder and looks down over at Clementine. "You too, kid, we gotta git!"

Seeing that I had no choice but to rely on these strangers, I did the best I could not to slow down the guy who was supporting me. Clementine stays ahead of me and beside the older man, staying in my line of sight. We ran for what felt like forever but may as well have been a few minutes, the four of us stopped to take a breath and rest from the chase.

"I think...I think we're safe." The older man lets out an exhausted breath.

"Yeah..." The younger one looks over my shoulder, back the way we came. "Yeah, we're good. What about you, man?" He asks me. "You alright?"

"...Yeah," I say, not sure if I can trust them just yet. "I just...I just need a second."

"Oh, is that so?" His southern accent had a hint of sarcasm. "'Casus last time I saw, you could barely crawl away from that Lurker back there."

"Lurker?"

"That what you call 'em?" I ask.

"Don't matter what I call 'em, you're in bad shape, man."

"What were you two doin' out here anyway?" The older gentleman asked us, I offered silence at first and so did Clementine.

"What about the people you were with?" The younger man voiced his question. "There's a small chance you two made it this long on your own."

"..." They don't seem like the fuckers that attacked us, they would've killed us if that was the case. Still...it's best if we give vague answers for now. "We were attacked by these...bandit guys."

"Yeah," Clementine nods. "that's how we got separated."

"Hmm...these folks mention what they were after?"

"Who cares?" I say. "They probably just wanted the weasel we were cooking."

"They attacked y'all for a weasel?" The younger man with the machete asked like it was the dumbest thing he's ever heard. "Dann, that is low. But they didn't mention any names, right? They weren't searching for anybody?"

"Don't matter anyway," I answer. "they're all dead."

"Dead?"

"Yes," I nod at the older guy. "had to keep my people safe, if you understand."

"I understand."

"I'm Luke, by the way," He greets himself properly. "and this is Pete."

"Hey there."

"Hi," Clementine meets his smile. "I'm Clementine."

"...Elijah."

"Well, it's nice to meet ya both," Luke smiles. "For now, we're gonna take you back to our group, alright?" We got a doctor with us, and you two look like you can use some- OH, SHIT!" Luke spots the blood spit on my left arm and he drops me to the ground, I groan in pain and hold my arm.

"Elijah!"

"Augh! Thanks, dick!"

"What? What is it?"

"He's...He's beenbut, man. Fuck!" Luke brings his hands to his head in a panic. "Fuck, fuck, fuck! What are we gonna do here?!"

"No!" Clementine protests. "It was a dog!"

"I didn't see any dog, Clementine."

"It's true!" I add.

"Come on, dude," Luke scoffed. "we just saw y'all with those Lurkers back there!"

"Plus I can't remember the last time I saw a dog."

"Well just look at it then!" I shout, getting annoyed.

"Yeah, and have you sink your teeth into Pete's neck? No way."

"That's not how it works!"

"And my neck?" Pete cocked his head at Luke. "Why am I the one?"

"'Cause I don't know a dog bite from a mosquito bite from a lurker bite, man."

"You can see the difference in bite marks!" I'm already having enough of this bullshit. "Just take a look and you'll see!"

"Hmm..."

"Please!"

Pete takes a second to think, but once he sees the pleading look in Clementine's eyes... "Alright, let's see it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Luke got more scarfed once Pete started kneeling down to me. "Hey, watch yourself," His warning only got a scowl from the little one, she crossed her arms at him and shook her head. "Hey, don't look at me like that! You're big brother here's the one that's bit, okay?"

While it feels nice to be called her big brother, I don't acknowledge it so Pete can look at my injury. I roll up my sleeve, wincing from the pain. "You see?" Pete holds my arm, getting a closer look. I just wish I had cleaned the blood off beforehand.

"Is it, uh...is it like he says?"

"Hmm...well, it could be a dog. Hard to say with all the blood," Oh, you gotta be kidding me. "Where did this 'dog' go?"

"Now what...what does this matter, Pete? Seriously."

"I wanna know how believable his story is."

"I killed it," I answered, showing the smallest ounce of remorse. I love dogs, but it tried to hurt my sister.

"What?! Really?" Luke was in disbelief of my answer. "A dog shows up and bites you and you just kill it?"

"What would you have done?" Pete asked him.

"I don't know, man!"

"It tried to attack me!" Clementine said.

"I had no choice!" I added.

"Still, you don't...you don't kill dogs."

"I love dogs too, man! But it was fighting for survival...like any other wild animal."

"Elijah," Pete looks directly into my eyes, searching for any doubt in me. "You and Clementine telling us the truth?"

"Yes," I didn't even need to think.

"Yes," Neither did Clementine.

"...Alright, Elijah," He smiled. "That's good enough for me."

"Well, what else were they gonna say?" Luke is starting to annoy me as Pete helps me up to my feet.

"I've got a pretty good bullshit detector, Luke. That's why you can never beat me at poker."

Luke scoffs at Pete's cocky insult. "You don't always beat me at...Alright, how can you be sure?"

"Well, I'm sure I ain't willing to leave this boy and a little girl in the woods to die when we got a doctor with us that can make a call. We can have Carlos take a look at it first."

"...Nick ain't gonna like this," Luke shook his head with doubt. "Not what happened with-"

"You don't have to remind me of that boy," Pete cuts him off with harshness in his tone."

"...Right. Sorry sir."

Pete pats him on the shoulder and nods, I feel a small hand grabbing onto mine. "Can we trust them?" Clementine whispers to me.

"For now, they're just being cautious. But let's not let our guard down just yet, we'll see just how good this 'doctor of theirs is."

"Well, come on, you two."

We start walking again...and the exhaustion is already coming back to me. No...not yet... I see a log cabin in the middle of a small clearing, that must be where Luke and Pete's people are held up. I just need to make it there...before...

"You feelin' alright, Elijah?"

"I'm fine," I groggily answer Pete. "Just...tired..."

"Well, you better be fine," Luke said, placing his hand on his hip. "'Cause I ain't putting that bitten arm around my shoulder again."

"Don't worry...about..." The world around me slowly starts fading, the only thing I'm beginning to see is darkness.

"Elijah?" I lose my balance...and the last thing I hear is Clementine's desperate cry. I hit the floor...and I fall deep into the embrace of my unconsciousness. "ELIJAH!"