Elijah

BANG!

My ears ring, my heart won't stop pounding against my chest, my hand keeps on shaking...and my eyes are stinging. The gun falls to my side, the small hand holding onto mine lets go, and the faint sound of crying overpowers the ringing of my ears.

And I swear...I thought I could hear the faint sound of Lee's last breath

...Nine.

I have killed nine people in the time of the apocalypse. Irene...Andy...the screaming girl in Macon...three bandits at the Motor Inn...Duck...the fucker who kidnapped Clementine...and now...

How many more people do I have to kill just to survive in this world? Just how far am I willing to go thanks to the world ending? How much of my humanity do I have to let go of just to keep this little girl safe?! I killed a fucking kid for Christ's sake!

I fall to my knees and cover my eyes with my hands. This is all my fault. If I hadn't hurt Clementine, she wouldn't have gone off on her own, she would've stayed with us, Lee wouldn't have gotten bit, we would've left Savannah on the boat, Ben would be alive, Kenny would still be alive... It's all my fault...it's all my fault...IT'S ALL MY FAULT! I can't breathe, my head is swimming, and I can't even open my eyes. What am I supposed to do?

"...We have to go," I feel a small hand on my shoulder, Clementine's voice overpowers the thumping of my eardrums, calling me from out of the darkness. "Please, Elijah."

"..."

She's right, I can't just sit here and mope. We're not out of the woods yet, I can't afford to let Lee's sacrifice be in vain, not while Clementine is still in danger. I stand to my feet, handing the gun back over to the little girl and taking the keys from her. I take one last look at Lee...and a twisted thought comes into my head. I know it's messed up...but someone has to remember. I take out my camera...and point it right at Lee.

CLICK!

"Why are you-"

"Because no one is safe in this new world that we live in," I say before putting my camera and picture back in my bag. "...Not even the ones who fought so hard to keep us safe."

"I don't want to remember him this way..."

"Me neither, but he didn't die in vain, Clem. He fought through hell and back just to get you back. That's how we remember him."

"...But it was my fault he-"

"Hey," I kneel down to her, holding Clementine by her shoulders. "Don't you dare start blaming yourself for this, you hear me? You're not to blame, okay?" I stand back up, taking her small hand in my own. "Come on, we have to find the others."

"..."

They weren't there...

We waited by that damn train until the moon rose into the night sky...but Omid and Christa never came. With all of those Walkers around, I didn't blame them for not sticking around. but now they could be anywhere... I couldn't risk our lives waiting another minute, so I took Clementine and we walked until Savannah was out of our sight. We found an abandoned car to take shelter in, neither of us wanted to travel with the dangers of the night. It was uncomfortable, and the walker guts stunk like hell, but we were safe. I told her what happened to Kenny and Ben...just like me, she was devastated.

We continued moving forward in the morning, most of the walker guts had been washed off and we didn't have to worry about the smell anymore. While we walked, I thought back to all the good moments I had with Lee, even back to times before the Walkers. No matter how sad it makes me feel, and no matter how much I might blame myself...I'll always remember everything he taught me and what he stood for. I'm gonna miss him, and I know Clementine will too. He was one the best people I knew...and a better father figure than my old man ever could've been.

"Let's rest up over there, okay?" I point to a nearby tree where a log rests underneath it.

"...Okay." Clementine takes a seat and so do I, she looks to the ground and fiddles with her thumbs. "...Where are we gonna go?"

"...I don't know, Clementine," I sighed as I answered the little one. "We go wherever we want now, I guess," How in the hell am I supposed to do this? Lee's the one who had all the answers. Is this what it was like for you, Lee? "...But, if we're going to go anywhere, we need to follow...our rules."

"Rules?"

I nod. "That's right. And...our first rule will be... Never go alone. Where I go, you go. We watch each other's back, okay?" The little one nods, waiting for what other rules I have. I'm honestly just making this up as I go. "Our second will be...when the Walkers come, we go for the head. Don't worry, I'll teach you how to take them down without a gun. Three... Always save the last bullet for yourself."

"Huh?"

"Do you remember what I told you what happened to Chuck?" The little girl nods. "He didn't want to suffer all that pain, so...if there really is no other way out... You understand?"

"...Yes."

"As for our last rule...what do we do... when one of us gets bit?" I didn't need a verbal answer from her to make sure she knew exactly what I meant, but Clementine slowly nodded anyway. "Good."

"...Elijah?"

"Yeah?"

"...I really hope we find a safe place."

"Me too, Kiddo," I wrap my arm around her shoulder. "Me too."

"...I miss Lee already."

"I do too, just as much as you. But, hey, you still got me. We'll make it through this together, it's what Lee wanted us to do, after all."

"Yeah, he did," The little one looked up at me and smiled...but something caught her attention and she looked forward with a rising look of worry on her face. "Elijah...what's that?"

I looked to where Clementine was, seeing...what I could only guess was three people on top of a nearby hill. I can't get a good look at them from here so I can't tell if they're walkers or not. I stand up with my hand hovering over my pistol out of muscle memory.

"Stay behind me, Kiddo."

I slowly walked towards the hill...and the three figures stopped and turned in my direction, looking straight at us. Those...weren't walkers, they're people. As Clementine and I got closer...I immediately recognized the first pair.

"Omid?! Christa?!"

"H-Holy shit!"

"Clementine?! Elijah?!" They rushed down the hill and hugged me and Clementine. "Oh, thank God you two are alright!"

"We went by the train, got completely surrounded by a fuck ton of those walkers, we had to get out of there!"

"It's okay," I release from them both. "We under..." My eyes are met with a pair of familiar blue ones...her blonde hair shining in the morning sun. "...Molly?"

"Hey there, Brown Eyes," She smiled at me.

"She saved our asses," Omid claimed. If she hadn't rang that bell looking for us, well..."

"...You came back?"

"Well, I figured..." The blonde-haired girl shrugged. "What the hell? Besides, I figured you needed all the help you can get."

"...Lee?" Christa looked at me and Clementine, we gave her an upset look at the mention of that name.

"...We made sure he didn't turn into one of those monsters," Clementine admits.

"It's what he wanted, and he made sure that we were strong enough to do it."

"We know."

"He was a helluva guy."

"He was," Clementine nods.

"And always will be," I add.

"I'm sorry you had to experience that," Molly expressed her sympathy. "No one deserves to go through that. But I saw the way he looked after you, and I know you'll do the same," She looked straight at me when she said that. "And you gut the rest of us here too."

"...Thanks, Molly."

"Well, I vote we stick to the countryside," Christa says. "I'm done with cities."

"Yeah, they're really...shitty."

"..." We all stand in astonishment after Clementine just swore in front of all of us, I chuckle as I pat her shoulder. "And a real pain in the ass too, Kiddo." Our foul language earns a laugh from Molly. "Well then, what are we all waiting for?" We all start walking to...wherever the road takes us now, I lag behind as Clementine walks in between Omid and Christa. "...I'm glad you came back."

"Did you miss me that much?" Molly smirks, making my cheeks burn.

"You're one to talk."

"Maybe, but you'll never be able to prove that," She elbows me, making me chuckle.

"We'll see..." I mutter under my breath.

I may not have all the answers right now, but I do at least have a silver lining. Clementine and I found the others, and Molly came back to find us... With all of us here together, I know we can survive this.

Don't worry, Lee. I'll keep Clementine safe, that's a promise.

Somewhere...in a not-so-realistic place...

"Do you think they'll be alright?" A tall, thirty-seven-year-old man watched down from above, looking over the people he cared about most.

"I know they will," A woman's voice says, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "You taught them well, Elijah will keep her safe. Thank you again for watching over my son."

"It was nothing, miss."

"No, it wasn't, Lee." Another voice joins the adults, belonging to a young woman with auburn red hair. "Thanks to you, they get to live. That's something only you could've done."

"...Thank you both."

"I still can't believe he still wears that dusty old beanie of mine," The woman chuckles to herself. "I always thought it would look better on him."

"Do you think Elijah still remembers me? And...how I..." The young Latina trails off, a faint blush on her cheeks, causing the woman to giggle.

"I'm sure, sweetie. He could never forget you."

"...Thank you, Ms. Everett."

"You know my name, sweetheart. Use it."

"Thank you, Ashley."

The older gentleman chuckles, walking away. "Come on, you two. The others are waiting for us."

Lee smiles to himself as he sees all the important people who first greeted him in this place. His family, Mark, Doug, Carley, Katjaa, Duck, Ben. They were all there, and together, they will continue to watch over the young man and little girl as they continue to survive in this ending world...no matter what it'll cost them.