Always ~ Violentine

20 ~ I Know You're with Me Even When You're Not

Clementine awakened from her deep slumber, her mind still fairly groggy. The last thing she remembered was her dream about Lee. He had told her to return home. Everyone had told her to return home. She knew they were right, and she wanted to so badly; it just wasn't the right timing.

The brunette turned to her left, almost expecting to see Violet sleeping by her side like usual. It had been almost a week since her and Violet slept in the same bed. It was like she was trapped in a nightmare, unable to come back to true reality. She got out of bed, threw on her hat, and headed out the door.

She wandered around The Den, trying to ruminate how she would explain to Violet about their falling out. That shortly ceased when Jax approached her with an irritated expression stretched across her face.

Clem recalled seeing her and Minnie in an argument. She assumed it was about what Minnie had done to Violet. "Hey, Jesus has a job for us."

"Okay? What kind of job?"

"Wants us to go out and scavenge. He's fine with you staying here, but you have to help contribute to the group."

"Alright. I'm not too familiar with these woods, so lead the way." Clementine still wasn't too fond of Jax after what she had done to Violet, but she was tired of getting into futile fights.

Along the way through their traveling, they approached a vacant car abandoned in the woods. The wheels were missing, it seemed gas had been siphoned - the odds of finding something valuable inside were almost nonexistent. "I'll check the trunk. You check the front," Jax ordered.

Clementine didn't respond, but she still complied to Jax's order. The windows were tinted, so it was hard to see inside the vehicle. She placed her fingers under the handle, but as expected, the car was locked. "Great, it's fucking locked," Clem stated with a huff.

"Yeah, the trunk too."

"Step back, I'm gonna smash the-" her voice was cut off, a walker pouncing at the window from inside, hungry for fresh, human meat to gnaw on. "Holy shit!" Clementine yelled, quickly backing away from the car. Jax tried to suppress a laugh but couldn't resist. "Glad that was amusing for you," Clem sarcastically remarked.

"Oh believe me, it was. Now come on, bust open this shitwreck so we can search it."

The brunette rolled her eyes and walked back up to vehicle. The walker was still trying to complete its mission of breaking free to feast on his victim, but that quickly ended when Clem's combat knife sliced through its skull. It broke open, blood trickling out. "I got it."

"Good. Pop open the trunk."

The brunette cleared any loose glass leftover and unlocked the car. She searched around, hoping her and Jax could turn up with something. Javier and his group had been so helpful and great for Clem. She'd feel guilty if she couldn't return with at least something.

As usual, the car was picked clean. "I've got nothing. Anything useful in the trunk?" Clementine questioned as she made her way to the back of the car.

"Not unless you find a punctured tire and a nail file useful." Clem flashed a small smile and let out a soft laugh. "Am I missing something here?" Jax questioned, her eyebrows furrowed.

"No, um, a friend of mine I once knew gave me a nail file to protect myself when I was younger. I lost it years ago."

"What happened to her? If you don't mind me asking."

"She got into an argument with another friend of ours. Well, they didn't see each other as friends. Long story short, it escalated rapidly to the point where they were fighting to the death of each other. She didn't win the battle."