Y/N Pov.
While Christa, Carley, and Molly are off to go look for stuff, Clementine and I are tasked with keeping that fire from completely going out. We're sitting in silence not saying a word to one another as she holds onto me. The rain is still pouring down on us, but my hat is keeping the water from my face.
Clementine: Hey.
I look down at Clem, and I notice her staring up at me. Her beautiful hazel eyes just as pretty as they've ever been.
Y/n: Yeah?
Clementine: What do you think about it?
Y/n: About what?
Clementine sits up a little, still sitting close to me.
Clementine: Us going to Wellington. Do you think it actually exists or is it just more bullshit?
I think about it for a second. The likelihood of a stronghold still being up are slim, but I still have some hope. Even if there's only a little chance, there's gotta be something out there. Wellington or not.
Y/n: Call me optimistic, but I believe there's gotta be something out there. I mean, even if it's not exactly Wellington, there's gotta be a place out there better than here. It's better that we go look and find out rather than wonder.
Clementine: (Grins) Good point.
We smile at each other, staring into each others eyes again. Our faces move a little closer together, but suddenly we hear footsteps behind us and stop. I quickly turn to look in the direction where it came from, but...it's just Molly. Clementine and I sigh as we look at her.
Molly: Yo guys. You cool?
We look at each other, and I feel my face get a little red before shaking my head.
Y/n: Yeah.
Clementine: We thought you went with Carley and Christa. You startled us.
Molly: Sorry, sorry. I just came back to grab my backpack in case I find anything out there.
I watch Molly grab her bag and take out Hilda. It's a bit dirty and there are some scratches on the blade, but otherwise it's completely fine to use. She's usually pretty keen on cleaning it, but has been lacking on it lately.
Molly: Later nerds.
She winks at us.
Molly: And keep things PG-13 while I'm gone.
Clementine and I immediately get red in the face, and I look at Molly while crossing my arms.
Y/n: Just go already!
Molly: (Laughs) Fine, fine.
Finally, she waves to us before running back after Christa and Carley. I lean back while holding onto the log. Clementine lays her head against my shoulder.
Clementine: She really likes to tease, huh?
Y/n: Yep. She hasn't changed since we first met her.
Clementine: True. Anyway, let's get this fire going again. Hand me my backpack.
I nod and look over toward the end of the log that we're sitting on and find her backpack next to my guitar. I grab it & hand it to her; she sits it down on the ground in front of her, zipping it open. Inside is a bunch of stuff from our past. A drawing of Kenny and his family, a water bottle, a few pencils, and a lighter with a butterfly on it. She takes the lighter out and flips it open, igniting it a second later.
Y/n: Um, Clem? You know I can do that.
Clementine: Sure, but I wanna light the fire with my sweet lighter. I hardly get to use it, Mister Sparkle Fingers.
I roll my eyes and pull the front of her hat down at little.
Y/n: Keep it up with that nickname and you'll be down a heater.
She fixes her hat and playfully shoves me.
Clementine: Yeah, right. You wouldn't last a day without a hug from me. Now come on, let's light this thing.
We stand up from the log we're sitting on and go over to the fire. The weasel we caught is on a stick, but we've yet to cook it. We kneel down by the fire, and she ignites a piece of paper while she puts it into the fire, but it doesn't really do anything. I chuckle and cross my arms, this time in amusement and not annoyance.
Y/n: How's that lighter working out, dear?
Clementine: Ha, ha. Can you...
I point to the firewood that's still under the weasel and snap my fingers causing the embers to flare up a little, burning brighter than before. I look up at the sky and even though it's night, a few droplets of rain are lit up by the moon's glow. I can tell the rain is starting to move on, but I have a feeling there will be a final encore before the clouds fully leave. I got a feeling about it in my stomach.
Y/n: You're welcome. I think I deserve a reward.
Clementine stands up.
Clementine: And what would that be?
I point to my cheek.
Y/n: Come on, you know what I it is.
She walks over and leans up, kissing my cheek before stopping after a second.
Clementine: There.
Y/n: Sweet!
Looking at Clem, she almost had to get on her tippy toes because unlike her I've actually grown a bit over these last two years. I went from 5'1 to a respectable 5'4, which isn't much, but better than being stuck at 4'5 like Clementine. Though I did have to get different and bigger clothes to replace the old ones. I replaced every piece of clothing except for my hat and necklace because they're irreplaceable.
Right now, I've got on my orange hat, red bead necklace, the necklace with my parents rings underneath, Black shorts, Black shoes, a red shirt, and a black over shirt. I couldn't find me a tank top, which is kind of sad, but it's okay. I still look pretty rad if I do say so myself, because there's nothing cooler than red and black. I almost forgot to mention I got an orange belt, too, and the belt's buckle has the letter "A" on it in red coloring. The world is gone, but being cool is still necessary.
Clementine: It's better. But still not enough. The flames might go out again. We need to find some stuff to keep it from going out.
Y/n: Let's try to find some logs that haven't been soaked.
Clementine nods and we start to search around our campsite. However, it's not looking like any log was spared from the fate of being drenched by the rain. I keep trying to find anything, but it isn't looking too good. I could keep the fire going myself, but in all honesty it'd just be too boring to keep my attention.
Y/n: What to do, what to do...
Suddenly, I hear Clementine call out to me.
Clementine: I found something.
I turn around and find her standing with her bag open. She pulls out the drawing that she drew of Kenny's family.
Y/n: Are you sure?
Clementine: (Nods) Yeah. It's just taking up space anyway and I don't think either of us want to be reminded of what happened to them.
Y/n: Alright.
We go back over to the fire and kneel down by it. She tosses in the drawing and we watch as it slowly burns away, making the fire burn brighter. While it's sad to watch it burn away, I'm also kind of glad we burned it. I don't need to be reminded about Kenny's fate everytime I see that picture. Same goes for that baseball bat I had, it was really rad, but I'm glad Kenny went out a fighter while using it.
Y/n: Well, with that should stoke the fire a little bit. Not a permanent solution, but I'll handle it if anything else isn't found.
Clementine: Sounds like a plan.
I walk over to grab my guitar, thinking about playing a song, when I overhear the sound of talking coming from nearby. I think Clem heard it too as she immediately came over to me.
Y/n: I'm guessing you heard it, too?
Clementine: (Nods) Yeah. It's super close by us.
I pick up my guitar and strap it over my back as Clementine gets her backpack just in case we've got to book it. We follow the sound of the voices & listen as we watch our steps. I'm making sure to avoid any small branches and leaves, but luckily there aren't any crunchy ones. I guess this is one of the times I'm glad it's been raining all day.
Voice 1: Jesus, are you fucking kidding me?!
I look at Clementine and we close in on the voices, getting closer to them with each step. I hear more voices, all of them men. And from the sound of it, I believe there are around three or four. Maybe one more, but I can't be sure.
Voice 2: Out here alone? In the middle of nowhere? How many people are you three with?
Clem and I can see a little into the distance and I can see that there are three men. They've got Christa, Molly, and Carley surrounded with rifles. I like the rain, but now isn't the time for it. My fire bullets are going to be a little bit weaker than normal. They'll still hurt but won't kill. Not at this distance. While the rain does weaken my flames somewhat, it doesn't weaken me a lot. It's the mix of the rain on top of my stamina being less from lack of food that's really doing me in at the moment. I'm not at my peak power.
Christa: We're by ourselves.
Voice 3: You're obviously with someone. Where's your group?
Molly: It's just us out here.
Carley: Yeah. We got separated from our group months ago. It's just us.
Voice 1: Don't fucking lie to us!
Voice 2: Who do you think you're fooling?
Voice 3: Give us the truth and you don't get hurt.
As we approach, we sneak toward the nearest tree so I can get a shot in on at least one of them. One of the men raise their gun toward Christa, so I don't waste anytime and move from behind the tree. I shoot the one raising the gun at her in the shoulder, dropping him, as the others look at him with shock. They all look toward our direction and Clementine yells out to Christa, Molly, and Carley.
Clementine: Run, now!
Voice 1: Hey!
Clementine and I start running; while we do, I look back to see that Molly knee the first guy in the stomach, throwing him to the ground before trying to help Christa and Carley. I also notice that a man is now chasing us and the rain is really starting to pick up now.
Clementine: Come on!
Clementine grabs my hand and we run through a bunch of trees, but then I hear a gunshot in the distance. I'm not sure, what happened or who got shot, but I know that the others can take care of themselves.
Voice 1: Get the fuck over here! Now!
Clementine pulls me behind a tree and we hide as one of the men try looking for us. I see the place where he stops walking and without thinking, I pull Clementine forward with me as we start running further ahead. Unfortunately, the man saw us as I hear him fire a shot toward us, except it hits a tree instead. It's better to avoid and evade right now until I can get a better shot on him.
Voice 1: Shit! Get the fuck over here!
There's another shot that rings out, and I look down to find that there's a hole through my stomach. Clementine gasps, but the hole quickly begins filling with fire. I had predicted he wasn't going to miss the next shot since we're running straight, and luckily my prediction's paying off.
Y/n: This way!
Clementine and I let go of each other's hands and slide under a tree as the guy keeps chasing after us. We dodge a walker, but stop as the guy deals with it as there's a fallen tree in our way. Clementine runs over to the tree and starts pulling off a branch as I turn around, locking eyes with the man chasing us. I see him eye Clementine as he starts walking toward us, but I'm not weary.
Y/n: (Mind) Alright, asshole, let's see how you deal with a move from Molly.
He reaches out toward me, but I duck underneath it and punch him in the stomach. He groans and tries grabbing me again, but I move to the side before he can and sweep his legs out from under him.
Voice 1: You little shit!
He goes to move again, and while I try to move I end up slipping on a rock.
Y/n: Shit.
The guy climbs on top of me and tries to grab at my throat, but I grab his wrists and keep them from getting any closer. A power struggle between us starts, until I grip them harder and create flames, burning his wrists as he screams.
Voice 1: Fuck!
The man pulls an arm free and goes to punch me, but Clementine comes running over and stabs him through the shoulder with a branch.
Voice 1: Jesus, are you fucking kidding me?!
He falls on his back again and Clementine helps me up from the ground. We get back to running, but the guy is still after us.
Y/n: Fuck me, this guy's persistent.
As we pass through a couple of trees, we reach the end of the treeline and ahead of us is only the riverbank. The river is going super fast and I can even see a few big rocks in there, too. If I fall in it I doubt it'd be good.
Y/n: Shit.
Clementine: Dead end.
Suddenly, we're both grabbed from behind and I look up to see it's the guy that's been chasing us. We start trying to break out, but the man keeps holding onto us.
Y/n: Leave us alone, you dick muncher!
Voice 1: Quit squirming then!
Clementine bites his hand.
Voice 1: Ah! Fuck! Ah! Ow, let go, you little bitch, Jesus Christ!
The guy lets go of both of us, and as he does I notice walkers are coming our way from the woods. I look at Clementine after noticing them.
Y/n: Move back!
She does as I say and the guy grabs me again, trying to drag me back. But that's the last thing he should've done.
Y/n: Hey asshole, I bet your cold from the rain, let me warm you up!
I set my whole body on fire and bur his entire front half as he screams in agony. He lets go of me and I shove him off into a pack of walkers that start tearing into him. Looking around, I can't find Clementine so I call out to her.
Y/n: Clem!
I feel something grab my hand and I start heating up again, but Clementine says my name.
Clementine: It's just me!
I look at her, but our reunion is short lived as I see a whole shit ton of walkers heading toward our direction and I'm not going to be able to deal with them all. Clementine and I start running through them as they try to grab us, & our path leads us back to the riverbank. We look around for anywhere we can go, but there's nothing.
Y/n: Shit... Shit!
Like before, I slip and fall near the edge of the river along with Clementine. The walkers start approaching us, and I look at Clementine. I can see she's scared, but the only way out is...
Y/n: Clem...
Clementine: W-What?
Y/n: We've gotta jump in the river.
Clementine: But you'll drown!
I look at the walkers in front of us, then the raging river behind us.
Y/n: Maybe, but at least you'll have a chance.
I pick her up as the walkers get closer to us, but Clem tries to protest.
Clementine: No, please... You could die.
She puts her hand on my face and I smile at her.
Y/n: Don't worry, Clem. I got this.
Before she can say anything else, I leap forward into the river while holding onto Clem. Almost as soon as I touch the water, I feel all the strength in my body leave, and my hands start to lose their grip on Clementine. But as my hands leave her body, I feel her grip onto me tighter as she pulls us both above the water.
Clementine: Don't worry-
We're almost dragged under the water again, but Clementine pulls us up.
Clementine: I won't let you go!
Before I can think of anything else, I see a rock coming towards us and I try to say something, but it's too late. I feel something hit me in the head and immediately everything goes black...
(Morning)
Darkness. That's all I can see. Darkness. I feel a pressure on my chest and I can hear a voice. It's familiar.
Voice: No, no, no... Please, god, don't be dead!
I feel a repeated pressure on my chest until suddenly my eyes suddenly open and I roll over to the side, coughing up a lot of water. I see my guitar on the ground to my side along with my hat and Clementine's.
Y/n: Ugh... What happened?
Almost immediately, I feel a pair of arms wrap around my neck. I look and see that it's Clem. I see tears stained on her cheeks as she has her forehead against mine, & I feel her strong grip around my neck like she doesn't want to let go. I pull her in for a hug and after a moment, we let go of each other but she still keeps her hand in one of mine. I use my free hand to wipe the tears from her face.
Y/n: Clementine... What happened?
Clementine: (Sniffles) A-After we jumped into the river, we ended up smacking a rock. We fell unconscious, but I managed to hold onto you somehow. When I woke up we were on this little riverbank, and I tried to wake up you b-but you wouldn't. I kept shaking and shaking you, but still you wouldn't move.
I feel her hands start to tremble.
Clementine: I-I started to panic, but I remembered what Christa taught us. And I used CPR on you.
I think about everything she just said, and it's crazy, I can't believe I almost just drowned. I look up at Clem & grab both her trembling hands to calm her down. I put my forehead against hers like before.
Y/n: It's okay. We're both okay.
Trying to lighten the mood, I make a joke.
Y/n: Y'know, Clem, I was hoping our first kiss would've been more romantic. And I was also hoping I'd be conscious for it. Then again, what's more romantic than saving an unconscious person's life?
Clementine looks at me and for a moment I don't see anything. However I soon see a grin appear on her face.
Clementine: You almost die and make a joke out of it... What am I going to do with you?
I look around after a minute and all I can see is that we're on a riverbank with none of the others. I hate to say it, but I do remember hearing a gunshot go off while we were running. Someone is either dead or wounded. I'm not sure if it's one of us or if it was one of the men that attacked us last night. All I know is we can't stay here.
Y/n: (Sigh) As much as I want to look for the others, we can't stay here. We need to move before anything else comes after us.
Clementine: Yeah, you're right.
Y/n: Then let's get moving. We can look for the others on our way.
I reach over and grab my hat, placing it on my head as Clem grabs hers. I pick my guitar up and go to put it over my back, but my clothes are wet. I lay my guitar back down and stand up with Clem. She's shivering all over. Which makes sense as we nearly drowned thanks to my idea. I've really got to think things through more before doing them, but it was the best thing I could think of at the time.
Y/n: Come here, Clem. Let me warm us up.
I hold my arms out and Clementine hugs me as I heat my body up, making the air around me warm up as well. We hold onto each other and after a minute I feel our clothes start to dry out. When we're done we let go of each other and I pick my guitar up, drying the strap that is used to hold it around my back, and then putting it over me.
Y/n: Are you good to go?
Clementine: (Nods) Yeah. Let's get out of here.
With that, the two of us start moving along the riverbank looking for anything we can use, eat, or a way out. One of the three. We pass a couple of big rocks just laying about and on top of them is some canoe that's been split in half.
Y/n: I once wanted to go canoeing. After last night... not so much.
Clementine: Yeah, I think I'll avoid that from here on out, too.
We walk a few more steps before coming across a broken deck that leads to the upper part of the area.
Y/n: Nice.
I walk over to it first and jump up, grabbing the top and pulling myself up. I look down at Clem and hold my hand out to her as I know she'll be too short to jump to the top. Clem looks at my hand and jumps up, grabbing it, and with a little bit of effort I'm able to pull her up. Ahead of us is a staircase and I go ahead of Clementine just in case there is a problem. Slowly, step after step, I climb the stairs with Clementine directly behind me for cover. As we reach the top, all we find is more forest and a yellow sign that's buried in something.
Clementine: Looks like we're in the clear.
Y/n: Yeah. Should we try to call for the others?
Clementine: I think so.
Y/n: Carley? Molly?
Clementine: Christa?
Y/n: Are you guys out there?
Nothing. No response. Only the sound of the trees and birds flying away from them. I sigh. Clementine puts her hand on my shoulder.
Clementine: Don't worry, we'll find them. We've just gotta keep looking. Even if we don't find them here, we know where they're going. We can always just meet up with them there, alright?
Y/n: (Nods) Yeah. You're right. They're strong, they can take care of each other. We'll meet them up at Wellington, all we've gotta do is get there first.
Clementine: Well we can't do that standing here. Let's keep going.
I nod.
Y/n: Alright.
There's a peaceful silence in the air and with no sign of danger ahead, Clem and I continue on. We walk towards the woods, making sure to keep an eye out for anything just in case. It isn't a good thing to get distracted, not even when you think you're safe.