Early the next day, AJ stirred awake. He turned over and noticed someone sitting at the desk writing. It was Violet. AJ rubbed his eyes and sat up.
"Hey Vi." He said as he yawned.
"Oh good morning AJ." She responded, turning around to look at him.
"Is...is Clem awake yet?" He asked in a concerning tone. Violet shook her head.
"She hasn't. I left this room as soon as I woke up to see if the others were waking too and I asked Ruby if she had heard anything. She said she checked on her this morning and everything seemed to be going just fine but her body is still recovering. We don't know how long she'll be asleep." Violet got up from the chair and leaned against the desk instead. AJ started to get up too.
"Can I go see her?" AJ's voice was quiet when he spoke.
"Of course." Answered Violet. "I'll be helping with food this morning. If ya need anything, we'll be outside." AJ nodded his head and they both left the room together. She took a left and he kept walking forward to his and Clem's room.
AJ stood in front of the door for a few seconds before opening it all the way. He peeked around from behind the door and saw Louis sitting on an old chair, his head on the bed where Clem laid asleep. He must have been there all night. AJ thought to himself. He's a good person.
He walked in a little further, noticing the tightness of Clems face before it softened again. He wondered if maybe she was having a dream. Whatever dream it was, he hoped it was good. He walked further and noticed the slight movements of Louis beginning to wake so he stopped walking and waited. Louis noticed the small figure standing by the bed but because his eyes hadn't fully adjusted yet, it startled him. He sat up faster than he anticipated and bumped his head into the upper half of the bunk bed.
"Ow." He said with a groan as he rubbed the back of his head. "Jesus, oh AJ! Sorry, I didn't know who you were for a second, just assumed the worse I guess." He said. AJ chuckled at him.
"I'm sorry I just wanted to check on Clem."
"Yeah, I know. It's okay." Louis got up from the chair he was sitting in to let AJ see her. AJ nodded at him and went to Clem's side. He put his hand on her head for a few seconds before he slowly put his arm back down. She feels fine. Thank god.
"Do you know when she'll wake up?" AJ asked Louis.
"I don't know little man. I hope soon." They stared at her in silence, hoping for a smooth recovery.
"Hey" AJ said, interrupting both their thoughts. "I think food will be served soon. We should go out and eat something." AJ headed towards the door and looked back to see Louis still staring at Clementine. "She's going to be okay. She's pretty bad-ass if you ask me. And I've been with her all my life." AJ said, trying to lighten up the mood. A half smile found its way to Louis' face before he let out a breathy laugh.
"Damn right she is. I may not have known her for as long as you have but I have a pretty good idea just how strong Clem is. She's amazing." Noticing the silence in the room Louis realized just how much he'd been paying attention to Clem, his face turned a little red. "Err, anyway I think you're right. We should go eat something." Louis scooted past AJ and scurried away out of the building. AJ was confused by his sudden change in character but instead, shrugged it off and followed suit.
After eating breakfast with the gang, AJ decided to start helping around the school with little projects here and there. After a full day of work, the sun was going to set soon and there was still no sign of Clem waking up.
AJ worried about it even after being told again and again that things will be alright, he insisted on overthinking her condition. Instead of going to bed he paced back and forth at the top of the stairs in the front of the school. He fumbled with his hands and tried to calm himself with the breathing techniques again but it didn't help as much as he'd liked it to which only made him angrier.
Sitting at the top of the tower near the gate looking out into the forest, was Violet. She heard the distant sound of feet pacing around and spotted AJ from her side perception. She looked over and saw his rising temper.
"AJ!" She called from the tower. "Come up here with me!" Her hand gestured at him to come over to her and she smiled. AJ hesitantly walked over to her. He slowly climbed up the ladder and sat next to Violet. "Hey bud. You need to talk?" Violet asked in a gentle voice. AJ shifted slightly, contemplating whether he should speak about his feelings or shrug it off. His shoulders sagged.
"I'm worried." He said. "I'm worried that... she won't ever wake up again. I fought my butt off to get her here and she might not even wake up." He stared at the swaying trees, illuminated by the glow of the almost full moon above them. "That didn't sound right. Clem taught me what selfish was and the way she explained it sounded bad. I don't wanna be bad but I feel like I'm being selfish. Am I?" AJ looked at Vi waiting for an answer. She shrugged.
"I don't think you're being selfish. You're just worried for her safety. And being selfish is not always a bad thing. In certain situations like survival, selfishness could be the only thing that keeps you alive. But it's hard. You have to be willing to sacrifice important things in your life In order to keep going. Life isn't all kicks and giggles anymore and some emotions that used to be considered bad back then are what keep us going."
She looked down at the weapon she was holding. A homemade hunting bow that Aasim had been working on. He made it for the people on lookout duty so that if walkers do come to the gates they could shoot them without making lots of noise. Vi then looked back at AJ. She stood up and held out her hand, offering it to AJ. He took it.
"Now it's getting late you should head to bed," Violet said. "I'll be here a few more hours before I hand it over to Ruby." Violet put a hand on AJs shoulder and slightly squeezed him for reassurance. AJ nodded his head as a sign of thanks. He turned around and headed down the ladder back to the school and to his room. He walked through the door and looked at Clem, still asleep. He sat on the bunk bed, opposite of Clems. He laid there for a few minutes, thinking of what Violet had said and of Clementine.
"When will she wake up?" He asked himself in the darkness. He sighed then faced the wall his bed was up against and eventually fell asleep.
The next day, AJ left his room bright and early to go help around the school. He first stopped by Aasim and asked if he needed any help with hunting. Aasim appreciated the offer but turned him down because 'He's got everything in control', (We all know it's because he doesn't fully trust AJ yet to hunt things via stealth).
"Why don't you ask Ruby for something to do. She's always got something on her mind." Aasim said, pointing in the direction of Ruby. With a bit of annoyance in his voice AJ huffed out an okay and walked over to Ruby who was helping Omar with portions on their food supply.
"Hey AJ," Ruby said in her usual perky tone. "What brings you over here on this fine mornin'?" Her plump cheeks reached her eyes as she smiled over to him. AJ never quite understood how she was always so positive but to him it was always quite refreshing.
"HI Ruby," AJ replied, trying to sound a little chipper than normal. "You need any help over here?" He asked, putting his fists on his sides.
"You know what..as a matter of fact we do. You've come to the right place." Ruby said. "Ya know where we keep our food supplies right?" She asked AJ while looking at a piece of paper with plans on it.
"Yeah, hidden under the floorboards in the old kitchen." AJ answered.
"Right you are AJ. I need you to go down there and count how much meat, poultry, and canned goods we got. Me and Omar want to double check if our portions will work for at least a month. You up to it?" She looked at AJ and held out a pencil and dirty piece of paper.
"Sure. I'll get it done." AJ said grabbing the pencil and paper out of her hand.
"Thanks, use those to write the numbers down so you don't forget 'em okay? Alright get going." Her hand swatted the air in a playful manner as if she was trying to shoo him away. AJ smiled at the playfulness and went straight to the kitchen.
When he got there, he looked around the disheveled room and wondered what kitchens were really like before everything happened. He knew about fridges and how electricity kept the food cold for you, which was something straight out of a fairytale for him at the moment. He didn't know when the next time he'd find working electricity. Since he was a toddler the last time he had it, he didn't remember much. Shaking his head out of his wonderment, he went over to a large pantry. Right below it under the floorboards is where they hid most of their nonperishable items, the things that need to stay cold stay in an old cooler closer to the dirt wall. The plan was that the dirt would get cold enough from the outside to keep the cooler cold. So far it has worked.
AJ lifted the floor up and hopped into the hole. It's shallow enough where he still has to crouch to go through to the back. He started with the cans and sorted the different kinds into categories, then he added up the total amount.
"This is kinda good practice for my math skills." He said to himself. Clem tried to teach him the basic math that everyone should know. He understood most of it and was actually quite good at it too. If he wasn't born into the apocalypse maybe he would have become some sort of mathematician, maybe. As he was adding up all the numbers he heard the faint sound of people yelling outside. He quietly got out of the hole and covered it back with the boards. He stopped and listened, cupping his ears to enhance the length at which he could hear. He listened for the sounds of fighting or struggle but it was all shouting then briskly moving feet going towards the corridors.
"Clementine." He whispered out loud. He then darted out of the kitchen and towards his room. Everyone was there crowding the doorway, bouts of laughter and relieved faces every which way. He wiggled his way in between them all and ended up on his knees in front of the bed.
"Hey goofball." Clementine said. Her voice was quiet and a little raspy and she still looked very worn out but she was awake and in good health. AJ got up from the ground and slowly hugged Clem, not wanting to hurt her in any way. He didn't want to admit it out loud but hearing her say that silly nickname of his was the best sound he's heard in a long time.
"You're awake.. I was so worried. How are you feeling?" Aj asked, burying his head into her chest.
"AJ, I'm so happy you're alright. I… I'm okay." She said hugging him back. AJ looked up and into her eyes.
"You're happy I'm alright? I'm the one who should be saying that to you! I mean look what you've been through!" He said, his voice raising a little. Clementine looked at her leg, or what was left if it and her face fell a bit.
"I still...I don't know how to feel about this. I'm having a hard time remembering what happened. I can't believe half my leg is gone." Her voice became soft as if she might start to cry, but she doesn't. Instead she looked up and around the room to look at all the familiar faces, her new family.
"I'm so glad all of you are here, that you're all alive and that you all took such good care of me. How long have I been out?" She asked everyone.
"You've been out for two days." Answered ruby. "I made sure you were bandaged properly but the real hero here is AJ. He did so much to get you where you are right now." She said with a proud smile. Clem looked back at AJ who was still hugging her and managed to also proudly smile at him.
"You've always been my hero. But this is a whole new level of it. How did you even manage to get out of the barn? We were surrounded!" AJ perked up at the question, he was torn about reliving it but he sat up onto the bed anyway and began explaining ,with as much detail as possible, how he got Clementine and himself out in one piece...or at least most pieces.