Home (Clementine x Female Reader)

Chapter 4 ; Welcome To Ericson's Boarding School

–

You all enter the gates that lead to some bigger buildings, reminding you of a college or at least what you can remember of those buildings. Overgrown plants seem to be on every inch of the building almost, yet you can make out the faint lines of brick and concrete here and there.

You notice yourself slowing down from your run, feeling the adrenaline leave your body and fatigue catch up to you.

"You can help them right?" You ask, examining the side of the man's face for any signs of ill intent. "Best we can," He responds as you enter a room, he sets AJ down on the bed and you do the same with Clementine and set her on the bed across the way.

A younger boy and a redhead walk into the room before you can speak up, his attention immediately being grabbed by the two. They converse for a few moments, standing over AJ's body that lay on the bed.

"He fine," The redhead says as she walks over to you. You let out a breath of relief at the information, all of your worries immediately coming back when she examines Clementine's head.

She rises up after a few moments, nodding to no one in particular.

"She just needs bandaging hopefully, the wound ain't too deep. I'm sure you can do that Tenn," She says sweetly, glancing at the little boy with a scar on the side of his face.

He looks up at her and nods, a determined look now on his face.

She exits the room with the little boy, and it becomes silent once more. You examine Clementine yourself, wondering how she looked effortlessly beautiful with a gash on the side of her head.

The sound of footsteps behind you makes you snap out of your trance, and you turn your head slightly. You sigh and stand, your fatigue telling everything in you to sink back to the floor next to Clementine. 

You don't.

The man with the mullet stares at you, a few steps away still, making you think he actually never moved in the first place. His eyes seem to scan over you and you put up a wall of indifference over your once tired features.

"And you are?" He asks, his eyebrows arching as he questioned you.

You force your usual charming grin as you start your usual introduction, fighting back any angry response you'd bark out due to your tiredness. "Most call me the wanderer," You stick your hand out for the slightly taller man to shake it.

A look of shock crosses his features as he gives you another once over, his eyes widen and his jaw drops. "The... wanderer?" He hesitantly asks as if he heard you wrong. You fight the urge to scoff as he grabs your outstretched hand, giving a firm grip in return.

"That's what I just said, is it not?" You ask a little harsher than you intended as you drop his hand.

"Just a little shocked is all. I mean... we've heard stories..." He trails off, a distant and melancholy look in his eyes. "But that was a long time ago." He clears his throat after saying this, snapping back from wherever he was.

Your silence creates an awkward tension in the room, and you take your time examining the boy that seemed about your age.

"Never thought I'd get to meet the wanderer in person," He breaks the awkward silence, rubbing the back of his head in thought.

You hum, the sudden sound of the door opening causing your head to snap towards it. You're on edge, that much was obvious. The little boy comes back in the room with medical supplies in his hands, immediately getting to work on Clementine.

"So you guys can help them?" You repeat the question from earlier to no one in particular, your voice coming out rough and low. The little boy nods his head meekly, glancing at you but not to the point where you'd make any eye contact.

"We should tie her up-" Mullet boy stops speaking when you glare at him, raising his arms in surrender. "I'd rather just be safe than sorry, it'll be something simple, I promise," He says, a nervous smile on his face.

You mull it over and nod, putting your eyes back on the form of the passed-out girl. You look behind you past mullet boy and fight the urge to smile, glad AJ was okay too.

–

You both step outside, leaving the little boy alone with the duo.

"I just realized I never asked your name," You speak up. As fun as calling him mullet boy was, it'd help to have a name attached to his face.

"Marlon, the name is Marlon," He says, glancing at you with a grin.

You nod, looking back around as you followed him. You took note of the run-down state of the building, overgrown plants sprawled across the walls of the building.

"So what happened?" Marlon finally asks, his curiosity probably getting the better of him.

You shrug, "I don't know, it all happened so fast. They were in another room and were searching for supplies. Apparently, there was some where we were, but the door was rigged." You gesture an explosion with your hands, making a 'boom' sound with your lips. "Next thing you know there's tons of zombies headed our way."

He nods, a slight hint of amusement playing on his features at your gestures. A sense of paranoia washes over you when you notice his eyes giving you a once-over yet again. Maybe it's your fatigue talking and you're just overreacting, but in this world being paranoid might just get you a little further.

You note it.

"I actually need to go though," You mutter, not breaking your gaze from him as his dark eyes snap back up to yours.

"What, no- It's crawling with walkers out there," He sputters out, a worried look now on his face. You shake your head. "No I just need to grab my things, I'll come back here," You speak, still inwardly not trusting these people enough to actually leave Clementine and AJ here.

As if.

He seems to think about it for a moment, nodding once he's made his mind up. "Please just- come back before dawn."

You nod, "I won't take that long, don't worry."

–

A girl that was introduced to you as Violet now leads you down a path, and after some awkward silence later she points you in the direction of the road. And you're off.

The smoke in the distance was the first thing you noticed, smell and sight. It was hard to miss actually, so at least you don't have to worry about getting lost. You can't help the sigh that escapes your lips, more so due to your tiredness and the thought of having to deal with any zombies that may be waiting for you there.

The closer you get the more anxious you grow and your grip around your machete tightens in your hand.

You silently reassure yourself, knowing you've gotta get back to Clem and AJ so there wasn't a chance that you'd let yourself die. And that was enough for you- well until you realize what you were thinking.

Your confusion is short-lived as you finally reach your van, and thankfully there aren't a lot of zombies near the van, you deduce it to all of them probably more so near the station and the car. You inwardly thank past you for thinking to hide the van a little further in the forest... though it proved to be your downfall earlier.

You step inside the van regardless, immediately smiling at the sight of Milo waiting for you at the door. You crouch down and pet him, as result he starts purring.

You let yourself take a moment to finally breathe, trying to pause and gather your thoughts for good. Should you drive the van back to the school? Or maybe you should just leave it there and take Milo with you... both are risky decisions- but you know you should make a decision soon.