Sixteen...Months...Later...
A year and four months have passed now...things have never been the same since Omid was killed. Now...it was Clementine, Elijah, Molly, and Christa during these worse times. During the past year, Christa had gone through labor but unfortunately, he was stillborn, leaving the woman a former shell of herself. She grew colder, but Christa never took out her anger on her friends, not even on Clementine. For Molly, she was at this point used to losing people, knowing that it was just a part of this new world she lived in. But...in the back of her mind, she grew terrified of losing one particular person. One that she trusted with her life, and in turn, he trusted her. They grew closer with each day, even going as far as to huddle together on some nights. She just felt...safe in Elijah's arms.
As for the young photographer...
Elijah knew more than anyone that he had to be the one to keep the group going, even though he still had no idea what he was doing. But he never gave up hope that there was something better out there, and he wouldn't let everyone else give up either. As he stated the day Omid died, Elijah left no chances when it came to those who crossed his group. Whenever there was trouble, and when he knew that someone needed to die, Elijah did what he had to protect the ones he loved. But this didn't mean that he killed any other survivor that he came across, he only killed who he had to... even though he hated himself for it. He barely took photos anymore, only when he knew the others were safe for a fact, never leaving anything to chance.
As for the Little Girl known as Clementine, she's been forced to grow up a lot faster than anyone had anticipated. Yes, she knows how to protect herself and she knows how to use a gun, even a melee weapon...but now thanks to Elijah and Molly's teachings, Clementine has the potential to kill a person if she's left no other choice. Molly had even taught her how to climb like she used to back in Savannah.
As for now...
It was a cold night, it was nearing winter, and the rain sprinkled over the forest. Clementine sat by the fireplace with Christa on a log, and Molly and Elijah were off into the woods collecting more word for the fire. A small weasel was being cooked over the fire, Elijah had found it and killed it the morning of. It's been a while since they have had a meal that didn't come from a can or wrapped package, so this was a rarity for them.
"Christa," Clementine sighed, tired of the silence. "talk to me."
"..." She offered only more silence before getting off of the log and tending to the dying fire. "This'll never work. Look at this, it's pathetic. This wood's too wet to burn, I don't know where those two found these but there's more smoke than flame. At this rate, we'll be eating this for breakfast."
"It's okay, I can wait," The little one tries to reassure her.
"All we do is wait, and for what?"
"What else can we do?"
"Find something that'll burn, maybe. I don't know," Christa sighed. "Won't be easy in the dark and in the rain."
"..."
"You know, you should be doing this, not me," Christa pointed out. "Tending a fire so you can cook and stay warm, it's something you have to be able to do, Clementine. Otherwise..."
"I know, Elijah and Molly have taught me a lot. And...you know, Elijah thinks we-"
"I know what he's been thinking," Christa cuts her off. "and I don't want to hear it again. We've been fine out here for this long."
"..." Clementine wrapped her arms around herself as she felt a shivering breeze against her slightly damp clothes. "I'm freezing."
"You think this is bad? Wait 'til we get to Wellington, then talk to me about cold. If we make it. We still have a couple of hard months ahead of us," Christa looks up to the cloudy sky, frowning at the weather. "This rain will turn to sleet, then ice, then snow. It won't be easy."
Wellington. During the group's past year, they have run into other survivors searching for a place with that name. From countless survivors, they all spoke of a community near Michigan with walls so tall and thick that no Walker or psychos out there would dare try to take them down. At first, they didn't believe such a place could exist after what they'd seen, but the more people spoke of it, the more they wondered about it themselves. Their doubt seemingly washed away when they saw an entire caravan of survivors making their way down the interstate, each and every one of them was heading in the same direction. Who knows how many had made the journey, but if that many people were insistent on going...maybe they could take a chance.
"Can we make it that far?"
"Maybe, I don't know. We just need to keep heading north, we sure as hell can't stay here."
WHISTLE! WHISTLE! WHISTLE!
Clementine was slightly startled by the first whistle she heard but she calmed down when she heard the other two, remembering the signals Elijah taught everyone. One whistle for Walkers, two for people, and three to identify themselves. A small smile formed at the corner of Clementine's lips as she saw her and her blonde friend return to camp.
"You find anything?"
"It's a forest in the middle of nowhere, Christa," Molly sarcastically remarked, making Christa roll her eyes.
"Just a few damp logs," Elijah states. "If we're lucky, maybe we can get a few to burn. Otherwise..."
"We're not moving from this spot," Christa knew exactly what Elijah was about to suggest. "'specially not in this weather."
"I get it, but we can't keep holding up in the middle of nowhere. We're running low on food, meds, ammo, and we've been out here for long enough. This weasel was a stroke of good luck, but who knows when that'll run out."
"..." Christa sighs, stands up, and starts walking away from camp. "I'm gonna go see what I can find."
Elijah sighs. "Molly, go with her and watch her back?"
"Yeah," Molly nods, her warm smile slowly turning into a smirk. "But first, yoink!" The blonde woman snatches the black beanie from the young man's head.
"Hey!"
"My ears are freezing and this is warm," Molly teased as she pulled the beanie over her head. "Don't worry, I'll keep it safe."
"You better."
"Oh, don't be a baby," She mocked. Before she left to catch up with Christa, Molly leaned up and planted a small kiss on Elijah's cheek. "We'll be back soon."
"Stay safe."
"Always," Molly nods.
Elijah watches Molly jog into the darkness with a smile, he knows she'll watch out for Christa. "How you holding up, Kiddo?" The young man pats the little girl's shoulder.
"Freezing."
Clementine's blunt response made Elijah chuckle. "Yeah, we need to find you better clothes than that long-sleeved shirt you got. At least it's better than that Brooklyn sweatshirt we had to throw away."
"It certainly doesn't feel any better," Clementine sighed.
"Yeah, I know. Let's see if we can change that," Elijah kneels by the fire, Clementine nods and soon kneels down beside him. "You still got your lighter?"
"Yeah," She nods and pulls her lighter from her back pocket, scowling at the pink butterfly sticker she put on it when she first found it. "Stupid..."
"Alright," Elijah finishes up setting down a few logs in the fire. "Flames are still too low, they just need a little more fuel."
Clementine thinks for a moment, wondering what they could use to fuel the fire. She thinks about what she had in her backpack; A photo of Lee that was almost left behind at the Drugstore back in Georgia, a group photo of her, Elijah, Lee, and Sandra back to their first days at the Motor Inn, and a drawing of Kenny, Katjaa, and Duck that Clementine made after the day the boy had been bit.
I don't want to burn any of those...but I may not have a choice.
"I got it," Elijah pulls his backpack open and finds his small yellow folder filled with his instant pictures. "I'm sure there's a few here that I don't mind getting rid of."
"Are you sure? What about all the ones we took together?"
"Oh, don't worry, I won't get rid of those. Only a few I can live with burning. Besides, some of these are just ones I took because I thought it was a beautiful sight, guess some old habits die hard." Elijah picks out a few photos and sets them into the fire, the logs catch fire and slowly light up the camp. "There we go, now we're getting somewhere."
"...Elijah?"
"What's wrong, Kiddo?" The young man notices the small sadness that is in her voice.
"...I miss Lee."
"..." Elijah sighs and wraps his arm around Clementine's shoulders. "Me too, kiddo. Me too."
"Jesus, are you fuckin' kidding me?!"
The two survivors around the campfire lightly gasp at the sound of a man yelling in the distance. Elijah stands up with his hand hovering over his pistol. "Clem, come on," He said, not wanting to leave her alone at their makeshift camp. The little girl slowly follows close behind him, her hand reaching for her knife. As they got closer to the sound of the voice, they could hear two other men...along with two distinct women.
"Out here alone? In the middle of nowhere? But we haven't met anyone yet. How many people are you with?"
"We'd hate to see someone get hurt."
"We're by ourselves, assholes."
"We're just passing through."
"You two are obviously with someone. Where's your group?!"
"Stay behind me, Clem," Elijah takes cover behind a tree and the rain starts pouring down, providing him and Clementine to approach silently. They see the source of all the yelling, a hostile group of men have surrounded Molly and Christa. One man holds a spear and one other has a gun in his right hand, his finger around the trigger. "...Shit."
"Dig the shit out of your ears, we said we were alone!"
"Don't fucking lie to us!"
"Who do you think you're foolin'?"
"Give us the truth and you don't get hurt."
"Elijah, what do we do?" Clementine whispered to him.
"...I'm gonna sneak up on them, when I tell you, you distract them and make a run to the creek. You remember where that is, right?" Clementine nods. "Just keep close to the stream until we find you, okay?"
"What about rule number one?"
"I know, but you won't be alone for too long, I promise."
Clementine reluctantly agrees and watches as Elijah sneaks closer to the hostile men, his trusty sickle in his right hand. Be careful, Elijah... The young man crouched only a few feet away from the man with the spear, looking back at Clementine before he nodded. Clementine picks up a rock and throws it at one of the men, hitting him square in the nose.
"Augh! What the?!"
"Christa! Molly! Run!"
"Hey!" One of the men spots Clementine and starts running towards her, she runs in the opposite direction as fast as she can. The sound of the thundering storm...and the distant gunshot only added to her rising fear as she bucked and weaved through the trees, but she knew she had to keep going and do exactly what Elijah said. "Get the fuck over here! NOW!" Clementine hides behind a tree, hoping to escape the bearded man that followed her. She sees an opportunity to slip away and she takes it...but the man sees her. "Shit! Get the fuck over here!" Clementine runs, sliding herself through a small opening in a tree trunk. She gets back up on her feet in seconds and continues running towards the creek, only to be corned by a fallen tree. "There you are!"
"Crap..." Clementine broke off a branch of the tree before the man charged at her, she stepped aside and then stabbed him in the shoulder with the branch and ran away again.
"Augh! Jesus, are you fuckin' kidding me?!" Clementine reaches the edge of the riverbank...but the man grabs her from behind, picking her up off of the ground.
"Leave me alone!"
"Then stop fucking runni- AUGH!" Clementine bites into the man's hand, his blood coming in between her teeth. "Ah! Fuck! Ow, let go, you little bitch!" Clementine bites down even harder, she can feel his bone against her canines. "AAAAUUUGGH!" The pain is too much for the man and he releases the little girl, she crawls into a nearby hollowed log in hopes of escaping from the man but he grabs onto her foot. "Come out of there!" Clementine kicks him, making the man wince in pain. He's had enough and drags Clementine out of the dead tree, he then grabs her by the wrists and she still tries to kick him away. "Kid, you are on my last fuckin' nerve!" Clementine continues fighting until she sees an approaching walker, she takes this opportunity and kicks the man toward it and the Walker grabs him by the arm. "No! Shit!"
Clementines makes a run for it again, dodging even more approaching walkers until she trips and falls near the edge of the riverbank. The little girl takes a nearby rock and throws it at one of the Walkers, moving backward until she falls off the edge...right into the cold stream. Clementine remembers her swimming lessons and breaststrokes for the surface, gasping for air so she could call out into the darkness.
"HELP!"
Elijah...moments before...
"Clementine!" Molly called out as one of the men started chasing after her, I took the opportunity and swung my sickle at the guy with the gun. I scrape his arm, making him drop the weapon to the wet ground. "Elijah!"
"Augh! Mother fucker!"
"She's getting away!" The other guy chases after Christa now that she's run away too.
"Molly, help Christa! I'll be alright!"
"On it!" She nods at me and chases after the man and Christa. I look at the hooded man with a scowl, kicking away the gun on the ground so he couldn't pick it back up.
"You and your friends are dying tonight."
"Fuck you, kid!" The dark-skinned man charges at me, I dodge easily and bring my sickle down against his head. My attack didn't kill him, but I managed to give him a deep cut on his left cheek and tear off a chunk of his ear. "Augh! Crazy bastard!"
"RAUGH!"
All of our yelling caused Walkers to find us, I move out of the way of one lunging at me and it heads right for the man wearing the hoodie, giving me the opportunity to get to Clementine and that fucker who chased after her. Molly will be fine, she can take care of that spiky-haired fucker. I head back for the stream, grabbing my backpack as I run through our camp. Please be alright, Clem.
"Jesus! Are you fuckin' kidding me?!"
There you are!
I continue following that voice until I find the source being grabbed by a Walker...and Clementine is nowhere to be found. I killed the Walker that was holding onto the bearded man...but I'm not down with him. Before he could even know who saved his life, I pinned him down on the ground with the end of my sickle cutting into his throat. Enough to make him bleed, but not enough to kill him...not yet.
"The girl, is she alive?"
"What girl? I don't know know no- AUGH!" I dig my blade into his shoulder.
"Focus on me. The girl. Where is she?" I twist the blade, making the fucker wince and groan in pain.
"Augh! Shit! She...she went over..."
"..." I look up at the Walkers close to the edge of the riverfront, they were after something... She fell in the creek... "Okay, I believe you." I take the sickle out of the man's shoulder, pick him up, and force him to stand. I keep a firm grip on the collar of his coat with both of my hands, the walkers behind him finally take notice and growl at their next meal.
"L-Let go, you crazy fuck!" He fights my grip, but I'm not letting go. I watch as one of the Walkers bites into his shoulder, then another bites into the back of his neck, and the third bites down onto his cheek. I release him and step back, he cries out in agony and coughs on his own blood filling his throat. The Walkers are too focused on their midnight snack to worry about me, so I walk past them and get to the edge of the creek. I look around desperately for my little sister, she knows how to swim...but she's all alone.
"CLEMENTINE!"