My heart sank. Though, I wasn't really surprised. Aj quickly spoke up.
"Don't we get to vote? I vote that we stay." He told, Louis shook his head.
"That's not how it works." he replied. I looked down.
"I wish it did.." I mumbled, Violet looked at me. Aj looked a bit shocked, he then looked down in sorrow.
"Maybe it should be." Violet spoke, glaring at Louis. Louis glared back.
"You don't have to like it." He snapped.
"Good. 'Cause I don't!" She snapped back. Clem sighed.
"Fine. I get it. We'll learn to live with your decision.. somehow." Clem told. I shook my head and let out an angry sigh. I didn't agree, but I knew that if I said anything it wouldn't matter. Violet looked at us in shock.
"Seriously..? That's it? You know this is fucking wrong and your not gonna fight it at all?! (Y/N).. you didn't like the idea either! So why aren't you saying anything?" She asked me. I frowned.
"I.. I don't want to leave either Violet.. but we can just change everyone's minds.. thanks for trying though.." I spoke, Violet frowned at me. My heart ached.
"Yes (Y/N). And we won't be changing our minds." He agreed, I sighed. Aj looked at his hands, he looked like he might cry. I gave him a quick pat. Violet looked away and crossed her arms.
"So fucking stupid..." She mumbled, Louis looked at her.
"You said you'd go along with it. If we voted fairly." He told, Violet shook her head in disgust.
"It's bullshit. And you'd know it if you weren't so used to burying your head in the sand." Violet spat, Louis rolled his eyes.
"Oh. I'm burying my head in the sand? Hate Marlon all you want, but you can't tell me that Aj isn't dangerous too!" He told, pointing a finger at Aj. Aj looked shocked, then hurt. I glared at Louis and shook my head, He looked at Aj. Clem placed her hand on his shoulder. It was silent for a second, then Violet turned to us.
"We'll Wait for you to pack up. Then Louis and I'll escort you out past the safe zone. We'll make sure you get to the road safely." She explained, giving me another sad look. I nodded, and gave her one back. I really didn't want us to leave, and Violet didn't want us to either, and by the sad and frustrated looks I could tell she was pissed about it.
"It's not a lot. But at least you won't die on the way." Violet added, trying to give me a small smile. I gave her one too, though there was a weird feeling in my stomach.
"Thank you, both of you-"
"N-No..! Don't thank them..!" Aj spoke, cutting me off. We all looked at him in shock, even Louis and Violet.
"I-it's.. their fault we have to leave..! They're gonna get rid of us!" He hissed, Louis shook his head at him.
"Get him under control." He told us. Clem looked at Aj.
"Aj. Breathe." She demanded. Aj took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. I crossed my arms. Aj stepped forward.
"Where's Tenn..? I gotta say goodbye." Aj asked. Violet frowned.
"He was really upset about the vote. And, he's not talking to anybody. It's best to leave him alone when he's like this, but.... for the record.. he wanted you to stay." Violet reassured him. Aj nodded. Louis' eyes widened and he realized something. He quickly turned to us.
"Wait. Does Aj still have that gun?" He asked. I watched Aj walked over and grab the gun, he showed the gun to Louis who looked at it with a horrified expression. He shook it off and put his hand out towards the gun.
"Hand it over." He ordered. Aj looked at us for confirmation. I looked at Clem who was glaring at Louis.
"Is this necessary?" Violet asked.
"Hell yeah it's necessary. I'm not walking into the woods with him holding that thing. We already know he knows how to use it-"
"It's yours Aj. You should keep it." Clem cut Louis off. Louis clenched his fist.
"But I killed Marlon with it.." Aj told us.
"Still.. you need it for outside Aj. Your safety is number one." I explained, Violet looked like she agreed with me, and the weird feeling in my stomach returned. Aj slowly put the gun in his back pocket. Louis shook his head.
"Fine. Let the kid keep the murder weapon." He backed away. Me and Clem nodded at each other and grabbed our stuff. I looked at the dresser and slipped Mitch's knife into the knife holster that was on my thigh. I swung my bag and machete onto my back, and Clem grabbed her bag and hat. I looked at the decorated room and frowned. I looked at Aj's drawing on the wall, Clem noticed and placed her hand on my shoulder and I nodded at her, telling her I was ready. We walked to the door and gave the room one last look before walking out, with Louis and Violet following us.
The sound of crows reached my ears, and I breathed in the fresh air. Before I left, Ruby changed my bandages and cleaned my wounds to make sure I would be fine before leaving. I looked at the sunset as I walked next to Aj. He was in the middle and me and Clem were walking on each side of him. I looked over at Clem who had a angry look on her face. I looked behind us at Violet and Louis. Violet was carrying Marlon's bow, and Louis was holding Chairles. Violet looked pissed. She and I made eye contact and we frowned at each other, I quickly turned around. We continued to walk down the path with them behind us, nobody was talking and it was dead silent. The only sounds were our footsteps and the birds.
"Will we get another car?" Aj asked suddenly. Clem shook her head.
"Probably not. We got lucky before." Clem spoke. Aj groaned.
"So were walking..." he whined. I frowned. I was kinda upset about it too. Walking is difficult, especially if your walking all day.
"My shoes are gonna break." Aj told.
"Well.. we'll just have to hope they hold out." Clem replied.
"My feet are gonna bleed again..." Aj added, I looked at him.
"Well, we can use something like a T-shirt or towel to tie your feet with. Or I'll carry you on my back." I smiled at him, He looked at me.
"But you'll get really tired (Y/N).." he frowned, I gave him a quick pat.
"It's worth it, if it helps you Aj." I told, he nodded at me.
"It's not so bad." Louis spoke suddenly. Clem and I turned to him with glared on our faces. Louis frowned a bit.
"I mean, you've done this before... probably pretty good at it by now. Almost like going home for you guys." He added. I rolled my eyes and looked away, I wasn't really in the mood.
"You've lived inside walls your whole life. You have no fucking idea what it's like out there." Clem snapped at him, then looked away. I frowned and realized what we were going into again. Though, this made Louis quiet. We continued to walk until the footsteps behind us stopped. Signalling that this was the end of the line.
"We're here. Roads that way." Violet announced, we stopped and turned to Violet and Louis.
"Anything you want to say before we go?" She asked. Louis looked at Clem and Aj, then at me. He shook his head.
"I've said plenty." He spoke. Aj looked up at Violet.
"Thanks.. for trying to keep us." He spoke. Violet smiled a bit.
"Your welcome. I wish you could stay..." She replied, looking at me specifically. It was quiet for a bit then I decided to say something.
"Sorry.. we messed things up with you all. I wish the best for you all, I truly do. Live long okay?" I told them both. Violet gave a smile that said 'thank you'.
"You didn't screw it up, Marlon did. Even when he's dead he's still screwing shit." Violet also added, Louis glared at her.
"For fucks sakes Violet. Give him some fucking peace." He hissed. Violet rolled her eyes, she gave us one last look, lingering on me for a little longer before turning around and walking away. Louis looked at us then at Aj.
"Still got that gun?" He asked, Aj pulled it out and showed it to him. Louis sighed.
"Just.. try to be more careful with it.. okay?" He asked. Aj nodded.
"I will." He agreed. Louis gave us one last look before turning around and walking away as well. Clem looked out into the distance.
"Let's get going. The sun will set soon." Clem spoke, Aj looked at her confused.
"How do you know?" He asked, we all turned and began to walk down the path. Clem looked at him.
"I don't know.. I can just feel it." Clem answered, though Aj wasn't satisfied.
"Howw?" He asked again.
"There's this cold that settles on my skin. It happens right before a storm, too." She explained, I smiled.
"I don't feel that.. do you (Y/N)?" Aj asked me, I shrugged.
"Well... I guess.. though I kinda feel it in a different way. Like in the change of the wind pressure.. or the smell of the air.. those kinds of things." I told. He nodded. Clem beside us chuckled.
"Well. You two haven't been on the road as long as me." I nodded in agreement.
"Yeah.. you said you were on the road a lot.. at the beginning." I reminded, she nodded. Though she didn't really seem to want to talk about it, so I left it at that. Aj who was a bit behind, ran up into the middle again to catch up with us.
"Clem.. (Y/N)..?" He spoke, there was a sadness in his voice. I looked at him, and so did Clem.
"Will we be okay..?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the ground. Me and Clem made eye contact.
"I thought we were done running from the bad people... and the monsters.." He added. Clem looked at him.
"Of course we'll be okay.. we're.. used to this.." She told. Though, she seemed a bit sad.
"I hate it out here.." Aj mumbled, I gave them both a determined look.
"You know what I think? I think it will be better! We'll find a better home. I promise you both..." I spoke, trying to cheer them both up. But sadly I still couldn't get the weird feeling out of my stomach.
"I.. hope-" Suddenly I was cut off by a gunshot. My eyes widened and Clem quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me aside as well as Aj.
"Hide!" She whispered, fear laced her voice. We all crouched down in the shadow of a couple of trees. Me and Clem slowly peaked our head out from cover. And my eyes widened at the sight.
"How.. how did he..-" I was cut off when Clem put her hand over my mouth to silence me. It was him. That man from the train station who tried to kill me. He was walking around, waving a shotgun with one hand, while his other arm was cut off. I cringed at the sight. The man grunted in frustration, as he searched the area, like a wolf who just lost its prey.
"Now. Come on out! I saw a couple of you on the road. How long you think can hide?" He yelled out, Aj recognized the voice right away and crawled over to peak out of the cover.
"Shit.." Clem mumbled, her voice was frustrated.
"That's the man from the train station?... I thought he died!" Aj whispered.
"You can survive a bite if you cut it off fast enough." Clem explained, Aj let out a groan of disgust. I felt a little sick to. I then realized something.
"Wait.. there's no way he was able to cut it off himself.. that means.." I began, Clem turned to me and Aj.
"Both of you, stay here." She ordered, pulling her knife out. She began to get ready to jump out I reached out to grab her arm, but couldn't, he might see us if I did.
"Clem.. Wait he's..!-" but before I could say anything else, she was already out of cover. She swung the knife up, smacking the gun out of his hand. He tried to grab her, but with one arm it seemed difficult. With a swift kick to his knee, Clem had him on the ground. She pointed her knife in his direction. He let out an angry grunt.
"Tough little bitch aren't you?" He spat, his gaze on his gun. Clem said nothing in return, and continued to glare at him.
"Just walk away and we'll let you go!-" Suddenly a gun jabbed it's way into Clem's neck, I gasped and pulled out Mitch's knife. The man snickered and stood again, picking up his gun. He grinned at Clem and forcefully jabbed it into her stomach, she fell to the ground and the other person pinned her down with their foot. My grip on the knife tightened and I quickly ran out of cover. I dashed up to the man but he quickly noticed me, he slammed the gun into my chest and I fell to the ground, gasping for air. I dropped the knife.
"(Y/N)!" Clem called out, the man kept the gun to my head. Clem noticed her knife and tried to reach for it, but the man kicked it away. I coughed as I tried to get air into my system. Aj stood up out of cover and ran out with his gun in his hands. The man quickly noticed and pointed the shotgun at him.
"I wouldn't boy!.. any closer and one of your friends might get their heads blown off.-"
"Abel." The new person spoke, quickly shutting him up. It was a woman's voice, but I still couldn't see her face. I held my stomach and looked over at the man, now knowing that his name was Abel. The man walked up to Aj with a huge smirk on his face.
"Good to see you again squirt." He then raised his hand up and smacked the gun across Aj's face. I felt a burning rage inside me at that moment and so did Clem.
"Don't." Clem hissed, I tried to stand up but I felt a gun being pressed against my head. Neither me or Clem could move. Abel then grabbed Aj forcefully by the arm and pulled him up, pulling him towards the new face.
"I've seen these ones before. Fighters, all three of them. You'll like them." Abel told the person, I glared at him. He talked as if we were objects that now belonged to them. Though the new person didn't seem interested, they pointed their gun to Clem's head.
"Looking for a kid, runs a community near here." She spoke, quick and to the point.
"Marlon." Abel added, Clem clenched her fists.
"H-He's dead!" She snapped, the new person just shrugged.
"Well, Shit." They muttered.
"This can still work." Abel told them, keeping a grip on Aj. The person pointed the gun at me this time.
"How about it. You wanna take us back to your school? Help us talk to your friends?" They sneered, I shook my head.
"It's not like you have any other options... come on kid, we don't have all day." She demanded, Clem opened her mouth but I quickly cut her off.
"Fuck you. We don't know what your talking about." I snapped. They turned to me, and in frustration, they kicked me in the face, sending me to the ground. I grunted and sat up, holding the place where I was kicked. Clem quickly spoke up.
"It's not our school. We don't live there." She snapped, they didn't seem satisfied and slammed their foot harder onto Clem's neck. Clem let out a gasp of pain.
"I find that very hard to believe. Not a lot of kid communes around here." They replied, Aj was trying to get away from Abel's grip but couldn't. Abel pulled Aj's arm up, and Aj cried out in pain.
"Don't!" Clem called out, her tone of voice completely changing.
"Stop it!" I added.
"Let him go..! Please..! Clem begged. I suddenly felt very scared, I couldn't bare to see Clem in desperation and Aj in pain.
"Sure! If you do as we ask. Otherwise I'm happy to crack his head open. You ever seen old fruit explode when you throw it at something? That's just how it will look." Abel spoke, that made me even more nervous, the person then kicked Clem, making her turn around onto her back.
"Clementine..!" Aj called out to her. Clem slowly sat up and looked at the person in the eyes, her face turned white. I looked at the person, finally seeing their face for the first time, it was a woman, and she was in just as much shock as Clem was.
"Oh my god.. Clementine.. it's.. you..? I.. my name is Lilly." She introduced herself, though it didn't seem like she needed to, since Clem seemed to already know.
"You probably don't remember me.. it's been a while." Lilly added, shaking her head. Clem blinked a few times.
"L-Lilly..? I.. thought you died." She replied, Lilly looked away for a second.
"I.. came close." She told, she then pointed her gun away from Clem and offered her a hand.
"What the hell?" Abel asked, confused.
"Not now." Lilly ordered.
"The fuck is this-"
"I said. Not. Now." Lilly cut him off, turning to Clem with her hand still outstretched. Clem grabbed it reluctantly and Lilly helped her stand up. Abel, Me and Aj looked on in confusion. Abel loosened the grip on Aj and I let out a sigh of relief.
"Lee isn't with you?" Lilly asked, Clem turned to her with a sad expression. She looked away for a second.
"So he's dead then.. I'll never forget that he left me on the side of the road to die. I mean, I don't blame him. I was clearly a threat after I shot that girl." Lilly told, Clem crossed her arms.
"Carley." She corrected, Lilly gave her a glare.
"Maybe he should have left you behind too. Probably would have lived longer if he did." She added, I glared.
"Same thing'll happen to you, if you repeat his mistakes. Your little boy there. You'll die protecting him, you both will." She gestured to Aj, and looked at me. I glared at her.
"That's not going to happen." I interrupted, Lilly looked over to me.
"I doubt it." She simply replied, I shook my head in disgust. Clem glared at her.
"You both may be able to keep this up a while longer, but eventually he'll slow you down. A walker you didn't spot. A bullet you couldn't dodge, a desperate cry for help that brings the herd. It happened to Lee, and it will happen to you." Lilly told, Clem shook her head.
"I doubt it. Aj knows how to handle himself." Clem replied.
"He's got spirit, I'll give him that. But you and I both know that won't be enough." She admitted, I decided to stay out of their argument since I didn't know much. Abel let out a sigh of annoyance.
"Fuck, we don't have time for all this." He spoke impatiently. Lilly glared at him.
"We've got history." She snapped, Abel shook his head.
"Great. You know her I know her. Point is, we've got a job to do." He reminded her, Lilly looked at Clem.
"We can help you raise that boy Clementine, but we need you to do some something for us." She declared, Clem gave her a look of disgust.
"What? Help you kidnap a couple more kids?" She asserted, I snickered.
"Why do you think we'd help you?" I asked her. Lilly looked at me.
"Who are you anyways? Clem's little lap dog?" She snapped, glaring at me. I glared back.
"Excuse me?" I snapped back offensively, Lilly ignored me and turned towards Clem again.
"We don't need a couple, we need all of you." Abel confessed, I looked at Lilly with confusion.
"We'll take you back to the Delta to join our people. We have walls, we have working solar panels, and we grow our own food. All we need from you two is to go back to your friends, and to convince them to come peacefully. No one will be harmed." She explained, though it seemed more like a demand.
"We're not Marlon." Clem snapped, me and her making eye contact for a split second.
"Here's What I'll do. I'll take the little squirt here right now." Abel chuckled, putting Aj in a arm lock again. I glared at Abel. I slowly slipped the knife I had into my holster and I looked at Aj again. I noticed something crawling out from behind the bushes, it was Louis and Violet.
"That way, I'm use you'll play nice." Abel smirked, I turned my attention to him again.
"Be smart about this Clementine." Lilly told, I looked at her and we both nodded a bit. 'She must have seen them too..' I turned towards Lilly as she continued to talk.
"It's a you or them kind of world Clem. If you want to save you little one, you won't choose them. I'm sure your little friend (Y/N) agrees with me." Lilly added, finally saying my name. She glared at me. I took a deep breath and stood up, turning towards Louis and Violet. Violet looked like she was ready to shoot.
"Run! Get away from here!" I called out towards them. They both looked shocked, but they listened and began to run off. Lilly and Abel immediately realized what was happening. Abel threw Aj to the ground in frustration, I dashed up to him and elbowed Abel in the face, knocking him away from him. I reached out a hand and suddenly had a bad feeling. I turned and Lilly was aiming her gun at me, but before she could do anything, Clem kicked her leg in, making her fall to the ground. I grabbed Aj by the hand and we all began to run into the forest. Suddenly there was a gunshot and Aj was on the ground. I gasped, immediately realizing he was shot.
"Shit..! Aj..!" I quickly picked him up, and placed him on my back, holding him as if I was giving him a piggy back ride. Clem helped me stabilize him before another shot ran out, just missing my foot.
"Keep going! I got him!" I told. Clem nodded, and we began to run again, me trailing a bit behind, due to Aj being on my back. Abel and Lilly followed close behind us, taking shots as they ran. But me and Clem continued to dodge them. We jumped over a couple of rocks and tree branches before we began to lose them. I looked over my shoulder and noticed they were being crowded by walkers.
"Clem I think we-"
"Oh shit..! (Y/N)! Watch out!" Clem cut me off, I quickly looked forward and saw a walker right in front of me. Not being able to stop, It grabbed hold of me. In a panic I brushed Aj off my shoulders, and he fell to the ground. I kicked the walker away, making it let go of me. I quickly pulled out the knife and stabbed it through the head. Clem quickly came up behind me and picked up Aj, placing him down so he could lean against the tree. I ran up to them after dealing with the walker, I was worried about Aj's condition more than ever.
"S-Shit..! Aj! Are you okay! I didn't mean to drop you.." I apologized, Aj held his side, his shirt was soiled with blood, my heart quickened, Aj pulled out his knife and handed it to Clem. Clem placed her free hand on my shoulder.
"(Y/N)! Help me keep the walkers off him. Then when it's clear, we can figure out what to do." I nodded and stood up, turning towards the walkers that started to come towards us. Me and Clem nodded and we both ran up to them. I walked up to one and it reached out to grab me, I kicked it's knee in causing it to fall. I quickly stabbed it through the head and I did the same to another one. Clem had gotten a couple to, I turned to fight the last few when one of them began to walk a bit quicker towards me, It seemed to stand out towards the rest. I gripped my knife but before I could stab it, it had both hands gripped on my wrists. I began to panic and tried to pull away, but it's grip was too tight, almost human like. I tried to call out towards Clem but it had covered my mouth. I looked at it in shock then realized that it wasn't a walker...
But a person.
It began to speak to me.
"No. Quiet. Don't be loud." He ordered. My eyes widened, 'what the hell is going on..!?' I thought.
(A/N)
Im off on my trip now! I know this chapter doesn't have a lot of changes in it, but when I come back, the new one will be out! Thank you guys again for your patience! I'll probably post a chapter a couple of days after my trip, but I'll post an A/N when I get back. Anyway, thanks again!
-Author❤️