Chapter Text
BANG!
The gunshot rang in her ears after she pulled the trigger. His blood splattered against the wall behind his head. The impact made Clementine stumble backward, letting out a yelp. She whimpered, streams of tears continued slipping down her cheeks. Her hazel eyes squeezed shut tightly before slowly opening them again, her heart skipped a beat. The man in front of her, Lee, sat still. His arm, his only arm, was handcuffed against a radiator beside him by the wrist.
His clothing was covered in blood, mostly from walkers but partly from his own blood. A bullet hole was now engraved into his forehead, blood spilling out constantly. Clementine thought she could see his brain. His skin was pale. Dark grey. No longer the dark brown skin that gave a warm glow in the sunlight. His face drooped, his eyes still shut. She knew she wouldn’t see his smile again.
The little girl trembled with the gun in her small hands. Groans and moans came from outside of the jewelry store she and Lee were hiding in. Walkers. Clementine glanced over her shoulder to the vent a few feet away from her, she slowly turned towards it. Her feet dragging. Her yellow dress, covered in walker blood, slightly swayed.
She drifted toward the vent, her hands gripped onto her gun, her fingers avoiding the trigger. Clementine let out a soft cry, her shoulders felt heavy with guilt. She turned back to Lee, seeing his body leaning over in the opposite direction. His handcuffed wrist kept him still in contact, his other arm, which was now a stump, continuously drizzled blood from the bandaging.
Clementine let out a shaky breath, tears threatening to spill out even more. She flinched as numerous bangs came from the metal doors to the jewelry store.
She had no time.
Clementine glanced back at Lee one last time. His corpse was now stuck in her memory. I’m sorry Lee. Clementine blinked back tears before turning back to the vent. She tossed the gun into the vent, its metal echoing. She pulled herself into the vent, her hand snatched the gun again as she crawled through.
Find Omid and Christa.
Lee’s hoarse voice echoing in her head, one of his last wishes. She continued crawling through, Lee’s last moments playing in her head on repeat like a broken record that she couldn’t turn off.
Clementine stumbled out of the vent, letting out a yelp, she landed feet-first onto concrete. She glanced around her, the sky was dark and full of angry clouds. The walls around her stood over her, making her feel even smaller. A dumpster stood near her, the smell almost burning her nose. Groans from walkers echoed in the alleyway from both sides, but they began to grow fainter and fainter. Most likely drawn to the gunshot.
She paced through the alleyway, making her way onto a street. Walkers already began making their way past the Marsh House and heading to the nearby Jewelry store.
The Marsh House…
She shouldn’t have listened to that stranger. Lee wouldn’t be dead if it wasn’t for her. That creepy man was a liar, her parents weren’t there. They were dead. Walkers. One of them. Clementine gritted her teeth. That man took her away from her group, and she lost everyone. Carely. Katjaa and Duck. Ben. Kenny. Her parents. And now Lee?
That stranger had what was coming. Clementine felt horrified after shooting him when Lee was losing the fight. She didn’t want to kill anyone. But life opposed that. Clementine shook her head frantically. She didn’t have time for this. Get out of Savannah and find Omid and Christa.
Clementine spun on her heel, heading towards the river and oceans nearby. She scanned the area, the waves crashing into one another. She scanned the streets cautiously as she walked down the streets, while letting out occasional chokes of cries.
What felt like hours of walking, Clementine made it onto a field. Far from civilization, but not far enough from walkers. Tears threatened to spill out again. Clementine sniffled, wiping away tears with her free hand.
She wanted to go home.
Where it was safe. Where she didn’t have to worry about anything. Where her parents would greet her with warm hugs after she got home. Where she felt happy.
She wanted to feel safe again.
“Lee…” Clementine choked, her tears now flowing freely. She wasn’t going to see him again. Not that calm smile of his. No longer hearing his reassuring voice. No longer being able to feel his hugs again. She could only follow his wishes just like he asked.
Always keep moving.
****
Clementine’s shoes pressed on the dead grass as she walked. She wiped away stray tears while her other hand held the gun. The gun that felt heavy in her hands. Heavier than before. Her blue and white baseball cap embraced the evening sunlight. Her ‘D’ logo laced onto it, now accompanied with a patch of blood near it. Possibly Lee’s blood.
She glanced upward, the visor of her baseball cap giving her shade over her round eyes. A large tree stood, with a fallen log sitting next to it, serving as a bench. She squinted, seeing a figure sitting in the area. They didn’t look recognizable to her. Nor Omid or Christa either. They didn’t look like a walker, their stance was easy to tell. Walkers rarely stood up right, let alone have balanced footing. This person wasn’t one of them.
Clementine carefully gripped her gun as she walked closer. As she got closer, she could hear quick and uneven breaths. Occasional whimpers of fear.
She could make out the person now she was closer and undetected of her presence. The person seemed to be a boy. A boy around her age, maybe a little older? He had a dark complexion with dark dreadlocks. His clothing was somewhat interesting. They appeared to be fancy and expensive-looking. Didn’t the world end? Why was he wearing such pricey clothing?
“Are– Are you okay?” Clementine asked, her voice hoarse from crying. The boy yelped, he stood up from his seat; spinning on his heel to face her while holding onto his bat. The boy had big brown eyes and what looked like… freckles? On his face, mainly near his cheeks and nose. His bat was covered in blood along with his “luxurious” clothing.
“Please don’t kill me!” The boy cried in shock. His shoulders tensed, before slightly relaxing. “Oh– sorry, I— I thought you were a dead-head..”
Clementine sniffled, before tilting her head. “Dead-head?” The boy nodded slowly, “Yeah…? What– do you call them something else?”
“My people called them walkers.”
“Ah.. walkers. That– that sounds cooler than Dead-heads.” He commented. Clementine nodded suspiciously and cautiously. She sat on the log, her legs immediately relaxing from exhaustion. “What are you doing out here?” He asked curiously, sitting next to her an arms length away.
“I was leaving Savannah to find the rest of my friends. After… most of them died…” Clementine answered quietly. The boy looked at her sympathetically after hearing the last sentence. “What about you? Why are you alone out here?” Clementine asked back.
“I was with my classmates since the outbreak, but we got separated by a group of dead-heads.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Wait– where are we?”
“In Georgia?”
The boy’s eyes widened. “Holy sh-, uh- crap! Georgia?!” he exclaimed. Clementine flinched from the sudden outburst. “How’d I get to Georgia?!”
“Where were you from?”
“Uh- West Virginia. Y’know, ‘mountain mama~ take me home’..?” The boy answered. Clementine gasped softly in surprise. “Wow, that’s a long way…” The boy nodded. He glanced at her, noticing the blood on her dress and faint traces of it on her face, his nose scrunched up a bit with a hint of disgust.
Clementine stared at him in confusion before glancing at herself, “Oh, this is just walker blood. It's gross, but it helped me get out of Savannah.” She said simply.
“Interesting,” He nodded. “Oh, I’m Louis by the way.” the boy grinned, extending his hand out to her for a hand shake. Clementine hesitated but took his handshake. She gasped from how energetic his hand shake was, nearly making her tip over from his enthusiasm without realizing it.
“Clementine.”
“Ooh, I like that name!” The boy, Louis, grinned. Clementine tried to smile back, but it came out weak. “Clementine… Like ‘Oh My Darling Clementine’?”
Clementine only shrugged.
“You said you were alone, right? You can… join me and my friends once I find them.” She offered. Louis’s face lit up.
“Oh, yes, please! I can’t handle being alone out here, it’s so boorringg…” Louis complained. “So, where are your friends?”
“That well… I don’t know.”
Louis just stared at her before having a smirk grow on his face. “Alright, I, Louis, the greatest musician of all time! Will assist in helping you find them!” He said. Clementine couldn’t help but smile as she watched Louis place his hands on his hips. He oddly reminded her of Duck. He gives off that same warm, cozy feeling Duck had. The same one where she knew they were going to be great friends.
He glanced around the surroundings, his freckled face puzzled. He stopped, squinting towards a hill afar. There were two figures walking in the distance, unnoticed by their presence.
Clementine glanced at the ground, noticing a few bullet cases. She picked them up, staring at her hand; unaware of the sight.
“Is that them?”
Clementine looked up, her eyes shifted to the two figures Louis was pointing at. She stood up, taking a few steps next to him while squinting. Her eyes widened after watching the two figures stop moving. Appearing to notice the two kid’s presence from such a long distance.
“I think it is!” She confirmed. Turning her head to Louis. She and the boy were the same height, or at least close in height. The boy grinned happily like a little kid. (Well, he is one)
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Louis exclaimed. Before Clementine knew it, the boy grabbed her wrist. His other hand held his bat as they both began sprinting towards the figures together. Heading towards the horizon of the morning sunrise.
Finally, a light in the darkness.
****
“And if you have a minute why don’t we go
talk about it somewhere only we know?”
Somewhere Only We Know — Keane