A hell for Clementine

The Figure

Play the video/music at the start of paragraph 3 and stop the music at the end of paragraph 3 ;)

Clementine slowly opened her eyes, to find herself lying in the middle of the seemingly desolate wasteland of the forest surrounding the school, it being at the dead of night too. She knew of the location, where she fell asleep with AJ and James overlooking them, except this time, there was absolutely no one around. "AJ! Louis! Violet!" Clem shouted past the trunks of the trees, only to be replied with her bellowing echo vibrating through the forest itself. "Why am I...I gotta find the school" Clem said to herself, and with that she began trudging through the dark, haunting corridors of the forest. Clem felt her back pocket and was relived to feel her knife holstered, she drew it out at the ready in case of any roaming walkers.

But she heard no walkers, birds, crickets, Hell she heard nothing at all except her breathing and her footsteps overcoming the shrub beneath her. "What the hell is going on?" Clem thought to herself, she quickened her pace through the labyrinth of the forest, vaguely remembering which way it was back to the school. She was thinking now of how she got where she woke up, who placed her there? We're the others even at the school? Had anyone died? At these demanding thoughts, Clem was now sought on getting to the school.

Clementine was not only worrying if she was on the right path, but if her close ones were in danger or not. AJ, even though he proves himself to be a little kid no more, Clementine still worried of him day and night. Ever since he shot Marlon, Clementine had been worried sick of how he was growing up, if she had taught the right lessons, it was all the more reason to find him now and to see if he was in any impending danger, she would not bear to lose AJ once again. Louis crossed her mind too a lot, herself and him knowing that they both like LIKED each other, due to the confession with that night at the piano. A night Clem and Louis would remember for a long time. His funny remarks, gimmicks, witty yet terrible jokes, she had to know of his whereabouts as she was not about to lose the boy she was most fond of, not when she had found love in a time like this. Violet was of Clementines concern too, Vi being Clem's best friend. 

She was glad to have blossomed a friendship with the lonely girl, they both knew they care a lot for each other and that if one needed help, the other would be there to pick them up. She hadn't realized the journey she had made when deep in her thoughts, she was close to the school now, very close. But what she found that was quite out of place, was the faint orange tint looming over the forestry ahead. With each step closer she began to feel warmer, and warmer, and warmer. "Fire?" Clem questioned herself, she ran and ran until she stopped at the little bridge leading over the stream and towards the trap area before the school. What was beyond her took any vocabulary out of her self being.

(Cue Music)The school was set ablaze, with the trees and bushes surrounding the walls of the school aflame too. Clementine was terrified out of her mind, and what was In front of the school did not help. Chains, massive chains and small chains thrown over the school wall, draping and hanging in idleness. Metal spikes shooting from the ground as if they were acting as their own barricade. And last but certainly not least, bodies. Bodies of which she didn't want to believe, but overcoming her sense of doubt, she knew. Aasim, Omar, ruby, Mitch, Willy, Tenn. some impaled on the pikes, some laying lifeless on the heated ground beneath her. Clementine was thrown into a state of shock, struggling to breathe in the thick coated ashy air with a tint of orange. In her state, Clementine looked forward to each side of the gate, to see a dreading sight, Louis and Violet. Both on separate walls, impaled with pikes embedded through the wall leaving them hanging lifelessly.

"Oh my god, LOUIS! VIOLET! no... NO NO NO NO!" Clementine cried through the smoke and fire, tears spilling out from her eyes and she fell to her knees, slamming her fist on the ashy ground. She sobbed, wailed as everything around her was ablaze still, the fire continuously spreading itself through the forest in front and behind Clementine. She looked back up at the schools gates, eyes still tearful with dread and sorrow, only to see a giant, looming figure at the entrance.

From what she could see, it was holding a pitchfork in one hand, a pitchfork of some sort but more hellish, and grasping a little figure by its scruff in the other hand, Clementine rubbed her eyes to clearly see, that the figure was indeed, holding grasp of AJ. "WHO ARE YOU!?" Clem bellowed at the figure clutching AJ, the only response she received was the figure, dropping a lifeless AJ to the ground, and the figure tilting its head to the left as if wondering what her futile attempt may be. Clementine gathered all her strength and charged at the figure with her knife in her right hand as she lunged for the figure, though before she already knew it grabbed her right forearm releasing Clementine's grasp of the knife. Her forearm was currently on fire from its grip, draining all the life from her. She yelped in absolute torture as her whole body felt as if it were bathing in magma.

In her last moments, she took in the horrifying figures appearance before her, chains wrapped around each shoulder, skin scorched, veins appearing as they were filled with magma. A black ash mask with red marks covering its face, eyes aflame with a burning rage. Clothing torn and burned across its feature, nails as sharp as daggers. The figure let go of Clementine watching as she fell with a thunderous collapse. Clementine, barely able to move, looked around her as chaos consumed. The bodies, the flames, her right forearm embedded with the mark of the figures hand, the hand print wrapped fully around her weak frail arm. She looked up to see the figure looming over her, pitchfork raised. Clementine closed her eyes, waiting for the sweet release from this chaotic pit. The figure then plunged its fork into Clementine's stomach, jolting Clementine awake.(End music)

Clementine, sweating and struggling for air, leapt up from the bed with eyes widened. Looking around the room, her room. She slowly settled as she saw AJ fast asleep in his bed while quickly she took deep breaths in and out to calm herself after the unrelenting hell she witnessed. "Just a nightmare...just a nightmare" Clementine thought to herself repeatedly. She also noticed it was morning too. To clear herself and get the morning fresh air she put on her cap and slowly, quietly snuck out the room without waking the slumbering infant. She headed along the corridors listening to the chirping songs of the birds and the faint voices from outside. Clementine opened the door out into the courtyard to see a few kids now awake, including Louis and Violet. They waved over to her and told her to come and sit with them at the benches. Clem waved back with her right arm only to notice a horrifying sight. A mark. A hand print. 

The mark. It was there. 

Wrapped around her forearm, the marking scorched onto her skin by the figure was there. She grazed it with her left hand only to feel a very sharp sting at the touch of the mark.

Clementine was now and forever more, marked by the figure that haunted her that night. But more so it was not the only night that "it" would appear. The figure had many, many more nights to await for Clementine's return.