{Revised 6/15/2026}
Clementine
Year 3315 Mar 24
"Look at her, darling... She's stunning."
Golden Honeyed orbs pressed, as they lay upon the sleeping infant next to them, a sense of love and devotion welling up from the deepest pits of their soul as a gentle palm stroked the patch of obsidian black hair on the infant's head.
The words had been spoken to the man next to her, a king of tranquility and patience, and whose emerald glare could turn any into a stuttering mess. He exuded an aura that prioritized protecting and love over all things, turning even the mightiest foes away.
"She's beautiful, just like you," the man said, his voice as smooth as silk. His face bore a smile of pride as he rubbed at the infant's cheek.
"...darling... look... she's trying to open her eyes..." she spoke, her exhausted form reaching out a shaky hand.
"Tanya..." I said, pulling her hand back.
Reaching for the girl myself, I scooped her up in my arms as gently as I could, careful to watch the metal that laced my robe, so as not to cause injury to my child.
Giving her a light hug, I sat her in my wife's waiting arms and watched as she cradled the child to sleep.
"You need to rest, Tanya," I emphasized.
This swiftly earned me a pointed yet playful glare as she huffed quietly.
"You... ask me to rest... I'm not the one... who hasn't slept in two months... Baka..."
Clutching my chest in mock hurt, I shot back. "Dear, you and I both know that sleeping is futile, and please, don't hate me in words I don't understand, it scares me."
Tanya, with a tiny grin, began to slip into sleep, so she gave in. "Fine... but you have to name her..."
My eyes widened a bit at this.
"But I thought you wanted to name her."
She gave a tired smile. "I did, but... I can't be the only one to do... the hard part... and it's only fair... You get to do this part... the hardest part."
"But that is almost impossible; you know how bad I am at naming things."
"Ya... you baka... that's why you're doing it."
With an exasperated sigh, I looked down at my child with a gaze of cracked emerald while pondering on what name to give her. "Tanya the Second? No, that's too long... What if I named her after a gem? No... No gem in the multiverse could comprehend the beauty of my child... What? What could my child be? Lucky? Lucky is good. What represents luck?" That's when it hit me.
Turning toward my child, I spoke, with a gaze full of love, "My luckiest star..."
Tanya smiled and relented to sleep.
"Clementine."
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Year 3392 Feb 17
The moon's light, once my only company, has become a nuisance as the blanket of darkness that once covered me was washed away by its bright rays. I had never been one to be afraid of the dark, and if anything, it was one of my favorite settings.
Darkness was a fluffy blanket to me, one I could use to cover up in or hide in; it was my safe space that came out across the world every night. There was no fixed blanket; darkness of any kind was like a flame that drew me in, a comfort I could revel in, dwell knowing I'd be hidden from those who'd try to hurt me.
And that's why I was so annoyed that it had been ripped away from me during the moon's reign.
I took solace in the heat next to me, Lee's sleeping form aiding in fending off the biting cold the night wrought. Unfortunately, even that didn't quell my desire for somewhere dark, so with a sigh dripping in exhaustion, I pushed myself out of Lee's grasp, intent on finding somewhere the light couldn't reach.
Groaning, I forced myself onto my feet. Looking around the barn, I immediately cut off some sections filled to the brim with rays of white, leaving only the dimly lit back up for inspection.
Walking up to the doors leading further in, I paused, my ears picking up faint breaths behind their wooden structure.
I shook my head before walking back to Lee, ready to begrudgingly accept my fate and sleep in the brightly lit area; that was until I saw the barn door leading outside. An idea sprang forth immediately, leaving me captivated by its allure as I made my way over.
When I tried to push it open, I was met with an iron resistance, literally in this case, as a metal latch sat above me, far out of reach from my short stature. Rubbing my eyes of the sleep, I looked up at it with an annoyed squint, a bit peeved that something was blocking me from my potential sleeping spot.
At first, I tried to see if standing on my tiptoes would help, but it did not; it only made my toes ache in discomfort.
I groaned after that, irritation dancing along my mind as I looked around for my second option, something to stand on.
It didn't take long to find a small stool, barely up to my waist, but it was enough to give me what I wanted. So, I dragged it over with a bit of effort, before setting it before the latched door.
Getting on it, I flicked the latch keeping it shut before hopping back down and pushing my aid to the side.
From there, it was as simple as pushing the wooden door open, revealing the brightly lit outside.
The sight had me questioning whether this was even worth it, but I pushed out in the hopes that at least one area was bathed in darkness.
I walked around the yard for a few minutes at most before deciding that this entire plan was stupid; maybe it was just my sleepy, muddled brain, but I questioned why I thought this would be a better option than the barn anyway.
Not even giving the area another glance, I turned and walked back, a few stumbles and close calls paying heed to my step. Entering the barn once more, I looked back, the door having once again been shut; the real question was whether I wanted to go through the trouble of re-latching it. I did not, so I left it as it was and laid back down with Lee, all the while oblivious to the green glow illuminating my shoulder.
I paged the soft click of metal as my mind began to fade, but I filed it away for lost thoughts; I just didn't care.
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Planet Zero
The ghastly body sat as unmoving as ever, with only a twitch in its finger showing it signs of life; the spark of green was just an added touch as its power was harnessed elsewhere.
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Year 3392 Feb 18
Mid Day
Dreams were cruel at times, and right now, that statement couldn't be any more real.
"Clementine, Dear! It's time to eat!"
I've heard those words before, and that voice too.
I peered out of my treehouse, a feeling of deja vu assaulting my mind as I all but glared through the familiar back door of my home, its form silent yet inviting in a way that I feared.
"Clementine, Dear! It's time to eat!" The voice repeated.
It was closer this time, but remained shrouded in elusiveness.
A deep part of me roared to stay put, but even as I agreed, my body went on, descending the ladder as my shoes became familiar with the ground.
I turned away from the ladder leading up before making my way over to the glass sliding doors, their forms once clear, now fogged in a red-tented steam that lathered the inside.
Yet, once more, I frustratingly ignored it, my tiny hands heaving with effort as the door leading in slowly slid open, revealing the same old scene from my nightmares, except this time, there was nothing.
No one stood in the kitchen cooking dinner, and nothing sat on the floor where I had left it; everything was just blank, clear, bare of anything.
My brow scrunched as I took a hesitant step inside.
There was no sound either, not from the familiar voice, not from the humming fridge, and not from the static-filled TV glowing softly in the poorly lit living room.
My mind continued to scream at my body to stop, to go back, but the silent pleas fell on deaf ears, and it went on.
When I got just a bit closer, I stopped, a face visible in the waves of static rolling down the screen. But I couldn't make it out, so I stepped closer, ignoring my growing headache.
The same problem remained, so I got closer and closer, and even more so when the scene remained the same. Eventually, I stood before the flickering screen, a soft thud in my chest revealing my growing fear.
That face, those eyes, they were familiar, close even, but I couldn't quite place as to where.
Reaching out, my palm slowly came into contact with the screen, and no sooner after did the waves flicker violently, black growing out of the Tv screen, leaving me tumbling back on my rear as my Hazel gaze looked up at the growing maw of void swiftly consuming the room I had once found comfort in.
Panic overwhelmed me as I pushed myself back, scrambling to my feet as I tried to chase the fading light, desperate to go back to that old comfort before... Before things... Before... Before what?
My attempt was futile as my mind seared in agony, questions opening a wound I couldn't see, but could feel every inch of as warm red liquid rolled down over my right eye, cutting off any use as the void became fixed in place, the light having been snuffed like a candle out on a windy day.
All at once, the pain ended, and the red vanished, leaving only me and the void that consumed everything but.
I whipped around, a voice I couldn't hear calling out to anything that would listen.
But no sooner did I start, I stopped, a bolt of dread locking my very being in place. There, just off in the distance, I found a pair of white, blank orbs staring at me from the distant void, their eerie pair lacking anything else.
Half-breaths swiftly pried themselves from my chest as I kept its gaze. I couldn't take it for long, as my vision grew black and my lungs burned, trying desperately to grasp at nothing.
I wanted to scream, to cry out for help, but all I was met with were the eyes, somehow staring at me through the darkness behind my eyes, yet close, closer than before.
A scream, one so inhuman, sent me off.
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My eyes snapped open in panic, but my body remained stiff in fear as my lungs heaved gulps of air to satiate the sudden lack of.
Vision became a rarity as darkness cracked at the edges, accompanying the tears starting to prickle at the corners.
That thing, that thing, it was familiar; I've seen those eyes before, but the panic wouldn't let me recall it. I was stuck, afraid, and confused.
What remained of my failing vision started to sway, and even though my body was safely on the ground, I couldn't help but feel like I was falling forward.
A death grip had formed on the stray straws of hay I had slept on, to at least give me the sense that I had something of a stopgap, just in case I actually did start falling upward.
These feelings felt like they lasted for hours as I stared at the rafters above, their forms caked in dust and cobwebs that looked to be decades old. Eventually, my heart began to calm, and breathing became just easy enough that I didn't feel like I was suffocating.
The shuffle of the barn door had my head turning in sluggish caution, leaving me to lock eyes with Lee, his smiling face pausing as he held up wrapped snacks my stomach growled for. He took another pause when he noticed my shaking form, a frown quickly taking over as he walked over and crouched next to me.
I didn't say anything, a bit nauseous to the idea of even opening my mouth, but he didn't seem to mind as he laid a palm on my forehead, the hat I had completely forgotten about until now, tilting up in return.
He sighed in what sounded like relief.
"It was a nightmare, wasn't it?"
My eyes widened just a bit as my voice quivered out.
"How'd you know?"
Lee grinned again, this time with a more knowing look.
"You learn to see the signs when you have them every night."
"...You have them too?"
He hummed.
"Ya, they're not the most fun, as you could see."
Tears prickled at the edges of my vision again as I whimpered out.
"It... it was so scary... I hated it."
Without much of a thought, Lee pulled me into a hug, soft words dancing around me as he comforted me.
"It's ok, Sweetpea, they'll leave you alone eventually... but it won't be pleasant until then, so just try to bear with it until it's over."
I rubbed my face further into his shirt as more tears escaped my grasp, words falling short of clarity as they fell back into my throat.
It was like that for a little while, just me, crying as he held me as close as he could. Had it not been for the soft sound of plastic crinkling above me, I would have fallen back to sleep.
Gently, I pulled myself out of his grip before tilting my vision up, Hazel orbs taking count of the two snacks in Lee's hands.
"Here, pick one; usually, something to eat gets me feeling better after one of those dreams, so maybe it's the same for you," he said, pushing them forward into my reach as he smiled.
I looked at him for a moment before turning my focus to the bars before me, one the familiar color of Strawberry and the other the cold color of Blueberry.
I've had them before and came to like the Cherry flavor, but Strawberry came in at a close second, so I took that one.
Lee nodded.
"Right, then I'll take the other one. I'm going to get us some water; are you good by yourself for a moment?"
I nodded, hesitantly, unsure myself, but still unwilling to tie him here.
He left a moment later, off to get us some water.
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A bit later
Lee had come back a little later with water before he went out again, this time to help Shawn with the fence.
I also went out, though rather than play or look for something to do, I opted to walk around aimlessly, just to enjoy the little adventurous spirit I had left; it was fun, despite what many might think.
But that fun led me here, standing quietly in front of a blonde-haired woman as she spoke gently about the most random things. It wasn't what I had expected when I approached originally, but it's what I got nonetheless, and I found that to be okay.
"Oh, pardon my manners, dear, I'm Katjaa Jones."
I hummed.
"Clementine."
Katjaa smiled.
"The orange, or the star?"
I blushed, having already been told I had been named after the star, yet had been constantly compared to the orange; it got embarrassing after so many people misunderstood my name for the orange.
"The Star."
Her smile turned more playful when I answered.
"Oh? What a shame. That means I can't tease you as much, but I'll have to make do with it anyway, isn't that right, little star?"
I blushed harder.
My voice was a mix of embarrassment and playful irritation. "Please don't call me that; it's embarrassing."
She chuckled. "But it suits you."
I was going to bite back again before we were interrupted, Lee having walked over.
"Hey, Clem, how are you holding up?"
I grinned, despite my embarrassed annoyance.
"I'm fine, but Katjaa won't stop teasing me."
This answer earned me an amused smile.
"That so? I hope she isn't giving you a hard time for being an orange."
My brow twitched as my cheeks heated.
"Not you too."
Lee chuckled, with Katjaa joining in behind me.
"Oh dear, are you sure you're not named after the orange?"
I rounded with a frown as I voiced my apprehension.
"And what's that supposed to mean?!"
She chuckled again, her voice playful as she voiced reason.
"I mean, if even your father thinks so, then you must be named after the orange."
The mood was ruined with that line, memories of my father dragging me down from my comfort zone.
Katjaa seemed to notice the dip in the atmosphere, her gaze peering over my shoulder at Lee, likely seeking answers.
Lee sighed before speaking.
"She's... She's not my daughter."
Katjaa's eyes widened.
"Pardon."
There was a short pause from Lee as he went on.
"Her parents were away when everything went down, and the one who was taking care of her originally, well, she didn't make it. She was alone when I found her the other day."
I felt uncomfortable with the topic, so I didn't add my two thoughts, hoping my silence would get them to leave the situation alone, or at least for now.
This seemed to do the trick, or at least aided in the decay of its traction.
Katjaa shook her head after a moment longer.
"Well, at leas-"
She didn't get to finish as the sound of an engine revving tore through the paper-thin subject like a hot knife through butter.
Katjaa and Lee were alert immediately, as a scream tore through the air around us.
They were both moving immediately, but I remained rooted to my spot, fear dredging up a similar scream from the depths of my memory, its horrowing sound springing forth in a constant reverb that had my body shivering in a cold sweat.
Even so, my head tilted just enough that I could see what was going on in the distance, the scene of which was all too familiar to my fear-tucked mind.
My eyes narrowed as the scene became easier to see, almost as if I were right there with them watching it happen.
One of those things lumbered out of the corn on the other side of the wooden fence, its own visage swiftly followed by more of its kind as they began to force their way over and under the fence.
Lee tried to help, kicking one of them down before sending a foot to its skull as it quietly and grotesquely caved under heel with a sickening squelch. It stopped moving, but Lee did not and went to kill another one.
Another man was standing a bit away, holding a boy, his own form lock-jawed in a shock that left him motionless.
Katjaa stood just beside him, horror rocking her face as Lee took another down.
And finally, there was Shawn, his form buckled to the ground as his foot lay lodged under the tractor's wheel, his face twisted with pain as he clutched at his thigh just above the ensnared appendage.
But Lee, despite his effort, was still only one man, one person against inhuman, rotten monsters that felt no fear or pain, just an insatiable hunger for us, so it shouldn't have been a shock when one slipped past him.
Shawn didn't even get a chance to scream before the thing's teeth sank into his flesh, its nashing jaw ripping off a chunk of his arm before it went to bite again.
That's when the final defender made his presence known, the roar of a shotgun shell ripping through my panic as it rang out a few feet behind me.
A cold, desolate silence held itself over everyone after that, leaving only the choking gasps of Shawn as he began to spasm before going limp, his chest ceasing its heaving as its form fell still, signaling the loss of another.
"Get out..."
No one dared to say a word, but that only seemed to make things worse as Hershel turned to us and roared with a righteous fury.
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"
I flinched at the volume, as my gaze fell for a moment, shame and fear tickling at my mind.
"I'm sorry."
I looked up, finding the man from earlier, his form no longer frozen, painted with a look of shame.
At this, Hershel almost looked appalled. "Sorry!? Your son is alive! You don't get to be sorry!"
His anger ebbed a bit, his biting voice turning to Lee.
"You tried to help him, at least you tried," he looked back at the man, "but this piece of shit let him die!"
For a quick second, he glanced at me, and in that split second, his eyes softened, a tired look overtaking his anger, leaving him to turn his back on us.
"Please... just leave... and don't come back."
We had left soon after, with Lee and me joining the man, Kenny, and his family in the offered seats in the truck.
It didn't change the atmosphere of silence that lingered over us, though.
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The day lulled after that, with only the tree's blurring by use giving anything worth noting to pay attention to.
It wasn't until a few hours later that the silence was broken, and Kenny, who offered us seats, spoke up for the first time since the incident.
"The city shouldn't be far now, maybe just a few dozen miles give or take; we'll need to scout for some gas when we get there, or else we'll be forced to walk, not a situation I'd like to be in."
There was a beat before Lee responded, a query breaching a point.
"Can't we just syphon what we need from the cars on the road? I'm sure at least half of them have something in them."
Kenny hummed before answering.
"If it were that easy, no, if I had to put my two thoughts to that, I'd say we'd be in for more than just gas."
The Things.
I looked out the window with a new perspective now that those things had been brought up.
There were a few I could glimpse, but I couldn't begin to even imagine how many were sitting there, stuck or too slow to react in time to reveal themselves; it was a nauseating thought, thinking of their pale bodies and dull eyes.
I looked away before a headache could form.
"Ok, I can get that, but wouldn't the city be an even worse Idea? I mean, it's packed with buildings that could hold hundreds of thousands of people; who's to say that it couldn't be equally as packed with those things as here?"
Kenny took a moment, but didn't continue with the line.
Lee sighed, but also dropped the conversation.
That's when the teeth-grinding sound chose to rear its head as smoke started to billow from the truck's front.
Kenny cursed.
"Shit, blew a fuse."
The cab was silent for another moment before Lee unbuckled himself and hopped out, my smaller form trailing soon after.
"Looks like we're walking, Sweetpea."
I hummed, okay with the sudden change in pace, but still weary of the silence that lay around us.
Two more doors were heard shutting as Kenny and Katjaa stepped out to join us; Duck was tucked in Katjaa's arm, seemingly barely there as he drifted between sleep and consciousness.
Lee made sure to grab the gun from the back before rejoining the group.
"I got one shot before it's an overpriced baseball bat."
Kenny nodded somberly.
"One's better than none."
"Amen."
Snorting, Kenny sighed before turning ahead.
"Alright, people, we've got a mile or so before the city; Lee, I want you in the back." Kenny pulled a long knife from his waist. "I'll stay up front and keep an eye out for any of those things; I'll deal with them if I can. Sound good?"
There were no objections from the group aside from Katjaa's worried gaze as she hugged Duck closer.
Nodding, we began the walk.
I tried to ignore the fact that I could see the city buildings with distinct detail despite their distance from me, and instead just focused on being aware.
The events that transpire as a result of this single plan wouldn't be felt until it was already too late to turn back.
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At the Drugstore
Glass shook and whined as a footfall shattered the rest of its remains into even smaller pieces, launching microscopic shards into the air.
But the owner of said foot paid no heed as another situation heated up in the group.
"I've had just about enough of your arrogant ass! It's do this! Do that! Go THERE! FIX THAT!. I'm tired of some bitch barking orders like we're just maggots under your heel! Well, newsflash, you fucking egoist, we're not, and I won't be treated like one."
The woman finished, her chest heaving in rage as another voice peered in, just as heated.
"Hey! You watch your fucking mouth, that's my daughter you're speaking to! Not some two-bit whore like yourself!"
This drew a deeper anger from the original speaker, but she didn't get another word in before the accused spoke, her own voice controlled yet tinted with a deep-seated anger.
"Dad, calm down," she turned to the accuser, "and you, I suggest keeping your mouth shut, else I might have half the mind to throw you out for those things to rip apart: I kept you alive, and I'm more than capable of amending that mistake."
The accuser snarled with a glare, but kept her cool well enough that a fist wasn't flying, but that line was wearing thin.
"Fucking Christ, is that all you have!? Because I'm getting real sick of hearing you repeat the same fucking words over and over again; just quit already, they hold no sway over me, and I couldn't give a damn about being kicked out even if it shoved its foot up my taint. As long as I don't have to deal with your self-righteous, egotistical, bitch faced personality, I'd say it's the best fuck I'd have in years!"
The accused scoffed.
"I can almost guarantee you'll eat those words once it actually happens, you self-entitled piece of shit."
"Oh? So now I'm self-entitled for wanting basic human rights?! Wow, what a fucking bar!"
"Don't push your luck, bitch."
The accuser smirked in triumph as they finally got the shell of their opposition to crack.
But before they could push on the matter, a neutral spoke up, his voice filled with a calm familiarity.
"Alright, that's enough; if you girls keep going at each other like this, it'll kill us faster than those things outside: I don't know about you two, but I'd rather be breathing than a cold, undead corpse roaming these broken streets," he said as he gestured to the boreded up window, faint cracks giving way to images of a shattered and debris filled street.
"Glenn, stay out of this."
The man kept his piece but stepped more towards the door, leaving all but the accused oblivious to his movement.
"Listen here, you walking fleshlight! Just because you could fuck your way into whatever pathetic power you had doesn't mean you can talk to my daughter like that! Now, I gave you one warning already; make me give you another, and I'll show you what your guts look like when I cut them out and shove them down your gaping throat!" The older man shouted, his rugged face flushed red as he huffed an angry breath.
The Girl, heating up just as much, pulled a gun from her hip, its cold body resting motionlessly in her palm as she spoke, murder and promise painting her words.
"Just try it, you old fuck, see how far that gets you."
The man took a step forward.
"Oh, you want me to try? Well then, I won't keep you waiting!"
His fist raised mere inches before it was halted by the accused, her form having slipped away during the heated banshee match between the pair.
"Dad, that's enough. And Carley, knock it off, we have a problem."
The notion of a problem wasn't the problem in itself, but rather where that problem was, and how close it was wandering.
The now-named Carley fell silent immediately, her brows furrowing as she came up beside the other woman, her gun raised to her chest as she peered out of the gaps in the boarded-up window.
"More of those things, Lilly?"
The girl, now named Lilly, wasn't the one who responded.
"No, there's a commotion down the street, a big one. I can't get a good look because of those things, but given the signs, it's likely another survivor, or someone who's looking to just get things over like the last one," Glenn said, referring to the situation the other day.
Another nearby survivor couldn't take it and walked out of their shelter. They were torn apart in seconds.
The older man scoffed.
"It's not our problem, so long as they stay away from us. We're already running low on supplies; we can't afford any more stragglers."
Carley scoffed.
"And people wondered why I thought humanity was going to kill itself; it's people like you that make me sick."
The older man was about to bite back, but was interrupted once more.
"Lary, Carley, knock it off, they're getting closer."
They both fell silent once more as Carley took another look out the window, her dark Brown eyes glaring at the small crowd of those things that had grouped up, their lumbering forms stumbling forward as they tried to take a chunk out of... a child.
She didn't even wait to see the other people out there before she had the store door wide open, her pistol roaring and shells falling as she called out to them.
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Back with the group
I was starting to regret eating anything back at the farm, because now, walking down the ruined street, I could feel a pressure building, one all too familiar with my poor potty control.
"Lee," I said in a hushed whisper, my voice drowning in restraint and tension.
"What is it, Sweetpea?" He whispered back, his own voice lulled by the possible danger surrounding us.
"I need to use the bathroom," I said as I clenched my stomach, staving off the need for a few minutes at most.
There was a silence for a time, a small break in words as he seemed to think on it. Eventually, he asked.
"How bad?"
My cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Really bad."
He sighed, his eyes contemplating something I couldn't understand, but after a moment, he looked over, his brown eyes full of guilt.
"How long do you think you could hold it for?"
I had a small feeling that this would be the answer, but I was really hoping it wasn't what he was going to say.
I looked down in discomfort, knowing I wasn't going to be able to go until we were somewhere safe enough.
"A little bit."
He nodded, "Okay, I'll see what I can do."
Despite his words, we both knew he wouldn't be able to do much; it was just too dangerous.
Thankfully, after dealing with it for a few more minutes, the urge and pressure dulled into something manageable, leaving me mildly content.
Not long after, we all stopped, Kenny's arm raised as he motioned for Lee to move up with him.
Lee silently nodded before turning to me briefly.
"Stay close to Katjaa, Clem."
I nodded, understanding that disobeying would have a terrible consequence from the world of ruin around us.
The trip up didn't last long, no more than two minutes, really, but its impact was felt without words, as the look of exhaustion on Lee's face said more than any words could possibly match.
"We have to take a detour," he said, a look of cold acceptance matching his words.
"Not to be rude, but why?" Katjaa asked, a bit miffed by the statement.
Lee didn't take long to answer her question, "One of those things is blocking the road, so we have to go around."
The way Katjaa shrunk into herself and held Duck just a bit tighter was all the tell I needed to know that one of those things was what they were talking about.
"Katjaa," Lee said, a look of understanding painting his face, "take Duck up there with Kenny, I'll stay with Clem."
She looked relieved by this and quickly made her way over to Kenny with Duck. She spared me a glance as she did.
"Clem?"
Breaking out of my thoughts, I responded with the hum, a bit too surprised to say anything properly.
"You still need to use the bathroom?" He asked, his voice easing itself out of that guilt he was feeling a moment ago.
I nearly cracked a smile at this question but responded with a simple shake of my head instead, having already dealt with the urge, and unwilling to force Lee into some dangerous situation on my account.
"Well, okay then, but remember this is your only chance for a bathroom break because we most likely won't be taking any more breaks until after we get out of the city; you understand that, right?"
"Ya, I understand," it was because I understood that I didn't take the offer.
Lee cracked a smile, "You are one stubborn kid."
I returned the smile and said, "I know."
"Okay, let's get going, Sweetpea; don't want Kenny and them to leave us behind, now do we."
"You should knock on wood."
"Do what now?"
I giggled, "Nothing."
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An hour later
We were all walking silently when it happened, but maybe it was because we were so focused on being quiet that it happened.
One moment of serenity was quickly and swiftly turned into chaos as Duck, in his drowsy state, was pulled from Katjaa's arms, not even having time to scream as the boy was pressed into the ground, one of those rotting things already leaning down to feast on the flesh it had obtained.
Katjaa had screamed, and Kenny had whirled around, His feet already taking him to the thing with as much speed and fury as one man could muster.
Lee had just as quickly brought up his gun in attempts to shoot the thing, but before he could even get a proper shot at the thing, he was swarmed by two others, one just as quickly eating the last shell in the gun and the other lunging for him with its own hunger driving it.
I could hear it, the screams, just like Sandra.
Katjaa was screaming in despair as she saw what was about to happen, but was unable to do anything about it as she too was swarmed by a pair of those things.
Kenny was the same as he cut down two more of those things, but was stopped as two more rounded the corner, forcing him to deal with them as they stumbled with frightening speed over to him.
He screamed with fear and fury as he forced one walker to the ground with inhuman force, causing the thing's head to burst open in the back, its fragile structure unable to take such a blow despite its undead nature.
Which just left me choking on air as panic overtook my thoughts and brought me back to that terrible night, the one that caused me so much fear and pain, the one that made my eyes dry and dull as I was forced to watch as my life was ripped away from me and turned into a pile of blood and ruin.
But, despite this, despite all of it, I wanted to help, to do what I was too afraid to do back then, even if it cost me what little I had left, I wanted to be useful.
My body began to heat up at the thought as I silently cried out to something, anything.
That's when it happened.
My head, once full of panic, fear, and guilt, quickly turned into a painful throb, its being heating up to something that physically hurt to bear.
I could feel the flesh on my shoulder sizzle and pop with something hot, something unseen, but worst of all, I could feel it spreading up to my head, just behind my eyes, the heat mixing with the throbs to make something agonizing.
Yet, despite this, I looked forward, a small push urging me to look at the thing inching its way down to Duck, its rotten mouth wide open.
Then, everything stopped: the heat, the pain, the throb. It was just gone, and what was left in its place was a warm feeling inside my chest as my shoulder glowed the faintest green.
My eyes, unseen but tinted green, stared at the jaw of the walker, and in an instant that I would look back on, the jaw began to fall apart, turning into blood and gore that rained down on Duck, and with its jaw went its head, as time returned to normal and the sound of another gun going off accompanied it back, turning the jawless thing into a headless corps.
More gunshots rang out, clearing the way for Katjaa to get to Duck', as she pulled the boy out from underneath the leaking corpse, before turning and running to the shooter I couldn't see, as my vision swayed with exhaustion.
For a brief moment, I felt terrified. I couldn't move, and I felt sick; the thought of being forgotten and left to die frightened me.
Tears pricked at my eyes as darkness began to fall over me.
At the very last instance, I felt warm, before darkness took over and I was left suspended in it, nightmares already rearing their ugly heads.
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The moment my finger pulled that trigger, I felt like crying.
I was going to be the reason a child was going to die, I was going to be the reason a boy was ripped apart in front of me, because I couldn't hold back my panic, I was going to be the reason for another person's death.
But, like a god answering my prayers, another shot rang out, this time hitting true as I bashed the head of the thing that had caused me to panic, its rotten figure going slack as it fell to the ground, unmoving.
Katjaa had managed to get Duck out from under the now headless walker, before making a mad dash for the door the new shooter stood beside.
Kenny was swift to follow after his family as he killed one more walker with his blade before he ran in.
Clem was...
To Lee's horror, Clem wasn't moving; her eyes were lulled, and her breathing was shallow at best, but worst of all, she was falling, head first toward the broken street: like a marionette with its strings cut.
I tripped one of those things tumbling its way for me before dead sprinting toward Clem, just barely managing to catch the girl before she hit the pavement.
Wasting no time to think, he made another dead sprint to the door, the shooter still taking out those things behind him.
The gun jingled and clicked on his back as it bounced from the sudden motion, the strap of which was slung over his shoulder.
There was no hesitation when one of those things sprang out in front of him.
His knees bent, and his legs followed, before in one abrupt action, he jumped, his right boot connecting with the thing's face as it was forced to the ground with anger fueling the action, leaving it to take the full brunt of an 180-pound man landing boot first on its face
It didn't even resist as its entire head caved underfoot, leaving him to continue his sprint while he flicked his boot of the decaying brain matter he had inadvertently obtained.
He made it past the woman with the gun before just barely managing to stop himself from ramming into a shelf due to his momentum.
Before even managing to take a proper breath, he looked down at Clem, finding her face vacant of emotion as she slept soundly through the shouting coming from the newcomers inside.
Sighing, I adjusted her in my arms, eyeing her small form for any sort of injury she may have incurred during her fall, but aside from a strange butterfly-like scar on her shoulder, she was ok.
After I was done checking her over, I turned toward the shouting, finding two girls yelling at each other, with the shooter being one of them.
"Are you an idiot! Do you know how dangerous that was!" one shouted.
"Well, unlike you, Lilly, I give a shit, and I wasn't going to watch them die. Especially since they have children with them."
The Girl, Lilly, backed off after the comment, but went on with the point anyway. "One, I didn't know they had kids with them; two, what you did was still stupid and reckless and could've gotten us all killed."
It pained me to admit it, but she was right on that part. Despite what the gun girl did, it was probably not a good idea to help, even if the others and I were immensely grateful for it.
"My daughter's right; you could've led them straight to us," the Big man behind Lilly shouted, his old yet firm face flushed red with anger.
"Nice to know you care," the shooter snarked back.
"You are so fucking insufferable, Carley."
"You're one to talk, Ms. Everyone follows my orders."
I was grateful for the help, truly, but with Clem now asleep in my arms and the massing things outside, right now probably wasn't the best time to be arguing like children, so I spoke up. "Why the fuck are you all arguing like children? It's both stupid and embarrassing to be arguing like this."
This sparked a reaction from all three involved in this argument.
The girl, Carley, seemed to realize what she was doing and turned her head away in shame; the other girl, Lilly, looked pissed but begrudgingly pacified, and the big guy looked like he was about to blow a gasket.
"Now listen here, you fuckwit, I don't know who you think you're talking to, but that won't slide with me; you're the ones coming in here and starting this whole thing, so if it's anyone's fault, it's yours."
I didn't say anything further, leaving the big guy's eyes to wander for a second, which led to his eyes locking onto something behind me and widening.
"Holy shit, one of them is bitten."
At this accusation, Katjaa's scared voice made itself known. "No, he's not! I'm cleaning him up now, and there's no bite."
"We need to take care of this quickly." My eyes widened at the verdict, shock taking over my gaze.
That set Kenny off, "I don't like what you're suggesting, you old fuck," he said, fist clenching at his side, one now firmly clasped around the blade he used to kill the things outside.
"I don't care what you don't like; we let someone who's been bitten stay here, and we all can say goodbye to our lives; we have to throw him out or smash his head in."
If Kenny wasn't pissed before, he was now. "Over my dead body," he said while pulling the bloody blade from its sheath on his hip.
"Then I guess I'll be digging a grave for two. Fair deal if you ask me," the older man said, keeping an eye out for the blade now pointed at him.
"NO! Kenny, do something!" came Katjaa's increasingly panicked voice.
"Lee, what do we do about this old fuck," I could tell Kenny didn't want to kill the man, but would if he had no other choice. And as much as I didn't want to be dragged into this, I couldn't let Duck' be thrown out or killed.
"Kenny, go over and help Katjaa with Duck; I'll sort things out over here," I said, taking a stand before the old guy, my own free hand tightened into a fist, ready at any moment just in case the man tried something.
There was a moment of hesitation from Kenny before he silently nodded and went over to help Katjaa look over Duck'.
I continued, "And you, why does it matter if he's been bitten?"
The big guy looked like he was going to rage but managed to keep a tight lid on said fury. And I couldn't help but silently commend him for his restraint.
"If you must know, bastard. When someone is bitten, it's already too late for them; they'll be one of the things in a few hours at most."
It shocked me to hear such a thing, but I had no real way to dispute the claim.
It was a scary claim, especially with how close I've personally been to being bitten on multiple occasions, and it would also make sense as to why the big guy was so adamant about getting rid of Duck.
But even so, until there was concrete proof that Duck was bitten, I wasn't going to budge.
Looking back, I found Kenny helping clean off the blood. I caught his attention with a gesture before waving him over
After whispering to Katjaa, he made his way over, a glare still painting the big guy red.
"Tell him what you told me," I said while gesturing to Kenny.
"Fine. But this is the last time I will say it; if you don't listen, you can go fuck off," the big guy said, anger barely being held back by restraint.
Kenny was about to bark back, but I stopped him. "Just listen for a minute, Kenny."
He reluctantly backed off and listened.
After a longer explanation than I got, Kenny looked horrified, the thought likely terrifying him more than the things themselves.
Adjusting Clem, I spoke before anything else could be said. "I agree with the big guy."
At this, Kenny looked betrayed, and the big gut looked slightly less hostile. "At least someone ge-"
I interrupted curtly. "But we are still not throwing him out or killing him without solid proof of a bite, and that is not negotiable."
Kenny looked relieved to hear this, and the big guy looked ready to rage again.
With a frustrated sigh, the big guy scoffed before turning around and going back to the girl, Lilly, if heard right, all the while cursing under his breath.
I was torn from my observation as Kenny spoke up, his voice quiet but appreciative.
"Thanks, Lee."
I couldn't help the frown that layered my face, guilt at the possibility of. "Please, Kenny, don't thank me until we know or not."
Kenny continued, his voice firm in its belief. "Doesn't matter, Duck', wasn't bit, so a thank you is a must."
I wanted to refute the thanks anyway because I was on his side as much as I was on the big guys. Instead, I only sighed and hummed a response.
Kenny continued again, a hand finding its way to my shoulder. "Also, I don't blame you for not choosing my side; if I were in your position, I would've done the same."
After that, he walked away, retreating to his family's side without a second thought, leaving me to cradle the still-sleeping Clementine.
I sighed, wondering what my life had become.