The wind howled through the crumbling city, rattling loose sheets of rusted metal and shaking broken glass in their frames. The ruins of civilization stretched in every direction—skyscrapers like skeletal fingers grasping at the dull gray sky, their windows hollow, their walls cracked and scorched from long-forgotten fires. Weeds and vines had overtaken the streets, creeping up over abandoned cars, their windshields shattered, their interiors long looted. Here and there, the dried husks of walkers lay in the gutters, their flesh shriveled, their bones brittle from exposure.
Clementine adjusted the strap of her backpack and kept moving.
With every step, her metal prosthetic tapped softly against the cracked pavement. She had long since learned to compensate for its weight, which made her stride uneven and ached when the cold settled in. AJ walked beside her, his rifle slung across his back, his eyes scanning every shadow, doorway, and rusted-out car shell.
Neither of them spoke. They didn't need to. The silence between them wasn't awkward—it was the kind that had settled after years of walking, after years of understanding that words weren't necessary when all that mattered was surviving.
But that didn't stop the ghosts.
The city reminded her too much of the past—of places she had once called home and people she had once called family.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and focused on putting one foot before the other.
Twenty-three years. That was how long it had been since the world ended. Since the outbreak had torn through everything, devouring whatever had been left of humanity.
Ericson's had been the last time she had believed in something good.
For years, the school had been a sanctuary, a place where they laughed, played stupid games, and talked about the future as if it were something that could actually happen.
She had believed in that future once.
She could still remember the last few years at Ericson's before it all went to hell.
At first, they managed hunting trips into the woods and fishing along the river. They rationed, saved, and planned ahead. But it didn't last.
The winters grew harsher, the summers drier.
The crops withered, the animals fled or died out, the fish in the river became scarce, every meal became smaller, and every day became more desperate.
Louis had tried to keep their spirits up. He cracked jokes, played songs on his makeshift piano, and even tried to turn food rationing into a game. But even he couldn't mask the hunger in his eyes or the way his hands trembled when he played.
AJ had been just a kid back then, still small, still growing. She had given him her food more than once, pretending she wasn't hungry.
The lies had worked for a while. Then they stopped working.
And then the raiders came.
Clementine could still hear the gunshots, the screams, and the roar of fire as Ericson burned.
The attack had come just before dawn, a well-coordinated ambush that shattered what little security they had left. Men and women with makeshift armor and automatic weapons stormed the school, cutting down anyone who resisted.
Louis was the first to fall. He had grabbed his bow and fired two arrows before a bullet took him in the chest. He had staggered, eyes wide with shock, and collapsed in a pool of blood. She had been too far away to reach him, too far to stop it.
Violet had been next—though not in the same way. They had taken her. Dragged her away, kicking and screaming. Clementine had fought and tried to reach her, but there were too many, and Violet's screams had faded into the night.
Tenn had saved AJ.
They had been cornered by the greenhouse, trapped by two raiders closing in. Clementine remembered the moment Tenn pushed AJ forward, shoving him toward her before turning, raising his knife—only to be gunned down before he could reach them.
There had been no time to grieve. No time to do anything but run.
By the time the sun rose, Ericson's was gone.
AJ had asked if they would ever go back. She had told him no.
She never wanted to see it again.
For the next four years, they drifted.
They met other groups. They tried to rebuild.
It never worked.
They would settle in a place for a time—a small encampment, a half-standing gas station, a tiny farming community—only for everything to collapse. Sometimes, it was walkers, and sometimes, it was other survivors.
Sometimes it was just bad luck.
Rosie had been Ericson's last familiar companion, the only piece of their old life that had remained. She had aged alongside them, her once strong form slowing, her muzzle graying.
One morning, she didn't wake up.
Clementine had buried her with AJ. Neither of them had said a word the entire time.
After that, they had found the town.
It had seemed like a miracle: reinforced walls, strong defenses, and food. The people had been kind and welcoming. They had called it Haven.
She had almost let herself believe it would last.
But then the dead came.
Thousands of them, an ocean of rotting flesh, sweeping through the streets, clawing at the walls, tearing apart everything in their path.
Haven fell in a single night.
Clementine and AJ were the only ones who made it out alive.
Clementine blinked back to the present as the sound of crunching glass underfoot snapped her out of her memories.
AJ had stopped a few steps ahead, glancing over his shoulder. "You okay?"
She hesitated, nodding. "Yeah."
"You're thinking about them again." It wasn't a question.
"Always," she admitted.
AJ sighed, shifting his rifle in his grip. "We should get off the street."
Clementine nodded, following him into the remains of an old pharmacy. The roof had partially caved in, but the shelves were still intact, covered in dust and grime. Most of the supplies had long been looted, but maybe—just maybe—there was something left.
They moved in silence, searching. AJ rummaged through an old first aid kit. Clementine pried open a cabinet, finding nothing but shattered pill bottles and dried blood stains on the floor.
Then she heard it.
A sound that didn't belong.
A low, mechanical hum.
She froze.
"AJ," she whispered, grabbing his arm.
He tensed. "What?"
She didn't answer. She just listened.
The hum grew louder.
Then, a metallic clank echoed from the street outside.
Not a walker.
Not a person.
Something else.
Something worse.
Clementine's blood ran cold.
"AJ," she whispered again, barely breathing. "We need to move. Now."
And for the first time in years, she felt something she had long since buried—
Fear.
The mechanical hum grew louder.
It wasn't the random, clumsy noise of a walker dragging itself over debris, the sound of looters, or the distant creak of a broken city shifting in the wind.
This was different. Wrong.
Clementine's fingers tightened around the hilt of her knife, her heartbeat hammering in her ears. Her mind raced through years of survival instincts, trying to make sense of what she was hearing.
AJ looked at her, waiting for an order. He was still controlled, like he always was in situations like this—ready to act but smart enough not to rush.
The pharmacy was dark, lit only by the dim gray light filtering through the cracks in the boarded-up windows. Outside, the street was bathed in an eerie quiet, punctuated only by that low, vibrating hum.
Then, the clank of metal against pavement.
Not footsteps. Something heavier. Something precise.
Clementine swallowed, gripping AJ's sleeve and pulling him down behind the counter. He crouched low, his rifle held tight, breath slow and steady.
They didn't move.
They didn't breathe.
A shadow passed over the window.
Long, tall—human-shaped—but not human. The silhouette moved too smoothly as if it weighed nothing. Clementine felt her chest tighten. Walkers didn't move like that. Neither did people.
Another clank.
Another step.
AJ's grip on his rifle tightened. He turned his head slightly toward her, barely whispering, "What is that?"
"I don't know," she breathed.
A pause.
The shadow shifted.
Then, a red light flickered outside the window, glowing faintly through the gaps in the boards.
Clementine's stomach dropped.
Eyes. It had eyes.
And they were looking inside.
AJ tensed beside her. "Clem—"
A metallic whirring noise filled the air, followed by the distinct sound of gears rotating and adjusting.
It wasn't human.
It wasn't human.
Clementine squeezed AJ's arm. "Don't move. Don't even breathe."
AJ nodded, silent.
The thing outside waited. Its shadow didn't shift, didn't shuffle like a person standing in uncertainty. It just stood there. Watching. Calculating.
Then—
A crash from further down the street.
Something fell. A metal sign, maybe, knocked over by the wind.
The red glow outside flickered. A slight turn of the head.
A new target.
The shadow moved.
It walked away.
Clementine didn't relax. Not yet.
She counted the seconds, forcing herself to listen. The hum faded slightly as the thing moved further down the road, investigating the noise. The metal footsteps grew quieter.
AJ let out a slow breath.
Clementine whispered, "We need to go. Now."
He nodded.
They moved quickly, low to the ground, sticking to the pharmacy's shadows. Clementine peeked over the counter, scanning the ruined street through the broken windows. The red light was gone. The thing was further down the road, its attention on the disturbance.
Now or never.
She squeezed AJ's shoulder. "Back door."
They slipped into the rear storeroom, where most of the shelves had collapsed, and their contents were long gone. The back door was rusted but unlocked, leading into a narrow alleyway between buildings.
Clementine carefully eased it open just enough to see outside.
The alley was empty; the only sound was the wind whipping between the buildings. A decayed corpse lay slumped against the bricks, its ribcage hollowed out, skull caved in. It had been here for years.
She motioned for AJ to follow.
They stepped out, keeping close to the wall, their movements swift and silent.
Something isn't right, Clementine thought.
The dead should be here.
There should be walkers.
But the streets were too empty.
The undead were always a problem in the cities. But here… there was nothing.
And that meant something worse had taken their place.
They kept moving.
Clementine led the way, her prosthetic tapping lightly against the pavement, muffled by years of learning how to move without drawing attention. AJ moved just as quietly, sticking close, eyes sharp.
They weaved through the ruins, cutting through side streets and empty lots, avoiding main roads where that thing might be patrolling.
Finally, after several blocks, they slipped into the remains of an old parking garage. The concrete structure was still standing but covered in rusted-out vehicles and thick vines.
Safe—for now.
Clementine sat against the crumbling wall, catching her breath. AJ crouched beside her, wiping sweat from his brow.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then AJ broke the silence.
"That wasn't a person," he muttered.
Clementine nodded. "No."
He stared at the ground, jaw tight. "Wasn't a walker, either."
"No."
"…Then what was it?"
She exhaled slowly. "Something new."
AJ looked at her. "Think there's more?"
A heavy pause.
Clementine considered the way it moved, how it stood perfectly still, calculating, before shifting its focus.
The way it had ignored the walkers.
The way it hadn't spoken.
Her stomach churned.
"There's always more," she said finally.
AJ stood, shaking the tension from his arms. "So what do we do?"
Clementine glanced toward the garage entrance. The street outside was quiet. No movement.
For now.
"First, we get some distance. Find a new place to—"
Then she froze.
A glow flickered against the far wall.
Red.
Moving.
AJ saw it, too. His hand instinctively reached for his rifle. Clementine grabbed his wrist and shook her head.
Too late.
The footsteps started again.
Heavy. Methodical. Getting closer.
Then—
A voice.
Flat. Monotone. Unnatural.
"HUMAN LIFE DETECTED."
Clementine's blood ran cold.
AJ stiffened. "Clem—"
She yanked him back. "Run."
They bolted.
Behind them, the thing stepped into the parking garage.
The red light glowed brighter.
Then, it raised a weapon.
A burst of gunfire tore through the air.
Bullets ripped through the cars, sparks flying as metal shredded apart. Glass shattered. Tires exploded.
Clementine and AJ dove behind a wrecked truck, panting.
AJ looked at her, eyes wide. "What the fuck is that?!"
"I don't know," she hissed.
The thing moved closer, its footsteps too steady and calm. It wasn't running, and it didn't need to.
Because it knew they had nowhere to go.
Clementine's heart pounded.
AJ raised his rifle.
A shadow loomed over them.
The red light was right there.
Clementine's breath caught in her throat.
Then—
Another voice.
"Get down."
A new figure rushed in from the side.
A gun fired—twice.
The red light flickered.
The thing stumbled.
Clementine barely had time to process what she saw before a gloved hand grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet.
She turned.
The newcomer stood over her—tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in a tattered leather jacket.
Clem's stomach clenched.
He was human—but his eyes weren't.
His expression was blank.
Cold.
Mechanical.
Then he spoke.
"Come with me if you want to live."
Clementine's breath came in sharp, shallow gasps. Her fingers clenched around her knife, her knuckles white. The man—if he even was a man—stood before her, his face blank, his voice a mechanical monotone.
Behind him, the machine was still moving.
The red glow flickered as it recalibrated, its metal limbs adjusting, the damage barely slowing it down. Sparks spat from a bullet wound in its shoulder, but it didn't react like a person would. No pain, no hesitation.
Just relentless pursuit.
AJ stood rigid beside her, his rifle clutched tight in his hands. His eyes flicked from the stranger to the machine and back again.
Clementine's instincts screamed at her not to trust either of them. But right now, there was no time to argue.
The machine raised its weapon again.
The newcomer shoved Clementine and AJ behind the wrecked truck, then whirled around, pulling a massive pistol from his coat. The gun's barrel was thick, its frame reinforced. It wasn't the kind of weapon she was used to seeing.
He fired.
The gunshot boomed, echoing off the garage walls.
The bullet struck the machine directly in its right eye, causing its red glow to flicker violently. The head snapped back, metal creaking.
But it didn't fall.
Clementine's gut twisted. Any normal person would be dead from that shot. But this wasn't a person.
AJ cursed under his breath. "That thing isn't going down."
The newcomer didn't hesitate. He grabbed Clem's wrist and yanked her up to her feet. His grip was like iron—too strong.
"We must go."
Clem wrenched her arm free, backing up. "I don't even know who the hell you are!"
The man didn't flinch. His expression remained eerily calm, his voice level. "If you stay, you will die."
The machine was getting back up.
Metal groaned and shifted as it pushed itself upright. Its red eye locked onto them again, and without a single second of hesitation, it began walking forward.
The truck they were hiding behind wasn't going to protect them for long.
AJ's grip on his rifle tightened. "Clem—"
She made her decision.
"Fine," she muttered. "But if this is a trap, I'll kill you myself."
The man didn't even acknowledge the threat. He simply turned and moved.
Clem and AJ ran after him.
Behind them, the machine let out a metallic whirr, then broke into a sprint.
The sound alone sent ice through Clementine's veins.
She had spent her entire life surviving slow, shuffling corpses, the kind that could be outmaneuvered with patience and strategy. But this thing?
This thing was fast.
"Move," the stranger ordered.
They bolted toward the other side of the parking garage, weaving between rusted cars and cracked concrete pillars. The machine's heavy footfalls pounded against the ground behind them, gaining speed.
AJ turned and fired a shot over his shoulder. The bullet pinged off the thing's chest, barely slowing it down.
"Shit," AJ cursed.
The stranger suddenly grabbed both Clem and AJ by the back of their shirts and yanked them forward. The force nearly sent Clem stumbling, but before she could protest, he pulled them behind a pillar just as the machine opened fire.
A spray of bullets tore through the garage, ripping apart cars and shattering glass.
Clem ducked, shielding her head as debris rained down. AJ pressed himself against the pillar, gripping his rifle so hard his knuckles turned white.
The stranger, unfazed, pulled a small metal cylinder from his coat.
With a click, he pressed a button.
A red light blinked on the side.
A grenade.
Without hesitation, he lobbed it toward the machine.
"Down," he ordered.
Clementine barely had time to react before the explosion erupted.
The shockwave slammed into her chest, sending a burst of hot air and dust through the garage. The machine let out a metallic screech as flames engulfed it, the force knocking it back against a wrecked SUV.
Clem coughed, eyes burning from the dust and smoke.
AJ groaned, shaking his head. "What the hell was that?"
"Improvised explosive," the stranger answered. "It will not stop it for long."
Clem pushed herself up, ignoring the ache in her leg. "Then let's go before it gets back up."
The stranger nodded once, then turned and led them toward the exit.
They sprinted toward the stairwell at the far end of the garage, pushing through a rusted door that slammed open with a shriek of metal.
The stairwell was dark and damp, the concrete walls lined with mildew. Clem moved fast, gripping the metal railing as she half-ran, half-limped down the steps.
AJ was right beside her, rifle slung over his shoulder.
The stranger moved ahead of them, his steps unnaturally steady. He wasn't panting, wasn't winded.
Clem gritted her teeth, her gut telling her that something was off about him.
But right now, they have bigger problems.
The machine wasn't dead.
A metal groan echoed from above.
AJ glanced back. "No way. That thing's still moving?"
The stranger's voice was flat. "It is not easily destroyed."
Clem swore under her breath. "I fucking noticed."
They burst out of the stairwell onto the city streets. The road was cracked and overgrown, littered with abandoned vehicles. Storefronts sat empty and shattered, their interiors long since looted.
The world was dead.
And yet, they were still being hunted.
The stranger didn't stop. He kept walking, leading them toward an alleyway between two crumbling buildings.
Clem hesitated.
"We don't even know where you're taking us."
The stranger finally turned to face her. His expression remained emotionless, but this time, his gaze was unnerving.
"I was sent to protect you."
Clementine's blood went cold.
AJ stiffened beside her. "What the hell does that mean?"
The stranger didn't blink.
"There is no time to explain."
A crash echoed from behind them.
Clem turned just in time to see the machine emerge from the garage, smoke still rising from its scorched metal frame. Its red eye flickered, locking onto them.
Then it moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
AJ raised his rifle.
The stranger grabbed his arm and pushed the barrel down. "No, bullets will not stop it."
"Then what the hell will?" Clem snapped.
The stranger met her eyes.
"We run."
And then, for the first time in years—
Clementine did something she hadn't done since she was a child.
She ran for her life.
Clementine ran, her breath sharp in her chest, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. The streets blurred past her, her focus narrowing to the sound of her own footfalls, the weight of her bag slamming against her back with every stride.
AJ was right beside her, keeping pace, his rifle clutched in both hands. His face was tense, his breaths controlled but quick. He was scared, but he wouldn't say it.
The stranger ran ahead, moving with an unnatural steadiness. There was no huffing or exhaustion in his limbs, just precise, even strides as if this were nothing more than a casual jog.
Behind them, the machine was gaining.
Clementine could hear it—metal feet hammering against the pavement, the rhythmic whir of its joints moving, the mechanical precision in every step. No stagger, no hesitation. It wasn't like a walker. Walkers could be outmaneuvered. This thing?
It was built to hunt.
"Faster," the stranger ordered, his voice calm but firm.
Clem clenched her teeth, ignoring the burn in her leg, the dull ache in her prosthetic. She had learned how to run with it years ago, but it still slowed her, made her movements just a little less fluid, a little less quick.
She wasn't used to running from something, not like this.
The alleyway funneled them into a narrow side street filled with wrecked cars and rubble. Clem could see collapsed buildings ahead, broken walls exposing dark interiors. It was a dead end—unless they could find a way through.
AJ glanced back and swore under his breath. "It's still coming!"
Clem risked a look.
The machine was sprinting now. It moved like a person, but wrong. There was no wasted motion, no struggle for balance—just perfect efficiency. It was a predator with no limit to how fast or far it could go.
They weren't going to outrun it.
The stranger suddenly turned a hard left, ducking into an abandoned department store. Its shattered glass doors barely hang from rusted hinges.
Clem hesitated for a half-second before grabbing AJ's arm and pulling him in after her.
The interior was dark, with shelves knocked over and clothing racks scattered across the tile floor. The air smelled of mildew and dust.
"Move," the stranger commanded, weaving through the debris effortlessly.
Clem and AJ followed, ducking past fallen shelves, stepping over old skeletons draped in ragged clothes.
Then—
A metallic crash behind them.
The machine didn't stop at the entrance. It plowed through, tearing the rusted frame apart like paper. Glass exploded, shards raining down in glittering pieces.
AJ yanked his rifle up and fired without thinking. The bullets pinged off the thing's chest, useless. It barely even flinched.
The stranger didn't even look back. "That will not work."
"I noticed!" AJ snapped, already reloading.
Clem grabbed his sleeve. "Forget it, keep moving!"
They cut through the store, leaping over overturned counters and pushing deeper into the darkness. The machine followed, its heavy footsteps precise and unrelenting. It wasn't running anymore—it didn't have to—but it was cornering them.
Clem's mind raced. Think. Think.
A doorway ahead—leading into the stockroom.
"Through there!" she shouted.
They barreled through the door, slamming it behind them.
The back room was a mess—storage crates, toppled shelves, and a collapsed section of the ceiling where vines had begun creeping in. Their frantic movements kicked up dust, which swirled in the air.
Clem scanned the space, looking for a way out.
"Vent," the stranger said, pointing toward the far wall. A metal air duct, partially detached from its frame.
Clem hesitated. "Are you kidding me?"
AJ was already moving, throwing his rifle over his back. "Better than nothing."
The stranger gripped the edges of the vent and yanked. The old metal screeched, bending under his strength, widening the opening.
Clem didn't have time to be disturbed by that.
She shoved AJ toward it. "Go!"
AJ climbed in first, scrambling forward into the dark, his breath loud in the confined space.
Clem moved next, hauling herself up with one hand, using her good leg to push forward.
A thunderous impact rocked the door behind them.
The machine was here.
The metal door dented inward, the force of the blow warping its hinges.
Clem forced herself deeper into the vent, the space getting tighter around her. The metal was cold, her hands slick with sweat as she pulled herself forward.
Behind her, the stranger didn't climb in.
Clem glanced back. "What the hell are you doing?!"
The stranger stood at the vent's edge, looking at the door, his face blank.
Another impact. The door cracked, the top hinge snapping loose.
"You need more time," the stranger said simply.
Then he turned and faced the door.
Clem's stomach twisted. "You're not—"
The door exploded inward.
The machine stepped through the smoke, its red eye glowing, its gun already raised.
Clem didn't wait to see what happened next.
She pushed forward, crawling faster, ignoring the pain in her leg, ignoring the dust stinging her throat.
She heard gunfire behind her.
Not from the machine. From the stranger.
He was fighting it.
AJ's voice echoed from up ahead. "Clem, come on!"
She pushed harder, gritting her teeth, her muscles burning. The vent sloped downward, angling toward a drop-off.
She slid out the other end, landing hard in an abandoned stairwell.
AJ was waiting at the bottom, eyes wide. "You okay?"
Clem sat up, coughing. "Yeah."
A sound above.
Footsteps in the vent.
Her pulse spiked.
But it wasn't the machine.
It was the stranger.
He dropped out of the vent, landing with unnatural grace.
AJ flinched back. "Holy shit, you're fast."
The stranger barely reacted. "We must move."
Clem stared at him. "How the hell did you fight that thing?"
The stranger turned, his expression still unreadable. "It was necessary."
"Yeah, that's not an answer."
A gunshot from above.
The machine had found the vent.
Clem's breath caught in her throat. "Where do we go?"
The stranger pointed toward the far end of the stairwell. A rusted service exit, barely holding together.
"Outside."
AJ scowled. "Where outside?"
The stranger looked at him.
"Somewhere safe."
Clem almost laughed.
There was no such thing anymore.
But there was no time to argue.
The sound of metal tearing came from above.
The machine was coming.
So they ran.
Again.
Like they always did.
Like they always would.
Because there was no other choice.
The rusted door groaned as Clementine pushed through it, shoving her weight against the corroded metal. It finally gave, swinging outward with a screech that echoed into the empty streets beyond. AJ bolted past her, gripping his rifle tight, his eyes sharp as he scanned for movement.
The stranger followed, moving with the same unsettling precision he always had. His expression never changed. No sweat beaded on his forehead, no breath hitched in his chest.
Clementine had questions. Too many of them. But she didn't have time for answers.
Because behind them, the machine was still coming.
She could hear the distant clang of metal-on-metal as it tore through the vent system above. They had seconds, maybe less, before it figured out where they'd gone.
She grabbed AJ's sleeve. "We need cover."
AJ scanned the ruined city, his eyes darting over the husks of cars and buildings. "Where?"
Clementine didn't know. The street stretched in both directions, littered with the decayed remains of the old world. Some of the buildings still stood, their glass long shattered, their brickwork cracked with time. Others had collapsed entirely, leaving piles of rubble and rusted rebar that made escape routes unpredictable.
She turned to the stranger. "You led us here. Where do we go?"
The man didn't hesitate. He pointed toward a collapsed overpass a few blocks ahead. "There."
AJ frowned. "That's just a pile of concrete."
The stranger didn't argue. He simply started running.
Clementine swore under her breath but followed. AJ was right beside her, his boots kicking up dust as they sprinted across the open street.
The city felt too empty.
No walkers. No sounds of distant gunfire. Just the howling wind between buildings and the faint hum of the machine behind them.
That was the worst part.
No shuffling undead meant something worse had driven them away.
They crossed a rusted-out bus, its frame sunken into the cracked asphalt, and weaved between overturned cars. AJ kept glancing back, his grip tight on his rifle.
Then came the sound she had been dreading.
The heavy impact of metal feet slamming onto the pavement.
The machine had found them.
AJ swore. "It's moving fast."
Clementine didn't look back. She didn't need to. She could hear it. The steady, precise rhythm of its steps, the way it never hesitated, never faltered.
The stranger was still ahead of them, unfazed, leading them toward the collapsed overpass.
Clementine could see it now. What had once been a stretch of highway had crumbled into a massive pile of broken concrete and steel, forming a jagged hill that led beneath the remaining structure.
They weren't climbing it. They were going under it.
The stranger reached a section where the debris had formed an opening—just big enough to squeeze through. He ducked inside without a word.
Clem grabbed AJ and pushed him toward it. "Go!"
AJ hesitated only for a second before scrambling through the gap.
Clementine followed, crawling over chunks of broken asphalt and twisted metal. The space beneath the overpass was tight, filled with debris and the smell of old rain and dust.
She turned just in time to see the machine closing the distance.
Its red eye locked onto her.
Clementine threw herself inside the opening, heart pounding.
The stranger was already moving. He led them deeper beneath the wreckage, weaving through narrow passageways formed by fallen beams and concrete slabs.
AJ followed close, but his breathing was heavier now, ragged with adrenaline.
Behind them, the machine reached the opening.
Clementine tensed, expecting it to tear through the rubble, but instead, it stopped.
There was silence.
Clementine didn't dare move.
AJ whispered, "What's it doing?"
The stranger turned his head slightly, listening. "It is scanning."
Clementine clenched her fists. "Then it knows we're here."
"Yes."
AJ's grip on his rifle tightened. "Then why isn't it coming in?"
A long pause.
Then—heavy footsteps, moving away.
AJ furrowed his brow. "Is it… leaving?"
Clementine wasn't convinced. Walkers didn't give up. Raiders didn't give up. Why the hell would this thing?
The stranger remained still, listening.
Finally, he said, "It will find another way."
Clementine exhaled. Not relief. Just exhaustion. She turned to him. "Alright. You need to start talking. Now."
The stranger didn't react.
AJ stepped forward, frustration burning in his voice. "Who the hell are you? And what was that thing?"
The stranger looked at them both, his expression unreadable.
Then he spoke.
"That was a Terminator. A T-800 infiltration unit."
Clementine stared at him, waiting for some kind of explanation that made sense. She didn't get one.
AJ narrowed his eyes. "A what?"
The stranger remained calm. "A machine. Designed for one purpose."
Clementine already knew the answer, but she asked anyway. "And that purpose is?"
The stranger met her gaze.
"To terminate human life."
The words hung between them, sinking into the air like stones in water.
AJ let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Great. That's just great. Like walkers weren't bad enough, now we've got machines trying to kill us too?"
Clementine folded her arms. "And you? What are you?"
The stranger was silent for a moment.
Then he said, "I am also a Terminator."
AJ went rigid. His hand moved toward his rifle.
Clem didn't stop him.
The stranger remained still. "I was sent here to protect you."
AJ scoffed. "Yeah, sure. And I'm supposed to believe that?"
Clem watched the stranger carefully. His expression never changed. His voice never wavered. He wasn't reacting the way a person would when accused of lying.
Because he wasn't a person.
"You said you were sent," she said slowly. "By who?"
"A resistance. What remains of the human race. They fight against Skynet."
Clem felt a chill run down her spine. "Who's Skynet?"
The stranger's eyes didn't waver.
"The artificial intelligence that built the machines."
AJ frowned. "Wait. Built them?"
"Yes."
Clem tried to process that. She had seen a lot in her life. But an intelligence that created its own army? That was something new.
She shook her head. "Why us? Why do they want us dead?"
The stranger hesitated for the first time.
"You are a threat."
Clem stiffened. "A threat? To what?"
"To the future."
Silence.
AJ crossed his arms. "That's not an answer."
The stranger glanced toward the narrow opening behind them. The sounds of the city were muffled under the rubble, but the tension in the air remained.
Finally, he looked back at them.
"We do not have time for more answers. If we stay here, it will find us."
Clementine knew he was right. But that didn't mean she trusted him.
Still, they didn't have many choices.
She exhaled, adjusting the strap on her backpack. "Fine. We move. But this conversation isn't over."
AJ muttered under his breath, but he fell in line behind her.
The stranger nodded once, then turned and led them deeper into the wreckage.
Clementine followed, her mind racing.
Machines. A war. A future she didn't understand.
Whatever this was, it was bigger than anything she had ever faced before.
And for the first time in a long time, she wasn't sure if she would survive it.
So, uh… yeah. This whole thing started because I finally sat down and played all of the Telltale Walking Dead games back to back, and let me tell you—Peak Fiction. Absolute emotional rollercoaster. I laughed, I cried, and I sat in silence, staring at the screen like a broken man.
After I finished, I had that weird post-game emptiness where I just needed more, so I figured, why not write something? At first, it was just gonna be a Walking Dead story, but then my brain was like, "Hey, what if Terminators?" and well… here we are.
So now, Clem and AJ are running for their lives again, but this time, it's not just walkers—it's killer robots.
Did I overthink this? Probably. Am I having fun? Absolutely.
Anyway, if you're here, thanks for reading. More to come soon!