Things That Are Lost: Season 3

Chapter 20: Time To Go.

"Clem. Wake up. It's time to go."

Clem opens her eye to the sound of Violet's voice. She looks over and sees Violet sitting next to her on the bed, putting her boots on. "This is it." She tells Clem. Clem sits up, remembering that Violet took her back to her dorm room instead of Clem's own, since AJ completely ignored her during the party, and Sarah was nowhere to be found.

The remaining members of the school, minus Sarah, who's been missing since before the party, traveled from Ericson to the spot they used to scout out the raiders boat. With a plan in mind, they watch a lone walker wander in the raiders' line of sight, and it's shot down. The body lands in a bush, which gives Clem the opening to sneak over, grab the body, and drag it back to the others. "Ugh. I guess we're really doing this." Ruby comments. "Only the team blending in with the walkers need to cover themselves." "Now we just need your walker friend to—" "He's here!"

Everyone turns around and sees James standing there. "Good lord." "Uh...Hello." Is all James says. "Guys, this is James." Clem says. "He's my friend." AJ states as the rest stare at James. "He's...uh..." "So. Cool!" Willy walks up to him. "How do you get the skin like that?" "Oh, I, uh... Clementine?" "Can I try it on?" "That's not a good idea." "Come on, Willy. Give him some space." "I just wanna—" "Not right now." Willy looks down. "Yeah. Right...sorry. I didn't mean to be weird or anything." "It's okay." James says. "Oh, and sorry I tried to shoot you that one time. Your mask looks so real."

Violet approaches James. "I, uh...hey, there, James. Sorry about Willy." "Is this the guy Clem said she'd marry?" Tenn asks. "Yeah." "Uh, Clementine, could I talk to you alone? For a moment?" "Good idea. Hang tight." Clem yells the others before she follows James. "Hey, Tenn. Can you come here for a sec? There's something I have to tell you." Violet tells Tenn.

James leads Clem away from the others. "The walkers. They'll be here in a little while. You can join them as they pass through the trees. The noise from the boat will draw them towards the water." "Then we can eat on board and save our friends." "You're friends are...different. Open-minded. Accepting. Like you. That's not usually how my first impressions go. Sorry. I feel like I'm rambling. It's just...being welcomed. It's strange." "It might have something to do with the whole skin mask thing...Or the low, creepy whispering." "I guess you're right. That doesn't help. Still, they managed to see past it. Not many do."

James takes off his mask. "I wanted to show you something." He holds up a photo in his hands for Clem to see. "This is...was...my boyfriend, Charlie. We joined the Whisperers. Together." James smiles at the photo of him and Charlie, but he quickly stops. "But it...changed him. In a way that couldn't be undone. It changed both of us." "What do you mean?" "The Whisperers were my...family...from a young age. In that time, I witnessed a lot of death and suffering. Eventually, I became the cause of it. Weakness was considered a poison. And I believed in that. Fiercely. So much so, that when another boy expressed sympathy for our enemy before an attack..." James hesitates for a second before finishing. "I slit his throat." Clem's eye widens when she hears this. "I didn't talk to him. Didn't consider who he was. What he felt. Honestly, I don't even remember his name. All I knew was someone like him would only slow us down. That was enough of a reason for me."

"You killed someone innocent? A child? That's horrible." Clem states. "I know that now. But then? I didn't care. It had to be done. After he died, I kept hearing his words in my head: 'Those people are like us, just on a different path.' I stopped killing after that. I changed. But no one else did. When AJ told me he killed someone. It reminded me of them. Of myself. He said it was wrong....But it sounded like he was just repeating what he'd been told. Taking a life like that, from a young age...it breaks something inside you. It broke something in Charlie." Clem looks back at AJ. "I just...I'm afraid if Ja kills again, he won't be able to go back." "Being ruthless is what has kept him alive. That's all that matters." Clem says. "And if history remains true. It'll be what gets him killed."