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Her screams filled the barn, overpowering the cacophony of deep guttural groans that surrounded them. Her eyes, wide from shock, watched in horror as thick red liquid squirted from her partially severed leg. She passes out.
AJ could hear his heart beating loudly from within.
Thump Thump Thump
His mind panics as the pool of blood begins to grow, but his resolve forces him to raise the axe high and slam it back down unto the infected limb.
WHACK!
It didn’t work. He swings it high once more.
WHACK!
It’s still connected by a few strands of sinew. Breathing heavily, AJ pulls himself to raise the axe one last time. His eyes shut in concentration, summoning all his strength into this final blow. He grits his teeth as he swings.
WHACK!
He opens his eyes and, in a morbid glee, smiles in relief when the infected leg is finally chopped off. Realization dawns as he inspects Clementine’s pale face. He darts his attention back to the leg, taking in the amount of blood that has leaked from her body.
He’s on limited time.
The beating in his ear becomes louder and deafening.
THUMP THUMP THUMP .
He practically throws himself at her unconscious form, shaking hands patting down every pocket she had. Searching, and searching, and searching.
A small victorious gasp escaped his lips as his tiny hand circle around a small piece of jagged black stone, hidden away in her back pocket. His hold on it tightens as he makes quick work to get a fire going.
THUMP THUMP THUMP
He could feel a bead of sweat making its way down the side of his head, but he pays it no mind, focusing on the task at hand. It takes four strikes in total before the pile of hay starts to smoke. He’s seen her do this a few times before with other minor open wounds when they had no means of bandaging. She called it cot-her-rising .
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon! ” he mutters in agitation, anxiously switching his focus between the oozing leg to the growing fire. Columns of smoke trail lazily upwards and out through the holes of the roof. He holds back the tears. This needs to work.
THUMP THUMP THUMP
Finally, the fire grows stronger and without a moment’s hesitation, he throws the axe down; the metal part obscured within the heart of the flames, its handle a distance away. He lowers himself and blows at the fire, hoping to speed up the process.
A few minutes pass and the blade begins to glow red. Careful not to burn himself, he gingerly picks up the handle and grunts as he drags it back towards her.
“Sorry, Clem.” He mumbles out apologetically before pressing the heated metal against the bloodied half still connected to her body.
Clementine’s eyes snap open, causing AJ to stumble and fall to his rear in shock (dropping the axe in the process), and another blood-curdling scream rips out of her throat.
Breathing heavily, AJ numbly watches her eyes roll back into their sockets, and her body falls limp once more. He shakily gets unto his knees and crawls towards the injury, being mindful of the fallen axe. The air is filled with the sick smell of cooked meat. He wants to gag. He doesn’t.
The area of the wound went from dark, pulsing red to a charred brown. A ring of tainted black skin surrounds it, slowly fading and blending into its normal hue as it travels towards her thigh. It looks gross, but at least it stopped the bleeding.
AJ scrambles up and presses his hand against her forehead, leaving behind a bloody imprint. She’s colder than usual but still warm. Not feverishly hot; warm . He leans his ear against her chest, choking back a sob as a faint beat reverberates back into him.
She’s alive.
Tears begin to flow freely as he wraps his short arms around his protector. He sobs in relief, clutching her tightly, scared that she would disappear and that everything he had done would be all for naught.
The weak heartbeat calms him and clears his previously fogged mind. The sound of walkers remind him of their situation, and he slowly pulls away from her form.
He has work to do.
He quickly cuts a piece off from the dangling rope nearby and ties it around her stump. He doesn’t really know if this helps, but he assumes it does something since Abel had something tied around his own stump before.
Pulling the rope taut, he secures it to her leg before picking up the knife from the ground. He scans around him, eyeing the dead that strains to get them. He needs to find a way out, he needs to get Clementine back to the school.
His eyes land on the wheelbarrow, and a light bulb flashes from within his mind. Using the farm equipment as a stepping stone of sorts, he climbs and begins the tedious task of stabbing rotting heads through the iron bars.
It takes 10 minutes for the area to clear.
He digs out a small depression into the dirt mound inside the wheelbarrow, creating a crude cradle of sorts, and prepares himself to lift an unconscious Clementine unto it. The surge of adrenaline in his body is slowly wearing off, and his movements immediately feel a lot more sluggish as last night’s events begin to catch up. But somehow he manages to get Clementine on top of the wheelbarrow. He checks her forehead one last time before covering her in walker guts.
She is, thankfully, still faintly warm.
Emotionally and physically drained, his knees buckle as he strains against the wheelbarrow. Sweat pours down the side of his face in rivers as he forces himself to move a few inches at a time.
“Clem needs me. She needs me. ” His only source of strength being deprived from this repeated mantra.
An hour has passed and the sun is well above the horizon by now, illuminating the world in a deceivingly peaceful light. His sweaty, blood-soaked face glinted in the morning rays, making him squint before shoving against the heavy wheelbarrow.
Clem needs me.
He looks behind him and frowns at the faint profile of James’ barn. At the pace he was going, he would arrive at the school by sundown. Tears started to well up once more in his eyes.
She needs me.
Blinking them away, he continues to push through. But his attempts begin to hold no results, and the edges of his vision blur.
“Please.” He whimpers out a plea to no one in particular, weakly pushing against the cold metal.
She needs me.
She needs-
“Clementine? AJ?”
He stops moving, breath held tightly against his chest. The voices multiply.
“Clementine!?” “Clem?” “AJ?”
They sound vaguely familiar, and AJ could hear low muffled footsteps getting closer and closer. His knees fall harshly on the dirt.
“AJ!”
He blearily opens his eyes (when did he close them?) and takes in the hazy outline of a familiar face. “Louis..”
Louis’ mouth opens into a soundless yell and his head darts back, as if calling for someone. AJ could feel himself succumb to the realm of unconsciousness.
Cold hands cup his face, shocking his mind to a sense of murky alertness. His tired eyes blink at Louis’ determined, yet worried face. “AJ, stay with me here.”
He feels himself being lifted and cradled; his head resting against the taller boy’s shoulder and his arms automatically circle around Louis’ neck. “Ruby, go check on her. Aasim, go carry Clementine. We need to get back to the school ASAP.”
They start moving and a soft hand rests against his neck, a gentle voice whispering into his ear like a lullaby, “Don’t worry, little dude, we got you.”
That was the last thing he remembered before everything went dark.
By the time he came to, he was back in his and Clementine’s room. The space was lit up from sunlight filtering in from the window, a spotlight to the dust particles that swirled from within. Everything seemed fine, aside from the fact that his throat was so painfully dry and his body felt like lead.
How long was I out?
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please.” He turned his head slowly to the side.
Across from him, sitting on a chair adjacent to the bed Clementine was occupying, was Violet. Her head was wrapped in bandages with one of her eyes covered completely. Angry scar lines were scattered around the upper half of her face. Her brows were furrowed and her hands were cupped around Clementine’s own hand.
“I’m sorry, please, wake up. Please be okay.” She raised the limp hand to her lips, pressing gentle kisses against it and murmuring apologies in between, hoping that it would magically wake her up, as the fairytales proclaim. But life wasn’t a fairytale, and Clementine remained motionless on the bed.
“Please. I’ll never doubt you again, I promise.” The blonde whispered loudly, “I’ll do anything. I-I’ll never make fun of Louis again. I’ll sing to you every single day. Fuck, I don’t even care if I ever get to see again as long as you wake up, so please .”
“Violet?” AJ rasped out, his voice slices through his throat like a fine pointed knife. Violet’s head shot up and whips directionless towards the sound of his voice, “AJ?”
AJ grunted as he forced himself to sit up, Violet immediately appearing next to him. Her arms flail about, stiffly patting every surface it comes into contact with. Eventually, she finds his shoulder, and her posture relaxes.
“Hey buddy,” she grinned albeit a bit forced as she hands him a glass of water, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m mmkay.” he mumbles, downing the drink in one gulp. The lukewarm water reinvigorates him as it cascades down his esophagus. He notes the new set of clothes on his body. In lieu of the bloody (and probably ruined) disco broccoli shirt was Tenn’s old Science Dog t-shirt. He ignores the pang of guilt in his heart. “How long was I out?”
Violet sheepishly rubs the back of her neck, “I’m honestly not sure, a few hours maybe?” She shakes her head, “Sorry, squirt, the ole eyesight ain’t what it used to be.”
Her eyes, which was once blue, was now cloudy with a dull milky film.
“I’m sorry.” He said remorsefully. He liked Violet and it hurts him to see her look so defeated. She forces another smile, “It’s okay.”
He looks past her head and latches onto the sleeping figure of Clementine, zoning in immediately on the severed limb. Instead of the thick rope he initially tied, her stump was now thoroughly wrapped in clean proper bandages. Her skin definitely had more color to it, and her chest rose at a steady pace.
“Is Clem..?
“Ruby says she’s fine. She lost a lot of blood, but you got her stabilized in the nick of time.” Her hand covered his own, returning his focus to Violet, “You saved her.”
“She saved me.” He answered.
“She saved all of us.”
Her eyes squinted in apprehensively, “AJ, what happened in the barn? Louis said that they saw smoke coming out of the roof and found you and Clem a little ways off covered in blood.”
He frowned, remembering the most stressful moment of his life and how close he was to losing Clementine all over again, “She was bit.”
“Oh my god.”
Words begin to spill out of his mouth. He recounts the bridge and the chills that crawled up his spine as Minerva came into view like the vengeful spirit she was. He recounts the emptiness in her eyes as she passionately called out for her sweet little brother. He recounts the struggle as Clementine fought off both walkers and Minerva at the same time, the latter slicing open Clementine’s foot in their escape. He recounts Tennessee’s death, purposely skirting around the details. And finally, he recounts the events of the barn and the hopelessness he wishes to never feel again.
“Fuck. ” Was all Violet could muster as her eyes painfully welled up, the tears stung twice as much than usual. She squeezes AJ’s hand tightly before letting go, carefully dabbing her eyes with the hem of her shirt. Wordlessly, she returns to the chair next to Clementine, needing time alone with her thoughts. Her head hung low, cradled in her hands as silent, fiery tears run down her marred face.
Sensing the need for privacy, AJ spoke up, “I think I’m going to go find Ruby. I feel a lot better now, but I could use a snack or something to eat.”
Violet awkwardly shuffles in her seat, “Yeah, that might be for the best. I’m not exactly well equipped to help you right now.”
She nodded her head towards the door, “There should be someone stationed at the entrance of the dorms.”
“Thanks.”
AJ gingerly climbed down the bed. He felt a bit dizzy, but nothing he deemed was out of the ordinary. He was halfway out the door when Violet’s voice called out.
“Oh, and AJ?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
AJ smiled, “I’m glad you’re okay too.” He begins to stutter, remembering the current state of her eyes, “I mean, kind of? I’m glad you’re alive, I mean.”
Violet laughed, the first time in days, “I get it. I’ll catch you later, okay bud?”
“Okay.”
It felt weird to walk the silent halls of the school. He was so used to the looming threat of invaders that the quiet calmness was a strange (but welcomed) feeling. Aasim was the first person AJ saw as he stepped out the doors, the former’s face was scrunched up as he furiously wrote in his journal.
“Hey, Aasim.”
The budding writer immediately halts his movements and turns sharply to look at him, “AJ! How are you feeling, dude?”
AJ shrugged, “I’m okay. Where’s Ruby though?”
“She’s with Omar in the kitchen, they’re preparing dinner. Cooking up a real feast as celebration for the semi-successful rescue mission.” He gestures to the bickering duo near the campfire. AJ was pleasantly surprised to see the Disco Broccoli shirt hanging out to dry near the flames.
Aasim’s proud grin then proceeded to slip into one of concern. “How’s Clementine? Is she-”
“She’s fine, I think? She’s still unconscious but at least she’s alive.”
“Damn.” Aasim sighed, scratching his head with the tip of his pencil, “She’s one hell of a survivor, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah.” AJ peered at the journal, standing on his tippy toes to match the desk’s height, “Whatcha writing?”
“Everything that happened in the last few days. It’s been a pretty crazy week.” Aasim explained with a low chuckle of dark humor. He raises an eyebrow at the younger child, an idea popping into his head, “Hey, you wanna write something in it?”
AJ stared at him with wide incredulous eyes, “What, really?”
“Yeah.” He reaches down and lifts the child by the armpits, sitting him on top of his lap. “Future readers would want to know how the heroic AJ saved the life of our fearless leader.”
He presses the pencil into AJ’s smaller palm, “Just write anything and everything that comes to mind.”
AJ beamed excitedly as he slowly sounded off the words written clumsily on the paper, the tip of his tongue sticking out in concentration, “How I Protekted Clem by Alvin Junior-”