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the-delta-42 · 1 year

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Reunions

Clementine gripped AJ’s hand as the pair approached New Richmond’s gates. They’d spent the past couple of months walking from Ericson’s to New Richmond. She tried not to scowl, after stopping Marlon from bashing Brody’s head in, she’d opted to back Marlon up. Not for the first time, Clementine found herself wishing that AJ had shot Marlon in the back of the head instead of the ear.

A bullet impacted Clementine’s ankle, forcing her onto one knee.

“Clyde, you fucking idiot!” Someone shouted, before the gates opened.

“Holy shit, are you okay?” Asked a woman, Clementine glared at her.

“Yeah, I’m fan-fucking-tastic, Kate,” Snapped Clem, her hands gripping her blood-soaked foot, “it’s not like I need my foot anyway.”

Kate stared down at her, before whispering “Clementine?”

Clem sucked air in through her teeth and started to stand, only for her wounded leg to buckle under her weight, “MOTHERFUCK-”

AJ tried to catch her as she fell, but ended up trapped under his guardian, “Clem, you’re heavy.”

Clementine grunted, as Kate pulled her to her feet and hook her arm around her shoulders.

“Sorry about Clyde, he’s new.” Apologised Kate, as she helped Clementine into the settlement.

“Really, I couldn’t tell.” Grunted Clem, trying not to focus on her foot.

“Kate, we heard a gunshot, is everything-Clementine?!” Gasped Javi, with Gabe just behind him.

“Hi, guys.” Groaned Clem, “Your guard fucking shot me.”

Clementine tried not to wince as Lingard examined her foot, Eleanor was checking over AJ, smiling whenever he giggled. Kate and Javier were watching from some seats up against the wall.

“So, how bad is it?” Asked Clementine, making Lingard look up at her.

“Well, you’re not going to lose it, and if definitely isn’t going to kill you.” Lingard informed her.

“That’s a relief,” Sighed Clementine, “just imagine surviving for nearly ten years, just to be killed by a bullet to the foot.”

“You are going to have to be in a cast for a while, though.” Said Lingard, dropping a couple of pain killers into Clementine’s hand, “These should help.”

“Yay.” Muttered Clementine, sarcastically.

“The cast will be on for six-to-eight weeks,” Lingard told her, “Although, knowing your modus operandi, it may as well take an entire year.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Demanded Clementine, indignant.

“You need to get plenty of rest, to make the healing process work as effectively and as quickly possible.” Continued Lingard, ignoring Clementine.

“You look adorable when you pout.” Teased Kate, getting a glare from Clementine.

“I’m not pouting.”

“Aw, your chin crinkles.”

“I will bite you.”

“And your cheeks go all puffy-SON OF A BITCH!” Kate withdrew her hand, which now had a bite mark on her thumb, “You bit me!”

“In her defence,” Said Javi, “Clem did say she’d bite you.”

Kate threw a glare in Javi’s direction, before looking at her thumb.

“It doesn’t look that bad.” Said Gabe, as Clementine hobbled around on her crutches, “It could be a lot worse.”

“Like how?” Scowled Clementine, carefully sliding into a chair.

“You could’ve been bitten or had it amputated.” Gabe suggested, getting a sigh from Clementine.

“You must be fun at parties.” Muttered Clementine, she found she’d been doing that a lot lately.

“Not really, I don’t get invited.” Shrugged Gabe, getting a funny look from Clementine.

“I know you’re saying that because it doesn’t really bother you,” Said Clem, after a moment, “but, that really fucking sad.”

Gabe froze, before frowning, “Thank you?”

Clementine then let out a low chuckle, before leaning back and staring at the ceiling. Gabe frowned and leaned closer to her, “Wait, are you high?”

“Nooo.”

Gabe sighed, instead opting to sit down and wait for Clementine to either fall asleep or come down from her high. He was leaning towards the former more than the latter.

“Gabe.” Whispered Clementine, “Gabe. Gabey. Gabe. Gaaabe. Gabriel.”

Gabe sighed sharply through his nose, “What is it, Clem?”

“I love you.”

Gabe’s face went red, “O-okay.”

“You’re like the best friend I can’t live without.”

“Okay, Clementine.”

“But it’s a secret.”

Gabe frowned, before looking at Clementine, her hat was lopsided, and she looked like she was about to fall asleep.

“Can I have a hug?” Asked Clementine, quietly.

Gabe jumped, he’d been staring at Clementine and had forgotten the rest of the world existed.

“O-okay, sure.” Stuttered Gabe, getting up and awkwardly hugging Clementine.

She let out a small, happy sigh, before drifting off to sleep.

Gabe looked around the farm, one of the newish arrivals, a redhead called Sophie, was showing AJ the various animals. He’d just left Clementine with Lingard and didn’t have anything to do for at least half-an-hour.

“Everything okay, Gabe?” Asked Sophie, making Gabe jump.

“Don’t fucking do that!” Gasped Gabe, as Sophie cracked up at his reaction.

“Swear.”

Gabe spotted AJ and sighed, at least his search was over.

“Hey, bud,” Said Gabe, crouching down to AJ’s level, “Clem’s having her foot looked at.”

“But they looked at it yesterday.” Said AJ, confused.

“They want to see if they need to do anything else.” Explained Gabe, as Sophie walked over to one of the cows with a smirk.

“Like what?”

“They want to make sure none of her bones are broken or in the wrong place.” Called Sophie, carefully setting up a bucket, “I had a friend who almost shot their foot off. God knows where he is now.”

Louis sneezed, accidentally slamming his head into a tree.

“You okay?” Asked Marlon, getting a glare in return.

Marlon had stepped down as leader, Violet had been all for throwing him and Brody out, but she’d been outvoted. Violet and Louis had taken over, while Violet was more than a little upset that they threw Clementine and AJ out, but not the two that had actually betrayed them. Louis was beginning to wonder if they made the right call.

“I’m sure if his highness had anything wrong with him, you’d be the first to know.” Snapped Aasim, dropping the firewood near them.

“I just sneezed.”

“Sure, the wonders of having a clear conscience.” Muttered Aasim, stalking away.

“What’s his problem?” Asked Marlon, Brody stopping next to him.

“We found that coat AJ was wearing before he and Clem left.” Said Brody, swallowing, “A walker had it.”

Louis froze, if a Walker got AJ, then one got Clem. He’d voted for them dying.

“That doesn’t mean they’re dead.” Argued Marlon, making Louis snap.

“No, but you probably hope they are.”

Louis left the two in stunned silence, he passed Violet as he went.

“You voted for it.” Said Violet, before climbing up the watchtower.

Louis flinched.

R *Three months later*

Clementine sighed as she rolled her ankle around. Gabe stood a couple feet away, holding onto her crutches.

“Gabe, really, I’m going to be fine.” Said Clementine, putting her foot on the floor.

“Sorry, I worry.” Apologised Gabe, stepping closer to Clementine.

Clementine smiled, before standing on her toes and giving Gabe a quick peck.

“Seriously, I’m going to be fine.” She murmured leaning against her boyfriend. Gabe had asked her out a week after she and AJ had arrived at, or in Clementine’s case returned to, New Richmond.

“We should probably go find AJ.” Muttered Gabe, making Clementine sigh.

“I was wondering why the goofball was so quiet.”

The pair exited Clem’s home, stepping onto a busy street. They joined hands and made their way towards the farming areas of New Richmond. AJ had taken to the animals, and wanted to be around them as much as possible, Clementine didn’t find an issue with it, unless it was a dog. They started to get closer to the area, before they heard gunshots. The two paused, glancing at each other, before sprinting towards the source of the noise.

Clementine skidded to a halt, staring at the hole in the wall and the walkers getting in. Sophie had taken a few walkers out with a sawn-off shotgun. Clementine quickly unholstered the colt python Javi had given her and took down three walkers Sophie hadn’t spotted, before using her knife to take out a few more walkers.

“Soph, where’s AJ?” Demanded Clementine, as soon as she got close enough.

“I sent him to get help.” Answered Sophie, as Clementine took down three more walkers. She reloaded her gun and promptly emptied it into six more walkers.

“Great.” Muttered Clementine, before a hand grasped her ankle.

Clementine fell to the ground, her gun landing a few feet from her. She kicked the walker’s hand, trying to get free.

“Clem, don’t move!”

Clementine screamed as her foot burst into a fire of pain.

“Oh, fuck!” Screamed Sophie, before discharging the shotgun at the walker’s head, doing more damage to Clementine’s foot as she did.

“Fuck!” Screamed Clementine, using her good foot to kick the walker back, the monster taking a chunk of her leg with it.

Gunshots rang out, taking down the walkers, as Javi arrived with Kate and other members of the community.

“Gabe, pass me the axe.” Ordered Sophie, taking the laces from a boot and tying it tightly around Clementine’s leg.

“What axe?” Asked Gabe, pulling a knife from a walker’s skull.

Sophie turned and pointed at a fire axe lying on the ground next to the stool. Gabe grabbed the weapon and handed it to Sophie, who turned and placed her hand on Clementine’s shoulder, “Clem, I’m so, so sorry.”

With that, she raised the axe above her head and swung it down.

Gabe stared at the stump where Clementine’s leg used to be. She’d fallen unconscious shortly after Sophie had taken off her leg, the remains of her mangled boot were with one of the R&D guys, Javi had asked them to make Clem a new leg.

“How the hell was that hole made?” Javi asked, looking around the rest of the council members.

“The Delta are losing the war, I wouldn’t be surprised if they resorted to under-hand tactics.” Said Conrad, as Kate shifted.

“But there weren’t any members of the Delta in with the walkers.”

“It could be a smattering of Whisperers,” Suggested Christa, “there are still small groups of them, causing chaos wherever they can.”

“That still doesn’t answer how it was made.” Said Vince, “The only group that has that sort of firepower is the Delta, I know that we’ve caught some of their soldiers roaming around the forests.”

“Children aren’t soldiers.” Said Lingard, frowning.

“Who’s and what’s aside,” Interrupted Mike, “We lost half-a-dozen cattle and at least three pigs. We may have to start rationing supplies, until we replace them.”

Javi was silent, before looking at Lingard, “How’s Clem holding up?”

“Aside from almost bleeding to death, she’s fine physically,” Answered Lingard, “Mentally and emotionally, I’m afraid, will have to wait until she wakes up.”

Javi sighed, before looking around, “Do we have the materials needed to fix the hole?”

“I’ve already got a couple of teams working on it.” Answered Mike, leaning back, “We’ve got some of the school kids helping out.”

“Speaking of,” Said Christa, “Some of the teachers have got the test results. I hate to say it, but we need to start teaching them how to protect themselves at a younger age.”

“What do you mean?” Asked Kate, frowning at Christa.

“The only one who passed the tests was AJ, we might not like Clementine teaching him how to shoot someone, but it might be the best thing to do in today's world.” Answered Christa, “They’re suggesting that Clementine teaches a couple days a week.”

“I’ll see if I can spare any guards to help with that.” Said Vince, getting a grimace from Kate.

“Anyone but Clyde, I hope.”

“We don’t even know where he’s fucked off to.”

Clementine groaned, before slowly opening her eyes. A man with long brown hair and a glorious beard stood at the end of the bed.

“…Jesus?”

The man smiled, getting a groan from Clementine.

“What are you doing, Paul?” Asked Clementine, looking up at him.

“Javi asked me to watch you, he said Gabe needs to sleep.” Said Paul, as Clementine groaned and went to turn over, “I take it, that you know about your leg.”

“I can still feel my foot.”

“That’s normal.”

The pair were interrupted by Eleanor entering the room, “Clementine, you’re awake.”

Clementine groaned.

“Mr Monroe, if you could please leave my patient alone with me.”

“No, please, don’t leave me with her.” Pleaded Clementine, as Paul left the hospital room.

Paul made his way towards the gate, he’d say goodbye to his friends here before returning to the Kingdom.

Eleanor looked down at Clementine, “How are you feeling?”

“Confused, mostly.” Answered Clementine, “It’s weird, I can still feel my foot.”

“That’s normal,” Said Eleanor, gently, “we can come up with a treatment plan to help you cope with your phantom limb.”

Clementine stared at the remains of her leg, “I was bit.”

“Sophie managed to amputate your leg before the infection could spread.” Explained Eleanor, “We managed to cauterize it and stop the bleeding before you lost too much blood.”

Clementine shakily nodded, “O-okay, c-can I have a moment alone. Please.”

Eleanor solemnly nodded, before leaving the room. Clementine swallowed thickly and let the tears fall.

“I feel ridiculous.” Muttered Clementine, fiddling with her dress, as Gabe kept her steady and held her crutches for her.

“I think you look great.” Said Gabe, getting a glare from Clementine, “Honestly, I really do.”

Clementine turned her attention to the church, watching Kate and Javí laugh about something. After a few years of dating, almost three years since Javí became the leader of the New Frontier, he and Kate had finally gotten married.

“I think Kate’s going to throw the bouquet.” Muttered Gabe, as Kate turned her back to the guests.

“Yippee.” Drawled Clementine, before spotting something in her peripheral and shooting her hand out to catch it before it hit her in the face.

Everyone stared at Clementine and Gabriel, while the pair just stared at the bouquet in Clementine’s hand.

“Holy shit.” Said Clementine, staring at the flowers, “Wait, is that a cob of corn?”

R *Ten years later*

Louis scowled as he swatted at the bugs. Their entire group had to leave the school, after Minnie turned up and warned them about someone called Lilly. Violet still hadn’t forgiven Marlon about selling the twins and then getting Clementine and AJ killed.

“The New Frontier is our best chance at getting away from Lilly.” Said Minnie, ducking under a branch.

“So, are we nearly there yet?” Asked Willy, getting a shush from Mitch.

“That’s a good question.” Said a man’s voice.

The entire group turned and faced the direction the voice came from. A man dressed in clothes that looked like had walker guts on them, held a rifle loosely in his arms, the only piece of clothing that didn’t have walker guts on it was his orange beanie, which looked out of place on him.

“Where is there?” Asked the man, as another man joined him.

“We’re looking for the New Frontier.” Said Minnie, raising her hands above her head.

The man frowned at her, before looking at his friend.

“Why are you looking for them?” Asked the man’s friend, eying them suspiciously.

“Protection, we’re running from the Delta.” Said Minnie, as the man in the orange hat looked at his friend.

“James, double back, make sure there isn’t a herd following them.”

The man’s friend, James, nodded and pulling a walker mask over his face, “See you in a few.”

The man nodded, before turning back to the group. Marlon stared at the bag the man had, it had supplies, not much, but enough to last them to the New Frontier.

“Right, he’ll-” The man was cut off by Marlon shooting him in the head.

“Whoa!”

“What the fuck?!”

“Marlon,” Gasped Louis, “what have you done?”

“We need these supplies,” Justified Marlon, grabbing the man’s bag and grabbing the weapons he had on him, “more than he did, anyway.”

Marlon held a knife the man had out towards Louis. He stared at it, before shoving past Marlon. Tenn reluctantly took the knife, while Brody took the pistol he had. Minnie stared at the corpse, Lilly had kept tabs on all New Frontier members, especially one that were close to someone called ‘Clementine’. She swallowed, glancing at Marlon’s back, before following the rest of the group.

Kate handed Lee and Carly off to Javí and AJ. Eleanor had Sophie turf everyone out of the room, going as far to stop Lingard from using the toilet in the process. Clementine, for her part, only looked vaguely annoyed. She had sweat gathering on her brow and she had her eyes closed while she carefully controlled her breathing.

“Have you been able to get a hold of Gabe?” Asked Kate, as Javí frowned at the walkie talkie in his hand.

“No, but James has just told me that he’s had to divert a large group of walkers.” Answered Javí, “He said that he and Gabe ran into a group of survivors looking for the New Frontier.”

“Have you told everyone else?” Asked Kate, before mentally slapping herself, of course he hadn’t, he’s only just found out.

“I’m going to,” Said Javí, jerking his head, “AJ had guard duty with Arthur, I’ll take the twins to the council meeting.”

“You’re going to dump them on Christa again, aren’t you?”

Javí remained silent, before awkwardly clearing his throat and ushering AJ out of the room. Kate stared after him, before groaning.

Clementine exhaled shakily, before hobbling toward a chair. She stumbled when another contraction hit and was caught by Sophie before she hit the floor.

“Fuuuuuck.” Wheezed Clementine, as Kate joined Sophie and helped carry Clementine to a bed.

AJ scowled at the road leading out of New Richmond. He’d been stuck on watch for the past several hours. The sixteen-year-old rocked back and forth on his feet, Arthur glanced at him, “Just a couple more hours, kid.”

“They should be back by now.” Said AJ, before a branch moving caught his attention.

Squinting, AJ focused on the area, unslinging his rife from his shoulder. Arthur followed AJ gaze, before unholstering his rifle as well.

A woman that looked a lot like Sophie stepped out, followed by a blond man with a messy mullet.

“Marvin?” Asked AJ, confused.

Arthur aimed his rifle at the woman’s feet, firing a warning shot.

A group of people slowly appeared behind them.

“That’s far enough!” Yelled Arthur, alerting both the group and the other guards along the wall.

“Are you the New Frontier?” Asked the blond man, his hands raised.

“Depends.” Answered Arthur, as AJ made his way down to the gate and followed Mike out. AJ aimed at the group, joining the rest of the team in disarming the new arrivals.

“We’re not here to fight.” Said the woman, “I’m here to defect, they’re here to join.”

“Sophie?” Asked Gill, frowning at the woman, “What happened to your hair?”

The woman stared at Gill, before Becca swatted his arm, “That’s not Sophie, you idiot, she’d helping Eleanor.”

“S-Sophie’s alive?”

They turned their attention back to the group, AJ recognised Louis and Violet, the latter missing an eye, before his eyes raked across the rest of the Ericson’s group. His eyes settled on Tenn, before zeroing in on the hilt of a knife.

Without a word, AJ advanced on Tenn and roughly grabbed the knife. He examined it, no one moving.

“Where did you get this?!” Demanded AJ, glaring at the group.

“We found it on a corpse.” Said Marvin, quickly.

They were saved from further interrogation by a car’s engine. AJ looked over at a rusty dodge challenger, the car stopping just before the group. James got out and solemnly looked at AJ.

“Gabe’s dead.”

Clementine screamed as she pushed, she vaguely heard Eleanor say something about the baby’s head. Sophie winced as she felt her hand crack, Kate had left to answer the door after someone knocked on it.

“Okay, Clem,” Said Eleanor, “You’re almost there.”

Clementine pushed on Eleanor’s command, before a shriek pierced the air. Clementine gasped, as Eleanor quickly cleaned and wrapped the baby up in a towel.

“It’s a girl.” Said Eleanor, carefully handing the baby over to her mother.

Clementine stared tiredly at her daughter, still squalling and using what little strength she had to wave her tiny fists.

“She’s beautiful.” Breathed Clementine, cradling her, “Hi, Mari.”

Mariana still wailed, when Kate re-entered the room. She nervously jerked her head to Sophie and Eleanor, both leaving the mother and new-born alone.

“Gabe’s dead.” Whispered Kate, looking between the two women, “A new group arrived earlier, they said they found Gabe dead.”

“Okay, shit,” Swore Sophie, “What do we tell Clem?”

“That’s not all of it.” Said Kate, “According to James, they were the group he and Gabe ran into earlier. When he left Gabe was very much alive.”

“Fuck.” Whispered Sophie, as AJ walked up to them.

“One of them looks just like you.” Said AJ, making them jump, “She was surprised to hear you were alive apparently.”

Sophie’s eyes widened, before she took off for the gate.

The three watched after her, before looking at each other, “We still need to tell Clem.” Said Kate.

“I’ll do it.” AJ volunteered, “She’s less likely to lose it with me.”

They opened the door, finding Clementine awkwardly waddling around and cooing at Mariana.

“Hey, Clem.” Said AJ, walking towards her, “Is that Mari?”

“Yeah,” Smiled Clementine, bouncing her gently, “just wait until your father gets home, he’s going to love you to pieces.”

AJ felt his heart freeze, suddenly regretting volunteering to tell Clem the bad news.

“Um, C-Clem, I-I have some bad news.” Stuttered AJ, making Clementine look at him.

“AJ?” Asked Clementine, carefully adjusting Mariana, “Goofball, what’s wrong?”

“J-James ran into some new survivors, today.” Stuttered AJ, “He w-was with Gabe a-and he had to divert some walkers.”

“Okay,” Said Clementine, dread slowly building in her gut, “what happened?”

“S-sometime after leaving Gabe with this group, s-someone,” AJ swallowed, “I-I’m s-sorry, C-Clem, b-but G-Gabe’s, Gabe’s, he’s…”

Clementine froze, figuring out what AJ was trying to tell her. Without thinking, Clementine wrapped an arm around AJ and pulled him close to her.

Outside, Kate and Eleanor flinched when they head Clem wail.

“So, after leaving him, alone, you heard a gunshot, doubled back and looted his corpse?” Asked Christa, disbelievingly, looking down at Marlon.

Sophie had arrived shortly after AJ left and, after seeing the group, suggested that they all be separated.

“T-that’s right.” Said Marlon, looking up at her.

“Marlon just shot him?!” Demanded Sophie, glaring down at Minerva.

“Yes.”

“What, did you suggest it to him, or did he just up and do it himself?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“It’s what you did.” Snapped Sophie, jerking her scarf to the side, presenting a pale scar to Minerva, “I was lucky your aim was off.”

“Fuck, Soph, I-I’m sorry.” Gasped Minerva, reach out to Sophie.

“Stay where you are!” Ordered Sophie, drawing a gun on Minerva, “Now, answer my question, did you tell Marlon to kill Gabe?!”

“No.” Minerva shook her head, “I-I was going to tell him who we were, w-when Marlon shot him.”

“You remind me of a friend of mine.” Said Jesus, leaning back in his chair.

Louis frowned, leaning forwards, “Who?”

“He’s the leader of a community, not too far from here, called the Kingdom,” Answered Jesus, “his name’s Ezekiel.”

“My dad was called that.” Muttered Louis, “He was rich as fuck, but chose to work in a fucking zoo.”

Jesus froze, before frowning, “What was his last name?”

“Sutton.”

Jesus fell back in his chair.

Tenn nervously looked up at the brunette, according to the one called Becca, this was Shel.

“W-we didn’t know Marlon was going to shoot him.” Stuttered Tenn, as Shel sat down across from him.

“Did Marlon say why he shot Gabe?” Asked Shel, resting her elbows on the table.

“H-he said we needed the supplies he had.”

There was a brief knock on the door, before Javí poked his head in and gestured for Shel to step out of the room. The group of adults looked around each other.

“According to Marlon,” Said Christa, running her hand down her face, “They left Gabe, heard a gunshot and doubled back, then they looted his corpse.”

“Minerva said Marlon shot him, without provocation, just to take his supplies.” Said Sophie, looking around.

“Tenn said the same thing.”

“As did Louis.”

“Violet said as much,” Sighed Javí, pinching the bridge of his nose, “what the fuck are we going to tell Clem?”

“You can start,” Came a sharp and cold voice, “by telling me which one of those bastards killed my husband.”

Clementine stood in front of them, Mariana sleeping in a sling across her chest.

“Clem, you should be resting.” Said Javí, walking towards her.

“How can I rest, when Gabe’s murderer is here?!” Demanded Clementine, glaring up at Javí.

“Please, fuck,” Groaned Javí, “sleep for tonight, it’s too late to do anything, I’ll try and answer that question in the morning.”

Clementine glared a Javí, before turning on her heel and stalking out of the hallway.

“I’m assuming that Lee and Carly are with Kate.” Said Christa, frowning at the thought of Clementine telling them why their father wasn’t coming back.

Clementine woke up to Mariana whimpering, while the twins was sleeping across a sleeping AJ. She smiled, before catching sight of a picture of her and Gabe on their wedding day. A small bump was slightly visible under the bouquet she was carrying, Javí jokingly called it a shotgun wedding. Her throat grew tight, she still hadn’t told the twins that their father was dead.

Mariana whimpered a little louder, while attempting to gnaw through Clementine’s shirt.

“Alright.” Muttered Clementine, freeing one of her breasts to feed the baby. Mariana greedily suckled, leaving Clementine to her thoughts. She didn’t know who the new arrivals were, only that one, or some, of them had murdered Gabe for some meagre supplies. Mariana stopped feeding and started to whine, prompting Clementine to sit up and gently pat Mariana’s back until she let out a burp. Within seconds, the baby was back asleep. Both Lee and Carley had taken after her side of the family, Lee with her eyes and her grandfather’s hair and Carley with her hair and her grandmother’s nose.

“Mommy?” Asked Lee, quietly.

“Yes, sweetie?” Whispered Clementine, adjusting Mariana.

“When’s Daddy going to come home?”

Clementine froze, swallowing thickly, “I-I don’t know.”

“I miss him.” Said Lee, falling back asleep.

“Me too.” Murmured Clementine, feeling her eyes burn.

Clementine once thought that having her leg amputated was the worst pain she could feel, that was replaced by childbirth and now, the feeling of losing her spouse. Clementine silently cried, carefully cradling Mariana.

Clementine froze mid-step at the sight of Louis. He hadn’t spotted her, allowing her to drop Lee and Carley off at their school. She strode up to Louis, who still had his back to her.

“Who was it?”

Louis jumped, spinning on his heel. He stared down at Clementine, he thought she was pretty before, but now he thought she was beautiful, his eyes raked over her figure, before settling on Mariana, “You have a kid?”

“Who. Was. It?” Hissed Clementine, glaring up at Louis, she’d admit he was attractive, but she there for one thing.

“Who was what?” Asked Louis, nervously scratching the back of his head.

“Which one of you killed Gabe?” Snapped Clementine, tempted to pull her gun on him.

“Oh…”

“Oh?”

Louis started to back track, only increasing Clementine’s ire.

“One of your group kills Gabe and all you can say is oh?!” Snarled Clementine, stalking closer to Louis.

“Clem!” Yelled Javí, quickly sliding between her and Louis, “Please, let us handle this.”

“What?” Scoffed Clementine, “So you can give them a slap on the wrist and welcome them in?!”

“No, so you don’t do something you regret.”

Clementine glared at Javí, before turning on her heel and stalking away. Louis coughed awkwardly.

“Uh, thanks.” Said Louis, getting a sigh from Javí.

“She has a point,” Admitted Javí, looking at Louis, “Marlon did kill Gabe, unprovoked, and there are consequences that need to be addressed. I don’t know what you or your group have been through, but killing a married man, my nephew, isn’t something that can be easily forgiven. If it comes to it, Marlon may have to leave.”

Louis swallowed, as Javí walked away from him. It was bad enough that Marlon killed someone for less than a day’s worth of supplies but being told that Gabe had a family waiting for him, by a member of said family, was heart breaking.

“Hey,” Called Mitch, getting Louis to look at him, “we’re gonna be showed around.”

“Great.” Muttered Louis, joining the rest of their group.

“Right, I’m only going to say things once, so don’t bother asking any questions.” Said Sophie, shortly, “Marlon’s not going to be here long, and I don’t care what the rest of you do.”

“What do you mean Marlon’s not going to be here long?” Demanded Mitch, getting a growl from Sophie.

“He murdered a member of this community, for a stupid fucking reason,” Started Sophie, “I don’t care what you guys have been through, but we’re now trying to keep Marlon safe from Gabe’s wife, who is not known to forgive anyone.”

“W-what might she do?” Asked Marlon, making Sophie stop.

“Normally, she’d demand you leave. Now, if you’re lucky, she’ll shoot you.” Said Sophie, turning to look at them, “You want to know the horrible part? When you were busy murdering Gabe, she was giving birth.”

Louis swallowed, already beginning to connect the dots. The kid from the day before was walking up to Sophie, glaring at the group in front of her.

“AJ, I can hear you glaring.” Sighed Sophie, turning to face him, “What’s wrong?”

“One of the gates was left open last night.” Said AJ, the Ericson’s group staring at him, “Nothing major happened, but a walker was caught in one of the traps.”

“AJ?” Asked Violet, staring at him.

“Hi.”

“I-is Clem here?”

“Yeah, but she’s not in the best of moods.” Warned AJ, looking over the group, “So, which one was it?”

“AJ.” Warned Sophie, getting a grumble from him, “Has the walker been dealt with?”

“Yeah, Russel’s showed the kids how to take one out.” Shrugged AJ, “Oh, Kate also told me, to tell you, that visitors from Alexandria, the Kingdom and the Commonwealth were going to be arriving tomorrow. She mentioned someone called Noel or Noah. She also said you weren’t to sneak off with your boyfriend.”

Sophie glared at AJ, before taking a swipe at him. He dodged and shot off, away from the group.

“Well, we’re fucked.” Stated Mitch, “If he’s here and Clementine’s here, we’re going to have to leave, or they’ll put a bullet in our heads.”

“What?” Asked Sophie, raising an eyebrow at Mitch.

“About ten years ago, Clem and AJ came to the school,” Explained Violet, “things happened, and she found out that Marlon and Brody had sold you and Minnie to the raiders. They tried to make it seem like Clem was one of the raiders, but Brody broke and fessed up. Then AJ shot at Marlon and took the top of his ear off. The following day we all had a vote and all but three of us voted to throw Clem and AJ out.”

“I take it you were in the ‘keep’ camp.” Said Sophie, glancing at Violet.

“Along with Tenn and Aasim.”

Sophie looked over the group, before focusing on Marlon, “You just keep fucking up, don’t you?”

Marlon tried not to fidget, seeing as he was only a couple of feet away from Clementine. Louis was sat at a table with Tenn, practically making moon eyes at Clementine. Mitch looked disgusted at something. He felt someone brush past him, before seeing Violet and Minnie sit down either side of Clementine.

“Hey.” Greeted Violet, getting a hum from Clementine.

“I take it you’re not much of a talker.” Said Minnie, awkwardly.

“No, she’s just gotten to sleep and she’s a very light sleeper.”

Violet and Minnie both craned their necks and stared at the small bundle with a pacifier gently suckled in its mouth.

“Holy shit.” Sword Violet, getting a quiet snort from Clementine, before the penny dropped, “You were Gabe’s wife…”

“Until one of your group killed him.”

Violet didn’t hide her wince, before nervously glancing over at Marlon, “What are you going to do to the culprit?”

“Why, is it you?” Clementine raised an eyebrow, “I think it’ll depend on who it was. I have my suspicions, but Javí wants to see what use you can all be, before making any big decisions.”

Violet swallowed, sharing a quick nervous glance with Minnie, before leaning back slightly. She glanced down and froze, “What the fuck happened to your leg?”

Clementine winced, speaking quietly, “I got bit about three months after getting back here, Sophie actually saved my life.”

Violet openly gaped at the prosthetic, before Minnie leaned close, “What’s it feel like?”

“What?” Asked Clementine, bewildered.

“You know, missing a leg?” Elaborated Minnie, “Can you still feel your toes?”

“Yeah, and it’s a bitch.”

“Cool.”

“Not cool.” Corrected Clementine, carefully standing up, “I’ve got to go pick someone up, it’s been nice talking to you.”

Marlon watched Clementine stand, he couldn’t see or hear what Clementine, Violet and Minnie were talking about, but he hoped it wasn’t about Gabe. He watched as she carefully adjusted the bag she was carrying and left the bar. Louis looked unbelievably lost when Clementine walked out, it was almost funny.

“She’s filled out.” Said Mitch, frowning, “Do you think they do boob and ass jobs here?”

“Why, Brody too flat for you?” Snapped Violet walking over to them, “She’s ‘filled out’ because she’s had a child.”

“That’s rich coming from a board.”

“At least I don’t cry during sex.”

“At least I’ve had sex.”

“When? Those three milliseconds don’t count!”

“Coming from someone who can’t count!”

“Bitch!”

“Cunt!”

“And… Kiss!”

Violet and Mitch looked over at the source of the voice, a woman with black hair and an empty smirk took a picture of them, “There, another for the memorial wall.”

It took Violet a moment to recognise the woman as Becca, one of the guards that escorted them into the settlement.

“Oh, that was great.” Laughed Becca, wiping an eye, before becoming serious, “But if you keep that up, you’ll find yourself on the outside of the fence.”

“Why?” Demanded Mitch, getting a scowl from Becca.

“Because,” She started slowly, “if you keep fighting, you’ll be considered a danger to the community.”

Becca turned and started to walk off, before looking back at them, “And keep away from the kids, we don’t want them to know what murder is.”

Clementine frowned at the Ericson’s survivors, Sophie and AJ were next to her.

“Okay,” Said Clementine, deciding to get the task over with, “I’m going to assume you all know what a basic supply run entails, we’ve got a couple of contacts that’ll leave ammunition lying around, we actually found an RPG on one trip, but it’s our job to go collect them.”

She slowly looked over them, “While we’re out there, you do as you’re told. If Me, Sophie or AJ tell you to do something, you do it, if we tell you to stop doing something, you do it, and, I can’t believe I have to say this, if you see a grenade with the fucking pin missing, you don’t pick it up.”

Clementine started to lead them out of the gate, before Mitch spoke, “Why do we have to listen to you?”

“Because if any of you return without us, the guys on the wall might take pot shots at you.” Snarked Sophie, punching Mitch’s shoulder and walking past him.

Marlon kept glancing around, as if he was looking for someone. Brody kept glancing at AJ and Sophie, while Violet jogged ahead and fell into step with Clementine.

“So, how’ve the past ten years been?” Asked Violet, a dark look passing over Minerva’s face.

“Difficult to say, Javí came up with these supply runs to get me out of Richmond while other communities were visiting.” Shrugged Clementine, before wincing, “I kinda punched, what I thought was, a fat guy who was being an asshole.”

“What do you mean ‘what you thought was’?” Asked Minerva, making Clementine look back at her.

“Turns out it was a pregnant woman, but she was still an asshole,” Said Clementine, “It didn’t help that the following year, I punched the leader of the Saviours.”

“You punched Negan?!” Gaped Minerva, getting a chuckle from Sophie.

“She nearly knocked him flat,” Laughed Sophie, “she was pregnant with the twins at the time and didn’t like his attitude.”

“I broke my hand, but he seemed more impressed than angry.” Clementine remembered, “Of course, Javí stepped in and made sure no one did anything that would fuck things up.”

Sophie spotted Marlon looking around, before frowning, “What are you looking for?”

Clementine stopped and looked back at Marlon, who seemed to be surprised that Sophie spoke to him, “What’s going on?”

“Marlon’s looking around us, as if he’s looking for someone.” Answered Sophie, glaring at Marlon, “What are you looking for, Marlon?”

“N-nothing.” Denied Marlon, glancing around the group.

Clementine opened her mouth, before she heard a snap. The familiar sound of walkers groaning reached her. She bit back a groan and turned to face the walkers. Quickly spotting they were out numbered, Clementine looked at Sophie, “We’re going back.”

Sophie nodded, before drawing her axe, “Okay, no one fall behind, because we’ll not be stopping.”

Clementine stabbed a couple of the walkers that were close to the rear of the group, before following them. Clementine spotted something orange in her peripheral and stopped. A walker was leaning over a corpse, that had a familiar orange hat on. Quickly stabbing the walker in head, she kicked the corpse off it’s meal and felt her breath catch in her throat. Gabe hadn’t been dead a week and he’d already been found by walkers. Part of her knew this wasn’t something that could be avoided, another, irrational, part of her felt angry. She sighed through her nose, before carefully removing Gabe’s hat from his remains. She looked around and quietly made note of the location, before heading back to Richmond.

“Where’s Clem?” Asked Kate, looking over the group.

“She fell behind.” Said Marlon, nervously looking at the gate.

“Oh, great,” Muttered Kate, “just what we need.”

“It can’t be that bad.” Said Mitch, getting a round of glares, “What? We were all thinking it.”

“When you said that,” Asked Sophie, frowning, “what did you mean?”

“Well, she’s survived on her own before, so we shouldn’t have to worry.”

Everyone stared at Mitch, as one of the guards noticed someone approaching the gates.

“What?” Asked Mitch, “I can be nice. I’ve been nice to Marlon since he shot that Gabe guy.”

“He what?!”

Everyone turned and looked at Clementine, walker blood and guts covering her clothes, an orange beanie stuffed into her pocket and a look of complete, utter, rage on her face.

“Marlon did what?” Snarled Clementine, glaring at the group.

“Clem…” Sighed Kate, moving to get between Marlon and Clementine.

“Don’t! Don’t try and say he was scared, that he regrets it,” Snarled Clementine, glaring at Kate, “You knew. You knew who the person responsible for killing Gabe was. You knew and didn’t say anything!”

“Clementine, please,” Begged Kate, quietly, “we didn’t want to stress you.”

“You, you didn’t want to stress me?!” Snapped Clementine, “You think not telling me hasn’t made me stressed?! You’re not the one who had to tell your children why their father wasn’t coming home! You’re not the one who had-” Clementine’s voice broke. She swallowed, before glaring at Marlon. She stalked over to him and roughly grabbed his arm.

“W-what are you doing?!” Demanded Marlon, as Clementine shoved him out the gate. When he went to re-enter, Clementine drew her gun on him.

“Why?”

“W-what?”

“Why did you shoot my husband?”

“I-I panicked, I didn-”

“THAT’S NOT AN EXCUSE!” Shrieked Clementine, the gun trembling slightly.

“I-I know, I-I-I’m sorry.” Marlon’s voice broke, “I’m so, so, sorry.”

Clementine glared at him and pulled the trigger. Marlon flinched, before the bullet hit a walker behind him. Clementine wordlessly stepped to the side and jerked her head, silently telling Marlon to get back through the gate. Clementine went to follow, before a walker grabbed her prosthetic, removing the limb and tripping Clementine. The walker tried to tear the fake limb apart, only to get a knife to the head. Louis pulled Clementine’s knife out from the Walker’s head and helped Clementine to her feet. He wordlessly grabbed the prosthetic, helping Clementine through the gate.

“Everything okay?” Asked Javí, making everyone look at him.

“Almost.” Said Clementine, before pointing her gun at Marlon’s foot and shooting him.

“AGH, WHAT THE FUCK?!” Screamed Marlon, falling to the ground.

“That was for shooting Gabe.”

Marlon rolled his foot, he’d just spent the last three months in a boot after Clementine had shot the tip of his big toe off. Javí and Kate had managed to prevent Clementine from shooting him further, although Marlon didn’t count that as a mercy. He’d been given a trial and, while he wasn’t exiled, he’d been placed in a detention area, under the watch of James, the man they met when they ran into Gabe. Marlon had been on light duty, but he’d found that most criminals in New Richmond were placed in guard posts and as workers in the farming areas.

Other than those duties, unless they’d done something truly horrifying, the guards were free to do as they pleased. Marlon had been told that, since he’d eventually admitted to it, he was given a lighter sentence. Although, Marlon had heard about another group called the Delta kicking up a fight and Javí had asked for volunteers to help deal with them.

Clementine had tried to volunteer, only for Javí to remind her that Gabe was dead. Marlon winced slightly, stepping out into the light, before heading down to Javí’s office to volunteer.

Mitch stifled a groan, he and Brody were watching over the younger children of the community, Clementine had dropped Lee and Carley off and had handed Mariana to Brody, saying something about making bullets.

Mariana stared up at Brody, blowing spit bubbles as the woman quietly fretted over how she was holding the baby. Mitch quietly wrapped an arm around Brody and pulled her against him. She automatically nestled her head into his neck.

“Do you think we’ll ever have something like this?” Asked Brody, quietly.

Mitch looked down at her, “I hope so. I mean, if Clementine, of all people, can have it, I don’t see why we can’t.”

Brody sighed, curling Mariana close to her chest.

Minerva and Violet helped Sophie tending to the animals. Sophie snickered as Minerva pulled her hand away from Thunder, a particularly foul tempered horse. Violet smirked, carefully pouring water into a trough.

“You know, we had a smattering of Whispers blow down that wall over there,” Said Sophie, pointing to a section of the wall that had obvious patch work on it, “That entire section came down, we had a small herd of walkers storm in. Clementine and Gabe came down here looking for AJ. I guess they heard me shooting them. As soon as they got here, Clem and Gabe must’ve taken out at least twenty of them. Then a Walker grabbed Clem’s leg. Her boot protected her from being bit, until I fired a shotgun into her leg.”

Minerva and Violet looked at Sophie, “The walker used the damage I caused and bit Clem, took a massive chunk out of her leg. Gabe and I performed a crude amputation. Clem said I shouldn’t worry about her, but, seeing that Gabe’s now dead and she has three children. I sometimes wonder if I made the right call.”

“If you hadn’t, she’d be dead.” Violet pointed out, frowning.

“Maybe,” Shrugged Sophie, looking up from the cow she was milking, “I sometimes wonder how things would’ve panned out, if things were different.”

“If ifs and ands were pots and pans, there’d be not work for tinkers.” Dismissed Violet, as Minerva frowned.

“You mean if my aim hadn’t been off? If Clementine had ran into Lilly?” Asked Minerva, sitting down next to her sister, “Lilly and Clementine know each other, Lilly took an interest in the New Frontier after finding out Clementine was among them.”

“What, you think Clem’s ex-Delta?” Asked Sophie, looking at Minerva.

“No, I mean from before, before Lilly and Delta.” Answered Minerva, “like, first days before.”

The three girls sat in silence, quietly contemplating the implications with Lilly and Clementine.

Meanwhile, Clementine picked up a colt 45, cocked it and fired one of the bullets in it.

“Batch 21 seems to be working.” Said Clementine, looking at Becca, “How’re the rifles?”

“They all seem to be working so far.” Answered Becca, before looking at Clementine, “You and Louis have gotten pretty close.”

“He’s just a friend.” Dismissed Clementine, taking a bullet from batch 22.

“Yeah, a friend I saw you making out with.” Snarked Becca, discharging the rifle, “I still think you need to talk to someone about your drinking problem.”

“What makes you think I haven’t?” Asked Clementine, firing the colt, “God, it’s times like this that make me wish Sarah or Duck were still around.”

Becca looked down, “I know I was horrible to her, but I actually thought she was going to survive longer. But, hearing about how she died, and how Jane chose to abandon her… I sometimes can’t sleep, because every time I close my eyes, I see Sarah, or Rebecca, or Luke, all torn to pieces.”

“You were a kid,” Said Clementine, looking at Becca, “you still thought popularity and ‘coolness’ still matter. You were at an age where you thought you didn’t have worry about the war.”

“Yeah, a war that no matter what we do,” Huffed Becca, “we’re going to lose. One of the dead falls, another one takes it’s place, one of us falls, we join the other side. What made you so different?”

“Huh?”

“When we first met, you we sure of yourself, you fought walkers like they were nothing, you did what even some of us couldn’t. Not to mention that you raised a child during the apocalypse and taught him how to survive. Some people sink in half the situations you’ve been in, but you always manage to fly.”

“Don’t think I didn’t have off days.” Retorted Clementine, “I’ve my fair share of sinking moments.”

Becca laughed, making eye contact with Clementine, “Do you think everything will go back to the way it was?”

“No, and I think it’s better that way.”

Clementine frowned at the group of volunteers, some had minor injuries. Not all of them came back, but they were clearly pleased that they were able to capture someone. She squinted her eye, thinking the woman looked familiar. It wasn’t until she got closer, that Clementine recognised her.

“Lilly?”

Clementine’s chest hurt. Her throat was raw, and her eyes were burning. AJ stood a few feet back, holding onto Lee and Mari. How did it come to this? Her little girl, her baby.

“Clem,” Said Kate, crouching next to her, “Clem, we need to go.”

“No.”

“Clem, come on.”

“No. No, I’m not leaving her.”

“Clementine!” Snapped Kate, “We don’t have a choice! She’s dead!”

Clementine shakily looked down, Carley stared back up at her, her throat slit open. Clementine spotted small, almost indistinguishable movement in her throat.

“No, Kate,” Said Clementine, desperately, moving Carley closer to Kate, “Look, look she’s still breathing.”

“She’s turning, Clem.” Sighed Kate, pushing Carley away from her and Clementine.

“No. No!” Sobbed Clementine, as a pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her away, “No! Get off me!”

Carley groaned, before sluggishly getting to her feet. Clementine stared at her, the walker snarled and started towards Kate, before a bullet hit her in the forehead. Carley’s corpse fell to the ground, with Clementine staring at it, the arms holding her let go and her legs buckled under her. Clementine sat on the ground, staring at her daughter’s corpse and, her memory revisiting the events leading up to this.

“Lilly?”

Lilly looked over and froze upon spotting Clementine.

“Clem, you know her?” Asked Conrad, looking at Clementine.

“Yeah, she led a group I was in at the start,” Responded Clementine, “I thought she was dead.”

“Thought or hoped?” Sneered Lilly, getting a glare from Clementine.

“Hoped. They should’ve put a bullet in your head after what you did.”

“I was protecting the group.”

“You murdered Carley because she wasn’t scared of you.”

“She betrayed us!”

“You betrayed us! You let your racist cunt of a father have free reign, despite him being a liability!” Snapped Clementine, making Lilly go red with rage.

“Shut up!”

“You harassed Ben because he didn’t fit your oh so precious view of the group!” Clementine advanced towards Lilly, “You tried to make Lee your personal attack dog, you hoarded supplies you said you didn’t want to take, and tried to out a secret Lee had kept because you fucked up!”

Lilly glared up at Clementine, with Clementine matching the glare with equal force.

“Okay,” Said Conrad, getting between the two women, “Clem, I think Kate said she needed your help with something.”

Clementine gave Lilly one last glare, before turning and walking towards the school. She passed Louis and Marlon, with the former changing course and falling into step with her.

“Hey, Clem,” Said Louis, rubbing the back of his neck, “I, uh, I wanted to apologise for, uh, you know, um, after l-last week…”

Clementine raised an eyebrow at him, “You don’t need to apologise, we were both drunk.”

“Still, it, er, it wasn’t appropriate.” Mumbled Louis, as Clementine sighed through her nose.

“It’s fine, I could use a hand, if you’re free.” Said Clementine, looking at him, “Conrad said Kate needed me for something, but I think he just wanted to get me away from Lilly.”

“Lilly?” Asked Louis, “You know the bitch that led those raiders that took the twins?”

“Calling her a bitch is both too kind and an insult to every bitch in the world.” Snorted Clementine, stopping, “She led a group I was in when all this started. For a while, she was kind and gentle. She actually taught me how to read properly. She, she was like a mother or a really cool aunt. Then her dad died, and was put down to stop him from turning, and she just, fuck, I don’t know, she changed.”

“How so?” Asked Louis, softly.

“She was guarded before, suspicious of new people, one alright with everyone in our group. But then she was paranoid, she accused everyone around her of putting the group in danger. She hoarded supplies we found,” Clementine sighed, “Then we lost everything, and she just…lost it. She started screaming about someone betraying the group and accusing everyone around her. We had to stop, then Lilly killed Carley.”

“The same Carley that you named your kid after?”

“Yeah, she was cool.” Smirked Clementine, “She was a reporter with an amazing aim.”

“Did, did she help take care of you?” Asked Louis, quietly.

“Yeah,” Murmured Clementine, a soft snort escaping her lips, “I used to pretend that Lee and Carley were my parents, and we were on some massive adventure.”

Clementine’s face lost all traces of humour and nostalgia, “Then people started dying. First was Mark, a guy who joined our group because he had food, he had his legs cut off and fed to most of us. Thankfully, Lee prevented me from eating. He died from blood loss, I think. Then Larry died, he had a heart attack and his heart stopped. I didn’t understand it at the time, but Lee and another guy, Kenny, they put him down before he could turn. That’s when Lilly started to lose it.”

“Larry was her dad?” Asked Louis.

“Yeah, he was an old racist asshole that acted worse that a child,” Said Clementine, looking down, “When we first met him, he tried to get Duck killed because he thought he was bit.”

“But he wasn’t.”

“But he wasn’t,” Confirmed Clementine, “The cannibals were either killed or left for dead. We came across an abandoned car on the way back to the motel, the place we were staying. Lilly said she didn’t want to take the supplies, but as soon as we got back, she horded the stuff. That left Lee and Kenny to go on supply runs. More often than not, they’d almost die.”

“And you think she planned that?”

“I know she planned it,” growled Clementine, “every time they came back, she’d have this look of anger or disappointment in her eyes, everyone noticed it, but didn’t say anything because they all thought it had something to do with her dad dying.”

“Well,” Drawled Louis, throwing a playful smirk at Clementine, “can’t say they were wrong.”

“Ha ha.” Muttered Clementine, punching Louis’s arm, “Very funny. But another member of the group, Ben, he was gullible,” she snorted, “I remember I managed to trick him into standing on his head for an hour everyday because I told him it’d make him less hungry.”

“How long did it last for?”

“A couple of weeks, I think, he only found out because a guy on a train saw him doing it.” Clementine suddenly became sullen, “But, some bandits, they tricked him into thinking they had one of his friends hostage and had him give them supplies. He took them from Lilly’s personal stash, which made her paranoid. Then, Lee found drugs outside of the motel, the bandits attacked, we escaped in an RV, we had to stop, and things came to a head and Lilly shot Carley in the face. Lilly was left behind. We didn’t have time to bury Carley, we were forced to leave her at the side of the road, like a fucking animal.”

Clementine didn’t notice her hands were shaking, until Louis placed his over them. She blinked, trying to get rid of the burning feeling in her eyes.

“B-but, shortly after that, everything kinda went to shit.” Finished Clementine, hastily freeing one of her hands and wiping her eyes.

“Want to talk about it?” Asked Louis, hiding the hope from his voice.

“Not now.” Responded Clementine, “We should probably get going, in case Kate actually needs us.”

Louis nodded and followed after Clementine.

Carley found herself staring up at a woman with messy brown hair. She quietly put a piece of fruit into her mouth, chewing it as she watched the woman. She didn’t look very nice, she looked like she was pulling a face at everyone around her. Kate hadn’t noticed she’d wandered off, or if she had she hadn’t found her yet. No one had noticed her, so what was the harm?

Kate was frantically looking around, while still trying to watch the rest of the children. Carley had vanished on her, and she couldn’t find the bag Clementine gave her for the children, meaning Carley took it wherever she vanished too.

“Okay, cavalry has arrived, what’s wrong?” Asked Clementine, coming through the door with Louis in tow.

“Carley’s wandered off again.” Said Kate, getting a groan from Clementine.

“I take it Connie’s gone for a hike?”

“Probably.” Affirmed Kate, before freezing at one of the children with some glue, “No, Martin, don’t put that in your mouth!”

Louis grabbed Martin’s wrist gently and carefully pried the glue from his hands, “I can keep an eye on these guys if you want to look for Carley.”

Kate found herself nodded, while Clementine smiled at Louis, before heading out the door.

“She took her coat with her, as well as the bag.” Said Kate, walking in step with Clementine, “Any ideas where she could’ve gone?”

“At a guess,” Said Clementine, frowning, “she might try to find Gabe. She didn’t take his death very well.”

Kate winced, Carley had been close with Gabe, often trying to follow him whenever he went outside the community. The radio on Clementine’s waist suddenly buzzed, before Conrad spoke.

“We’ve got a problem. That Lilly person just escaped, and she’s taken a kid with her.”

Clementine and Kate shared a brief, horrified look, before they both took off running towards the gates. Clementine silently prayed that nothing happened.

Lilly looked down at the little girl in front of her, it’d been easy to trick her into showing her a way out. Lilly supposed this was how Lee took Clementine. She briefly considered taking the girl, but she’d only slow her down. She needed to get back to the ship as quickly as possible.

“Through here.” Said the girl, leading Lilly towards the gates.

“Thanks.” Muttered Lilly, quickly forcing the gate open, “Come on, I’ll take you to your daddy.”

“Okay.” Said the little girl, grabbing Lilly’s hand.

Lilly didn’t say anything, quietly leading her towards that half-eaten corpse of the man Clementine was close to.

Clementine rounded a corner, skidding to a halt as soon as she reached the interrogation rooms, just old shops that didn’t have anything in them. Kate came up behind her, breathing deeply as she looked around. The two women looked around, Clementine frowned, “Where is everyone?”

Kate froze, before looking around, “Good question, there should be at least one guard here at all times.”

Clementine’s eye narrowed, slowly approaching the corner, a familiar groaning putting her guard up. She unholstered her gun, Clementine whistled, making the walker appear from around the corner, allowing her to fire a single shot into it’s head.

“How the fuck did that get in?” Demanded Clementine, as Louis, followed by Marlon, Mitch, Sophie and Javí.

“We’ve got walkers roaming around the gates,” Said Javí, looking around, “Where the fuck is Clyde?”

Clementine glanced down at the walker, noticing it’s face had been chewed off. She frowned, before crouching down next to it. She carefully poked it’s head out of the way. A silver chain and a tattoo told her who it was.

“Found him.” Said Clementine, looking up, “Looks like a walker got to him.”

“Doesn’t explain how a walker got in.” Said Javí, frowning, “It also doesn’t tell us where Lilly is or where the child came from.”

“It’s Carley.” Said Conrad, getting everyone’s attention, “Saw Lilly carrying her off, would’ve taken her out, but I didn’t have a clear shot.”

“Where would she take her?” Asked Kate, making Clementine freeze.

“There’s nothing out there, I mean, aside from plants, animals and walkers.”

“She’s taking her to Gabe.”

Everyone looked at Clementine, who was still looking at Clyde’s corpse. “Lilly’s taking Carley to Gabe.”

“Why?” Asked Mitch, “Why would she do that?”

“You have a little girl, a child,” Said Kate, “who’s lost one of her parents and will do anything to have them back. What’s the one thing you ask for in exchange for taking her to them?”

“A way out.” Muttered Javí, looking around, “Everyone grab a weapon, we’re going after them.

“CARLEY!”

The little girl stopped, suddenly grinning, “Mommy!”

Lilly froze, before looking a head of her, she needed to get out of here, fast. She grabbed Carley’s arm and started pulling her towards where the corpse was, “Come on, you want to see your daddy, don’t you?”

“But Mommy will want to see him too!” Carley struggled, making Lilly pick her up, “Put me down!”

“Carley!” Yelled Clementine, bursting through the trees. She froze at the sight of Lilly holding her squirming daughter, “Let her go.”

Lilly didn’t say anything, only glaring at Clementine.

“Please,” Pleaded Clementine, “please, don’t hurt her, just let her go.”

“What was it, you said earlier?” Asked Lilly, quietly pulling a knife from her back pocket, “About our first group?”

“Don’t, please.” Begged Clementine, as the rest of the group caught up with her, along with AJ and her two other children.

“You called my dad a ‘racist cunt’ and said I ‘murdered Carley’?” Sneered Lilly, glaring down at Clementine.

“L-Lilly, please,” Clementine’s voice broke, “I-I’m sorry, do what you like to me, j-just don’t hurt her.”

Lilly smirked at Clementine, before taking her knife and pressing it against Carley’s throat, “But this is so much better.”

She then violently dragged the knife over Carley’s throat, slicing it open. Blood spurted from the wound, Lilly dropped Carley and ran, while Clementine rushed to her daughter. She quickly covered the cut with her hands, trying to flutily stop the flow of blood. Carley stared up at Clementine, everything was going dark.

“M-mom…” Gurgled Carley, slowly falling silent.

“No. No, no, no, no.” Sobbed Clementine, shaking Carley, “No, Carley, baby, please. No.”

Louis held onto a sobbing Clementine, helping her into Richmond. Conrad looked at them, his gaze freezing on Javí, who was carrying Carley, wrapped up in Louis’s coat. He waved his hand, signalling for them to open the gate.

“We’ve got a nice little cell prepared…for…oh…oh no.” Becca trailed off, staring at Clementine and looking towards Javí.

Kate opened her mouth, before closing it. She couldn’t think of anything to say.

AJ led Louis towards Clementine’s home, shoving the door open and stepping to the side, allowing Louis to guide Clementine inside. As gently as he could, Louis guided Clementine towards the sofa, carefully sitting her down. Lee jumped down from AJ’s arms and toddled over to Clementine.

“Mommy?” Said Lee, looking up at his mother, “When’s Carley going to wake up?”

Clementine looked down at Lee, before grabbing him and pulling him against her chest. She sobbed into his hair, wrapping her arms around him protectively. Louis looked at AJ, who adjusted Mariana in his arms, both shared a look, as Clementine wailed.

AJ swallowed, nervously looking up at the shelf, all the pictures with Gabe were face down. No doubt, all the pictures of Carley will join them.

Louis leaned forwards, his elbows resting against his knees. He ran a hand down his face, he’d been with Clementine and her remaining family for the past several hours. Clementine had eventually cried herself to sleep, she’d tried to keep Lee with her, only her exhaustion won out in the end.

He sighed, looking around, the streetlamp shone down at him. It was hard to think that this morning, Carley, a little girl, was murdered. Louis sighed again, little over three months ago Clementine had lost her husband, and now she’d lost one of her daughters.

Violet dropped down next to him, “They’ve put Carley’s picture up in the church. Kate’s asked if we could see if Clem’s ready to hold Carley’s funeral.”

“I don’t know.” Said Louis, quietly, “When she found out Marlon killed Gabe, she was upset, but not like this. Now she seems, fuck I don’t know, it’s like she’s broken.”

“I remember a saying my grandmother had,” Said Violet, after a moment, “A wife who has lost a husband is a widow, a husband who has lost a wife is a widower, a child who has lost their parents is an orphan. There is no word for a parent who have lost their child. That’s how painful their loss is.”

“I was going to say no parent should have to bury their child,” Said Sophie, making Violet and Louis jump, “but, that works too.”

“We seriously need to put a bell on you.” Deadpanned Violet, getting a soft snort from Louis.

Louis quietly watched as Carley was carefully lowered into her grave. Clementine had his hand in a vice-like grip, Mariana was slung across her chest, Lee was on her other side, with AJ standing behind him. Louis tried his best to silently comfort her, she hadn’t been able to give Carley a eulogy, every time she looked at the makeshift coffin she broke down. If Clementine wasn’t crying, she was watching Lee and Mariana like a hawk, always close at hand so they couldn’t wander off.

She’d wanted to do the same with AJ, but he’d always find a way to escape her sight. Clementine didn’t like it, but didn’t say anything, probably because she knew AJ wouldn’t listen. Louis gently squeezed Clementine’s hand, getting a weak squeeze in return. He watched as Clementine let go of his hand and shakily took a handful of dirt, before dropping it onto the coffin. Lee took a tiny amount and threw it in, slowly followed by the rest of the family. AJ picked Lee up, as Kate offered to watch Mari, while Clementine remained by the grave.

Javí led everyone bar Clementine and Louis inside, Marlon closing the doors of the former youth centre on the old church’s grounds, giving the pair some privacy.

“Delta’s been acting up lately.” Said Mike, quietly, “Bonnie saw some scouts in the woods, dealt with them before they could do any harm though.”

“I hate to say it,” Said Christa, glancing at the doors, “but, I don’t think anyone’s safe until all of them are gone, I’m not suggesting we follow any examples set by Negan or the Whisperers, but it might be best if we…”

“Wipe them out?” Asked Javí, looking at the woman, “That seems a little extreme.”

“At this rate,” Said Mike, “it’s more a matter of survival, they have no problems killing children or using children as soldiers. A single strike, we liberate any children or people who don’t want to be there, and we leave the rest for the walkers.”

“That’s a very open ended plan.” Said Sophie, folding her arms, “Besides, we don’t even know if they have a camp.”

Javí, Mike and Christa shared an uneasy look.

“They have a camp, and you know where it is?” Said Sophie, in disbelief.

“Clementine came across it a couple weeks ago, that’s where Lilly came from.” Said Mike, sighing, “Now the funerals out of the way, we may have to find something to distract Clementine.”

After a moment, Christa looked at the group, “There’s a couple of fields that were soaked with gas, we think it was Delta sabotaging out equipment, but Clem could head the clean up, there’s an electric fence surrounding it, so any walkers or unwanted guests wouldn’t be able to surprise them.”

“It’s better than nothing.” Sighed Javí, heading towards the doors, “Best go see if she’s ready to come inside.”

Jesus looked down at Carley’s grave, Rick and Ezekiel were speaking with Javí, while Carl and Enid got to know the Ericson’s group.

“Ain’t that the little girl that kicked Carl?” Asked Daryl, making Jesus jump.

“I keep forgetting how quiet you are.” Muttered Jesus, before nodding, “Yeah, apparently someone called Lilly kidnapped her and sliced her throat open.”

“She died three months after her pa.” Noted Daryl, glancing around, “Her mother’s still alive, right?”

“Yeah, so are her siblings.” Confirmed Jesus, “I don’t know where Clementine is, but AJ is talking with Judith and Enid’s watching Lee and Mari.”

“Clem’s out on clean up.” Said Mike, walking over to them, “Delta sabotaged one of out fuellers, it’s leaking and has made a field a death trap.”

Jesus frowned, spotting Aaron looking at something from the top of the wall, “Isn’t that camp close to that site?”

“Yeah, but hopefully-” Mike was cut off by Conrad.

“Shit!” Yelled Conrad, “The tanker’s just gone up!”

“Fuck.” Swore Javí, before looking around, “Everyone grab a weapon and come with me, Louis, go get Eleanor and Ruby, we might need them. Meet up with us by the lake.”

Louis nodded, before running towards the hospital area of the community.

The visitors all shared a look, before following Javí.

Clementine tried not to grimace at the smell, the gas hadn’t evaporated, instead it mixed with the water in the ground.

“I’m glad Bonnie and Kate aren’t with us.” Said Jason, grimacing at the mixture got into his shoes, “One stray light and bam! No more us.”

“I think some of us are still trying not to throw up.” Grumbled Marlene, her face green.

Clementine cursed as her prosthetic got stuck, “Go on a head, I’ll catch you up.”

Jason and Marlene shared a look, before continuing on through the field. Clementine looked behind her, she was a foot away from the gate, so she could use that to free herself. Gripping the wooden structure with both hands, Clementine hauled herself out of the field. As she was checking herself over, she felt a gun pressed against the back of her neck.

“Fuck.”

“Hello, Clementine.” Sneered Lilly, looking down at her, “It’s so nice to see you again.”

There were two gunshots from across the field, Clementine glanced and spotted Jason and Marlene collapse to the petrol sodden ground, dead.

“You’re going to pay for that.” Growled Clementine, turning and glaring at Lilly.

“What, you mean like Carley paid?” Mocked Lilly, giving Clementine a little pout.

Clementine seethed, before glancing at the tankers, “You moved your camp.”

“Couldn’t have you finding us again.” Said Lilly, making Clementine smirk.

Clementine suddenly gripped Lilly’s hand and twisted it over itself, a satisfying crack to her that she’d rendered the hand useless, before she drew her knife and slammed it into Lilly’s other wrist. Lilly stared at the unnaturally twisted remains of one hand and the stump of the other, Clementine head butted her and activated the electric fence.

“Boss!” Yelled a man, running up along the perimeter. Clementine recognised him as Abel, quickly bracing herself, she shoved Abel as hard as she could, knocking him onto the electric fence.

Lilly watched in horror as Abel screamed, Clementine covered her nose and mouth, not wanting to catch the smell of burning flesh. Glancing towards the field, Clementine spotted the rest of the Delta camp trudging through the muck towards her. Without thinking, Clementine pulled her lighter from her pocket, lit it and threw it into the field. The subsequent reaction of the petrol, diesel and water made quite the explosion. Clementine felt her hat get blown off her head.

Lilly stared at the explosion, allowing Clementine to look around. She spotted and salt lick on the ground and slowly made her way over to it. Lilly turned and looked at Clementine, trying to scramble away from her.

“Clementine, please,” Begged Lilly, as Clementine picked up the salt lick, “I, I don’t want to die!”

“Neither did Carley.” Growled Clementine, hefting the block above her head.

Clementine placed her foot on Lilly’s chest, before bringing the salt lick down on the older woman’s head, destroying her skull.

Clementine breathed heavily, before looking around, she knew the sound alone would draw walkers and the smoke would draw anything that saw it. After locating her hat, Clementine decided to return to Richmond. She needed a drink.

Javí almost ploughed Clementine over, coming to an abrupt halt along with the rest of the volunteers.

“Everything okay?” Asked Clementine, sweat covering her face.

“There was an explosion.” Said Javí, making Clementine close her eyes.

“Right, yeah,” Muttered Clementine, “turns out Delta moved their camp there, flooded the group with the fuel to keep people away, I guess. Jason and Marlene are dead, the Delta camp’s been destroyed, Lilly and Abel are also dead and I need a drink.”

Javí stared at Clementine, before looking behind her. Clementine followed his gaze and frowned, before looking back at him, “Can you see kids in there?”

Javí nodded, prompting Clementine to pivot around and attempt to pull the door open, “I think it’s locked.”

“You hit your head, didn’t you?” Asked Kate, as Javí pushed the door open.

“Probably.”

Javí gently coaxed the children out, before Louis, Ruby and Eleanor caught up with them.

“Oh, thank god.” Said Louis, embracing Clementine.

“I’m fine,” Clementine told him, “But we’re still fucked for fuel.”

“Swear.” Said a little voice, behind her.

Clementine turned and looked at a little girl with dark red hair.

“What?”

“You used a swear word.”

“Oh, okay, I’m sorry…what’s your name?”

“Melanie.”

“Right,” Said Clementine, “I’m sorry for swearing Melanie.”

“Okay. Is the bad lady gone?”

“You mean Lilly?”

Melanie nodded, “Yeah, she’s gone. She, uh, had a bit of an accident.”

“Okay.”

Clementine and Louis wordlessly watched as Eleanor gently guided Melanie back to the gaggle of children they’d found.

“I’m glad the expansion was built.” Said Mike, looking over the children, as they were slowly guided back towards New Richmond.

“And, we’re…riding a pony, riding a pony, riding a pony and jump!” Louis bounced Mariana in his arms, “Riding a pony, riding a pony, riding a pony and stop!”

Mari giggled, as Lee scribbled on a piece of paper, AJ was on the other side of the room, showing some of the newer students how to load a gun.

“Sometimes, the bullet won’t fire, so,” AJ pulled catch back, ejecting the bullet, “we clear the chamber and hope the next one isn’t like the last.”

AJ then pun the gun down on the table, “Don’t point it at anyone you’re not willing to harm, the last thing anyone wants is an accident.”

Clementine fiddled with a pocket watch, it was supposed to be an anniversary gift to Gabe, now, she didn’t know what to do with it.

“What’s that?” Asked Melanie, getting Clementine’s attention.

“It’s a watch, it helps us know what time it is.” Answered Clementine, as Louis and Mari wandered over.

“Oh, is that one of those wind-ups watched?” Asked Louis, looking down at it.

Clementine shifted to the side, allowing Melanie to climb up and for Louis to sit down. It’d been six months since the gas explosion, seven since Carley was killed and ten since Gabe died. Clementine found herself wondering where the time had gone, she was vaguely aware of Lee wandering over to AJ and then pulling him over to join the group of four.

“See, the big hand, that’s the minute hand.” Explained Clementine, pointing at it, “Now, that thin one, the one that’s moving? That’s the second hand, it counts as the second’s pass. The short, and stubby hand, that counts the hours. There are sixty seconds to a minute and sixty minutes to the hour, so the big hand is just past the four and the little hand is on the two. Can you tell me what the time is?”

Melanie counted the little marks between the three and the four, looking down at watch, “It’s twenty-two past two!”

“Well done!” Congratulated Clementine, spotting a frown on Lee’s face, “What wrong, sweetie?”

“I heard Uncle Javí say, yesterday, that the time was 1743,” Said Lee, confused, “but there’s only twelve numbers.”

“That’s because there are twenty-four hours in a day, little dude,” Said Louis, leaning around to see Lee, “after midday, the numbers then add onto twelve, making five forty-three seventeen forty-three.”

“Oh.” Said Lee, looking back down at the watch.

Becca leaned against the wall, hold a polaroid camera. She looked over the group of six, she carefully lined up the camera and took a picture. After shaking the picture, she grabbed a pen and scribbled something at the bottom.

Becca looked at them once more, before putting Sarah in her pocket and leading the children and the student out, leaving the family alone with each other.

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