Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She finds him sat on the bed in their now-shared room, an old photograph of Tenn and the twins in his hand. His long, worn fingers trace over the faces of loved ones now gone, and he heaves a sigh. This was the side of him that nobody used to see. The tired boy who hid behind jokes and a smile. Since his mutilation at the hands of the Delta, this side – this quiet, sad stranger – had revealed itself more often, jarring the Ericson survivors on a bad day. When Clementine knocks on the doorframe, he perks up and grins at her, though Louis’ usual exuberance is dampened.

“Hey, you.” She says quietly, painstakingly making her way towards him and pulling him into the crook of her body. His head nestles in the curve between her neck and chin, and he wraps his long arms around her hips, supporting her. Her crutches fall to the ground, forgotten. “I’ve been looking for you. How are you feeling?”

He reaches for her hand and taps it twice with one finger. Their ‘secret’ – albeit simple – code. I’m okay.

A silence falls over the room as the young lovers stay wrapped up in each other. No words are shared. None have to be. They stay there, understanding each other’s body language and what each tiny breath and twitch means.

It had been one year, exactly, since the final Delta attack and Tenn’s death. One year since they had been separated, and reunited, and separated again, and reunited one, last, bittersweet time. One of them missing a tongue, one of them missing a leg.

The silence is broken as Louis begins to hum. His voice, rough from misuse, lingers in the stagnant air, as his vocal cords form the tune of the song that he had written a year ago. The one he had written for her.

Clem sighs, sinking to the bed and pulling him closer, her face buried in his shoulder.

“Sorry,” she mumbles, her voice muffled by his thick jacket. She closes her weary eyes, heavy with unshed tears that threaten to spill. “I don’t know why I’m so…” She trails off, not knowing what she wants to say. So tired? So sad? So useless?

Nobody ever saw this side of Clementine either. The scared little girl inside of her that had mostly died with Lee nine years prior, who flared up every now and again when she felt particularly vulnerable. This side of Clementine was one she only shared with AJ for years, too scared to allow herself to open up to anyone until Louis came into her life and lit up her heart like a firework. She could be vulnerable with him, and he, with her.

Louis squeezes her waist gently with one hand and taps her hand again with the other. Three times. I love you.

A single tear breaks through, and that’s all it takes for the floodgates to open. Suddenly she’s sobbing, hunched over with a hand splayed over her aching, empty stomach. Empty from grief, from pain and loss. She’s enveloped in Louis’s warm arms, feeling his lips press all over her face in comforting kisses, and a quiet, worried noise escapes his throat, loud against her ear. She opens her eyes to see his concerned coffee-brown eyes staring into hers.

“I’m okay,” she chokes out unconvincingly, “I’m okay.”

Louis shakes his head. No, you’re not. His eyes are imploring. Tell me.

Clementine closes her eyes tight, unwilling to look at him for fear that he could see what she was thinking. “I’ve been followed by death since I was eight years old, Lou.” She says quietly. “After Marlon, and Mitch, and-and Tenn…this past year has been peaceful, but…I’m going to lose someone again, I know it.”

Louis sighs and kisses her forehead, wishing he could abate her fears. But how could he? He couldn’t deny that they’d both seen too much horror in the past nine years. Night-time terrors were a daily occurrence. It was only six months prior that he had awoken, shaking and sweating, from a dream in which he was devoured by those he had loved most. It was that day that he crept through the hallways into Clementine’s room, a silent question on his mind – and she had wordlessly taken him into her arms and held him until he woke up. They hadn’t slept apart since, much to the mirth and teasing of the others. But it wasn’t like that.

Clementine’s voice grows even smaller. “I’ll lose someone and…it’ll be my fault again.”

A strangled protest gets caught in Louis’s throat. Did she really think that? Did she really blame herself for everything that had happened? He opens his mouth, ready to let out a noise of objection.

“Don’t, Lou.” She holds up a hand to stop him. “So many people have died because of me. If I didn’t trust a stranger that said he had my parents, if I didn’t leave my gun outside of that-that damn bathroom stall, if I didn’t crash that car, or never taught AJ how to shoot, or- if I didn’t let Tenn get left behind with me, then they’d all be-“

Louis silences her with a kiss. While previously they had been feeling their way through romance with all of the innocence and inexperience of two kids in love for the first time, this kiss was urgent, a hungry clashing of lips and teeth and – at least on her part – tongue. This kiss was a conversation – it was telling Clementine that she wasn’t alone, that he’d never let her be alone again. I’m here with you, he was telling her. I’ll never leave you. He just hoped he could get through to her – that he could tell her all he was feeling.

How he loved her. How he’d always loved her, from the second she swept into his life like a feisty hurricane of pure survival instinct and laughter. How he’d never blamed her for Marlon’s death, as much as he’d wanted to. How he’d forgiven her the second she looked at him with those fierce golden eyes and dared him to ask her to leave. How his heart stopped and time stood still when an exhausted AJ had approached the gates, pushing a wheelbarrow that contained the lifeless, corpse-like – but still breathing – body of the broken girl he called his soulmate.

He needed to tell her. In this moment, he needed to get through to her.

They break apart after what feels like a sweet eternity, breathing heavily. Clementine raises her hand and touches her tingling lips, eyes wide.

“Um…” she giggles, a tinge of nervousness creeping into her voice. “That was…something.”

Louis covers his face, embarrassed. Before the Delta, he would have been able to diffuse the awkwardness with an easy-going joke. But now, he silently curses his useless vocal cords and Lilly for taking his voice – his defining trait – away.

“Hey,” Clementine takes his hand away from his face, pulling it into her lap and tracing light patterns over the roughened skin. “Thank you. For…distracting me.”

Louis grins and steals another quick kiss, rising to his feet and helping her catch her footing. It was time to see the others.

They weren’t fixed. Not by a long shot. They were still broken and bruised and burned.

But they’d be okay.

Chapter Text

The fire burned hot and low, bathing the Ericson survivors in a warm glow of orange light. The moon was almost at it’s apex in the sky, meaning that deep down, Clementine knew that AJ should be heading off to bed soon. But…she was so content where she was. And she wasn’t sleeping without him, dammit.

Amidst all of the quiet chatter, Clem lay resting against Louis’s side, tracing patterns in the denim of his jeans. She stifled a yawn, not allowing herself to express how exhausted she truly felt.

“You tired?” She jumped at Louis’s hot breath on her ear, almost letting out a squeal but managing to restrain it last-second. He guffawed wickedly, squeezing her to his side and kissing her forehead.

“No,” she lied, “But you’ve just made me realise how late it is…”

She cast her eyes over to AJ, who was talking animatedly with Willy, gesturing wildly with his hands at whatever story he was telling. Probably about Disco Broccoli, she mused, smiling to herself.

“C’mon, kiddo.” Clem called over to her surrogate son, “Time to go to bed.”

AJ’s face fell. “But-“

“No buts, little dude.” Louis supported his girlfriend. “Look at the moon, it’s almost midnight. Kids need a good eight hours of sleep to function properly the next morning.”

At Louis’s word, AJ got up reluctantly, calling a goodnight to everyone, and Clementine began to struggle to her feet before Willy beat her to it.

“Why doesn’t he stay in my room? We can have a…slumber party.” Willy suggested. “Then you don’t have to get up right now, and I can leave you grown-ups–” he gestured to the rest of the group, “–to do…whatever it is that grown-ups do.”

At this, AJ lit up, bouncing on the soles of his feet. “Oh, Clem, please!” He begged.

“Ah-ah-ah!” Clem raised her pointer finger at them sternly. “Willy, can I really trust you to keep an eye on him?”

“I’ll keep an eye on them,” Omar volunteered. Omar was at a point, having just turned fifteen, where he wasn’t quite a big kid, but not quite a small kid either. He was happy with his role in the group, however, content to keep the two youngsters in line while still playing his part in keeping everyone fed and happy.

Louis clapped his hands. “Would you, Omar? That’d be great.” He pulled Clem back down into a cuddling position and squeezed her hand.

“But…” Clem pressed her lips together.

“Let them,” Louis whispered to her, “Let them be kids, at least for tonight.”

Clem bit her lip, searching Louis’s face, and sighed. “Alright, fine.” She turned to the two grinning youngsters.

“Yes!” Willy punched his fist in the air, letting out a loud whoop.

“Don’t let them sleep too late, Omar.” Clem warned.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Omar teased, “You’d probably beat me up if I did.”

Ruby giggled and Clem shot her a playful glare.

“Touché.” She agreed, before opening her arms to AJ. The younger kid barrelled into her, hugging her tight. “Love you, goofball.” She whispered into his hair. “Sleep tight.”

“Love you,” AJ mumbled back. He hesitated before smacking a spontaneous kiss on her cheek and running off into the school, calling another loud ‘goodnight’ over his shoulder.

“Bless his heart,” Ruby pressed her hand to her chest, cooing, “If not for the fact that he’s an absolute dead shot with a gun, you’d think he was the cutest six-year-old to ever exist.”

“He’s pretty adorable,” Louis agreed. “Good job.” He grabbed Clementine’s wrist and gave her a high-five, causing the girl to snicker.

“What was that for?” She giggled.

“You know, raising him!”

“You’re such a dork.”

“Yeah, but you like that. Thus, making you dorkier than me.”

Violet rolled her eyes. “God, get a room, you two.” She teased. “I can barely even see you and I can tell that you’re being gross. It’s bad enough that Ruby and Aasim are all loved up, but now you two as well?”

Louis put his hand over his chest, faking hurt. “I’m wounded, Vi!” He whined. “What do you have against true love?”

Violet snorted. “True love is bullshit.” She muttered darkly, rubbing the burn scars on her forehead, her eyes empty. “Total bullshit.”

An awkward silence overcame the group.

“Anyway…” Ruby cleared her throat to diffuse the tension. “What should we do now? The littluns are all in bed, we should take advantage of the situation, right?”

“Oh!” Violet perked up, her dark mood dissipating quickly. “I forgot!” She reached behind her, groping around blindly before her fingers encircle a dark glass bottle that she had stashed in a bush behind her. She brandished it proudly. “Ta-da!”

“What’s that?” Aasim took the bottle from her and peered at the label, his eyes struggling in the dim glow of the fire. “Whiskey? Where’d you find this?” He sounded awed.

“Found it in the headmaster’s office.” Violet said triumphantly. “I stashed it away here for the next time we had a campfire. Figured we could have a little party and live out the teenage rebellion that was stolen from us.”

Ruby shrugged. “Sounds fun.”

“Why not?” Louis grinned. “Let’s get shit-faced.”

“Have any of you ever drunk before?” Clem asked, amused at their exuberance.

“Not really…” Aasim shook his head. “Never really had the chance.”

“Marlon and I did, once.” Louis offered, much to the laughter of his fellow students. “Found some cases of beer on one of our supply runs, like, two or three years ago. Would have brought it back to share, but…” He shrugged. “It was all gone by the morning.”

“Ugh, god.” Violet groaned. “I can just imagine how fucking annoying you were.”

“Oh yeah, we were the worst.” Louis confirmed. “We got so sick the next morning. It was worth it, though.” He said wistfully.

“This is whiskey, though.” Clem mused. “Much stronger.”

Louis shot her a cheeky grin. “Even better!”

“What about you, Clem?” Ruby probed curiously. “You ever been drunk before?”

“I’ve not…been drunk.” She admitted. “But I have drank before.”

“What was your poison?” Louis asked playfully.

“The first time…whiskey.” She nodded to the bottle that Aasim was still holding.

“Wait- the first time?” A shocked look overcame Aasim’s face.

“The second time, it was rum.” Clementine continued, ignoring Aasim. “Both times, it was… pretty gross.”

“Way to inspire confidence, Clem.” Louis inspected the contents of the bottle.

“Hey – I was eleven, in my defence!” Clem protested playfully, much to Aasim's horror. “Maybe it’ll taste better now.”

“Well…we won’t know until you open it!” Violet instructed, to which Aasim complied, screwing off the bottle cap and passing it back to Violet.

Violet brought the bottle to her lips for a cautious swig. As she pulled her face away, her nose wrinkled.

“That…” She announced, passing it to Louis, “…is fucking disgusting.”

The bottle got passed around the circle a couple of times, everyone agreeing that the drink was absolutely awful.

“Are we just going to drink?” Ruby asked when it was her second swig. “That’s boring.”

Louis perked up. “Are you suggesting we play a game?” He rubbed his hands together gleefully.

“Fuck no,” Violet groaned. “Not another one of your card games.”

“For the record, Vi, I left my cards inside.”

“What do we play, then?” Ruby leaned forward with interest.

“Truth or Drink?” Aasim suggested.

Violet pulled a face. “We always play truth or dare; I don’t think we have any truths left to tell.”

“If you have a better idea-” Aasim began.

“Never Have I Ever?” Clementine interjected.

“What’s that?” Ruby asked, curiously.

“Uh…” Clementine struggled to figure out how to answer. “So, someone would say a statement like…never have I ever…gotten bit by a dog.” She rubbed the scar on her arm self-consciously. “And because I have been bitten by a dog, I take a drink. You also have to tell the story. A dog attacked me when I didn’t share my food, once.” She took the bottle from Ruby and took a mouthful of the throat-burning liquid, feeling the heat . “If anyone else has been bitten by a dog, they also take a drink and tell the story.”

“…Pass it here.” Violet took the bottle. “Okay, so I got bit by Rosie...”

The night passed, and the teens got slowly drunker.

“Okay-okay-okay.” Ruby giggled. “Never have I ever…crushed on someone older than me.”

“Oh, shit!” Clem clapped her hand to her mouth and laughed. “Pass the bottle.”

“Is this going to make me jealous?” Louis teased.

“It shouldn’t. The guy is dead now, and I was only eight. Okay – fuck. So when the apocalypse started, I was in this group – I told you about them before.”

“With that guy, the one who raised you…Lee?” Louis offered.

“That’s the one. So, there was this guy…what was his name…ah, Ben. He was a complete dumbass and to be honest, a bit of an asshole. Not that he tried to be.” Clementine pressed her lips together, holding in a sad laugh. “He was about the age we are now, so he’d be…fuck, he’d be in his mid-twenties if he was alive. But we were the kids of the group, along with my friend Duck, so he was also my friend. Dumb guy got most of the group killed. But before that, I had a crush on him for some weird reason.”

“My turn to ask,” Violet took the bottle. “Never have I ever killed someone by accident.”

“Yikes, Vi.” Louis grimaced. He took the bottle. “I don’t think I need to tell you the story, you were all there.”

Clementine shuddered. The look on his face when he shot that woman with the crossbow…it wasn’t one she’d ever forget.

“Hand it over here.” She sighed. “I have a full list of people I killed by accident – do I have to go through them all?”

An hour later, Aasim stood up. “It’s getting late – or early.” He looked up at the lightening sky. “We should get to bed.” By this point, the fire had become nothing but barely glowing embers, and the bottle was empty.

“Trust Aasim to be the mother hen when we’re all drunk,” Violet muttered. “Aren’t you feeling the alcohol too, Aasim?”

“Yeah, too much,” he replied weakly.

“He’s right, anyway. We should get some shut-eye.” Ruby grasped Violet’s arm and helped her to her feet, stumbling as she went. “C’mon, sugar. I’ll help you to bed. Or you can help me. Ah – fuck it, we’ll help each other.”

“Wow, you’re really out of it, Ruby!” A tinge of amazement coloured Louis’s voice.

“Fuck yeah I am!” The redhead proclaimed proudly.

Louis laughed in amazement, wrapping his arm around Clem, and pulling her into his lap.

“We’ll stay here for a bit.” He told the others. “It’s nice out here.”

“Will we?” Clem asked, amused.

“Yup.” He said, popping the ‘p’. He grinned at his girlfriend and kissed her nose.

Violet let out an over-exaggerated retch. “Get a room!” She repeated.

“Gladly.” Clem retorted, but regretted it when Violet let out a malicious cackle.

“There’s protection in the old nurses office!” Ruby said in a sing-song voice as she and Violet ascended the front stairs.

“Ruby!” Clem admonished, and only received a chortle in response.

The pair stayed by the disappearing fire for another ten or so minutes, watching as the embers died down into nothing but ash.

“We should head to bed, too.” Louis murmured; his voice softer than it had been when they were with the others. At some point, his hand had tangled in her curly hair, and he had been combing through it with his long musician fingers. Clementine closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, sighing as he leant down to capture her lips in a chaste kiss.

She liked him like this. Well – she liked him no matter what. But this Louis…this was her favourite. When they could capture these sweet moments alone together, and his usual enthusiasm stripped away until she could see his gentle and romantic alter-ego. When he didn’t have to pretend to be someone he wasn’t. He was hers, and she was his.

“Let’s go, then.” She whispered.

Wordlessly, he rose to his feet and wrapped his arm around her, handing her the crutches that lay disregarded in the grass. No words were shared as they made their way up to the dorm rooms, revelling in the silence and the sound of each other’s breathing.

When they reached the room that Clementine shared with AJ, she turned to him with a shy smile.

“I guess this is goodnight.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Goodnight, Louis.”

As she went to open the door, Louis’s breath hitched in his throat.

“Clem…”

She turned back to him, a curious look in her eyes. “Yeah…?”

Louis pressed Clementine against the wall and kissed her so fiercely her head spun. Her body flooded with warmth and she entangled a hand into his locs, pulling his face even further into hers. She couldn’t think, her brain full of only Louis. His laugh, his voice, his taste–

Her crutches slipped from her grasp and clattered on the floor.

They broke apart, breathing heavily. “Shh! We’ll wake everyone up.” She hissed, but couldn’t stop herself from smiling at him dopily. “You’re fun when you’re drunk.”

“Drunk in love,” he mumbled sleepily.

“Okay, Beyoncé,” She rolled her eyes. “I should-“

“Sleep in my room.”

“Huh?” Clem coughed self-consciously, blood rushing to her cheeks. “You…what?” After what Violet and Ruby had just said…after that kiss, her mind was racing.

“Fuck – not like that…” Louis hid his warm face in her neck, his face bright red. “I just mean…Omar, Willy and AJ will be asleep by now, so it’s not like you can sleep in the same room as AJ tonight and I know you don’t like to sleep alone.” As Clem frowned at him, still unsure, he kissed her cheek and grinned sheepishly, a look of shyness overcoming his face. “I’ll behave, I promise.”

Clementine bit her lip, gazing up at him. He was so close that she could almost count every single freckle on his face.

“Okay.”

Chapter Text

"Don't take them!" The yell ripped from her throat before she could stop it. They were going to take them – they were going to take Aasim and Omar and Louis...

She couldn’t let that happen. Louis would fight back; she knew he would. And they’d kill him. Or they’d hurt him in a way she could never truly heal him. She couldn’t let him die like that. Not now, not so soon after she told him how she felt. She wanted him to live. She wanted to be with him, to see him survive and thrive. She had found a home, a family in these people, after eight long years of only caring about herself and her surrogate son. And Louis was the core of that family, the one that held them together through his many jokes – as much as everyone claimed to hate his never-ending enthusiasm, Clem could see that deep down, they couldn’t live without him. No, neither could she, not now that she’d met him – the real him. Now that they'd spent the past two weeks with each other, sneaking stolen kisses when nobody was nearby, and curling up next to the piano together. She needed him.

She had to keep her people safe.

Lilly paused in her tracks, waving her lackeys down. "I need soldiers, Clementine." She said self-righteously. "And if I'm not getting them willingly..."

"You'll get your soldiers," Clem promised, holding her hands up in surrender. "Leave them be and…take me instead."

Louis writhed in the grip of the Delta soldiers holding him. "Clem, no," he pleaded, his voice breaking. “Don’t do this.”

He wasn’t alone in his objections, with various noises of protest coming from her people.

Lilly laughed. "One little girl versus three strong young men? That doesn’t add up. I thought you were smarter than that, Clementine."

“I’m not a little girl anymore, Lilly,” Clem challenged. “You knew me when I was, and you can see me now. I survived. I have been surviving on my own for eight years now. I’m a better soldier than all of these guys combined, and you know it.”

Lilly studied the younger girl, as though trying to figure out some kind of trick. “And how can I trust that you won’t struggle and attempt to escape once I have you? You could lead all of these children into an attack. You might let your people die.”

Clementine hesitated. “If…if you give me your word that once I’ve given myself up to you, you’ll leave them alone…” She swallowed, steeling her nerves. “I won’t fight back. But if you do something to hurt them, or you take them prisoner…” Clementine’s soft ochre eyes turned sharp. “I will never stop fighting you until the day I die.”

Lilly’s lip curled in an arrogant smile. “That’s a tempting proposal, Clementine. I might just take you up on that offer.”

“Just let them go, Lilly,” Clem begged. “They don’t deserve this.”

Lilly took a moment to ponder on the deal. “You swear that you won’t fight back?”

“I swear…on Lee’s memory.”

“Well, now I know you must mean it.” Lilly chuckled. Her eyes narrowed. “I accept your deal, Clementine. Let them go.” She instructed to the hard-faced Delta soldiers. Upon release, Louis immediately attempted to run in Clem’s direction, before being reluctantly held back by Aasim, who couldn’t quite meet Clem’s eyes.

“Louis, let her leave,” Violet spat bitterly, staring at Clementine with betrayal etched into her features. Clem knew that look…it was the one that surfaced every time she thought about Marlon, and how he’d turned traitor on them by giving Minnie and Sophie away. Forgive me, Vi, a voice whispered in Clem’s head.

“Clem!” Louis called out in a strangled voice. “Please…don’t…”

“She’s made her decision,” Lilly said smugly.

Clementine walked towards Lilly, feeling as though she was tied down with cinderblocks. Her feet felt heavy. Her heart felt heavier. There was a roaring sound in her ears, though it wasn’t enough to block out the objections of her people, the begging not to go, not to betray them. The loudest cry – the one that wrenched her heart in two – was purely a call of her name. “Clem!” AJ screamed.

AJ…her AJ. Her little boy. Her little goofball. Would this be the last time she saw him?

As they reached the gate, she hesitated.

“Clementine.” Lilly snapped. “They’re not your people anymore. Pay them no mind.”

Clementine cursed under her breath and turned to look over her shoulder, shooting a glance to the family she was leaving behind. Violet, who had pure animosity burning in her eyes. Ruby, who was holding that man – Abel – down and shaking her head in angry disbelief – whether it was anger at her or at Lilly, Clem could not tell. AJ, who was shrieking in Tenn’s grasp, the older boy holding him back from running towards her. Louis, who was knelt on the floor, no longer trying to reach her, a defeated look in his mocha-brown eyes. Bile rose in her throat and she blinked back tears.

“Clementine,” Lilly hissed. “You said you’d come peacefully.”

Clem jolted, inhaling sharply, and turned fully back to the Ericson group. “I love you,” she called, not fully sure who she was calling to. She met Louis’s eyes. “I love you.” She repeated.

And then a sharp pain on the side of her head.

“No!” Louis and AJ’s voices, blending together.

And then darkness.

The prison, deep in the bowels of the S.S. Stewarts Fitzgerald, was empty and cold.

 “How long do you think we’ve been here?” Gabriel Garcia asked weakly. His face showed signs of a thorough beating – discoloured with numerous scratches and bruises – but not nearly as bad as the injuries his uncle had sustained.

Javier Garcia shrugged with one shoulder, wincing as he did so. He felt like it had been dislocated. “Hard to tell,” he said glumly. “Days, weeks – who knows?”

“I want to go home.” Gabe brought his knees to his chest. Now eighteen years of age, Gabe had become a strong young man that Javi was proud of– and he knew that somewhere, wherever he was, David was proud, too – but it was at times like these that the teenager regressed into the ten-year-old boy whose childhood had been stolen from him. “To Richmond.”

“The Delta hold Richmond.” Javi said bitterly. “It wouldn’t be safe. Besides-“ he let out a sharp laugh, “-what good would we be with these injuries?” He gently touched his wrist, which he was fairly certain had been broken, and was now healing wrong.

“We could try.” Gabe persisted. “We could-“

“We could die in the process,” Javi snapped, “And you’re all I have left, so that’s off the table.”

A silence fell upon the two men. Javi sighed. Gabe was a good kid – always had been – but sometimes Javi would blink and it would seem like David had been reborn in front of his very eyes. Gabe grew more like his father with every passing day.

After two minutes, Gabe sullenly broke the silence. “I think you-“

He was cut off by a banging noise on the deck above them.

Javi flinched, hushing his nephew urgently. “They’re back.”

Gabe shuddered, touching a swollen bruise under his eye.

They waited with bated breath as footsteps clanged off of the metal floor, getting louder and louder until they heard the door swing open.

“…can expect the kids to revolt,” a woman – Dorian, they’d heard her called – was saying. “We have to be ready for an attack.”

“Well, we’ll see if she’s prepared to fight back against her group,” Lilly said in her snappish tone. “We may have another Sophie situation on our hands.”

"What do we do if they attack?"

"Capture them. Make them ours." The prompt answer. "We'll keep the boat here, so they think they have a chance to rescue her. We can send Minerva out to lure them in..."

The cell door opened, and Lilly stood there with arrogance in the thin lines of her face. “We’ve brought you something.” She told her prisoners. “A friend.”

Dorian entered the cell, violently hauling a slim, slender figure in her arms. Unruly hair poked out from a dirty baseball cap, and one thin, scarred arm was hanging, a purple hair tie around the wrist and the ring finger amputated at the first knuckle.

Javi’s breath hitched in his throat. It couldn’t be…

Limp as a ragdoll, the lifeless girl was tossed unceremoniously to the ground, an instinctive grunt escaping her lips as she hit the cold floor. She lay with her head facing away from them, so they couldn’t see her face. Still, that voice…

Gabe’s eyes widened. “Cl-“

Javi squeezed his arm. “Don’t…” He hissed under his breath only for Gabe to hear. Lilly narrowed her eyes, suspicious.

“This is Clementine,” She continued cautiously, waving a dismissive hand in the unconscious girl’s direction. Javi held his breath. He was right. “She gave herself up to save her group.”

Javi pressed his lips together, biting back something that could have been a smile or a frown. That does sound like our Clem, he thought, his mind tinged with a strange mix of endearment and unease.

“Why’s she unconscious?” He cleared his throat, lowering his voice in hopes of hiding his panic. “You said she gave herself up willingly, why did you need to knock her out?”

“We thought she’d be…easier to handle, so Dorian hit her with a gun.” Lilly shrugged. “She’s a strong girl, we didn’t want to take any chances.”

“Why did you put her in with us?” Gabe’s voice was shrill, his eyes fixed on the prone figure in front of him.

“I thought you could talk some sense into her.” Lilly sneered. “Tell her it’s not so bad here.”

Lilly glanced at Clem, pursing her lips, before marching over and kicking the girl in the chest. She let out a cry, curling into fetal position, and Javi crawled over to her, cradling her in his arms.

“What the fuck was that for?” Javi demanded.

“Giving me trouble.” Lilly smirked. “Do take care of her, boys. She’ll be a good soldier, and I don’t want to lose her.”

The men waited, silent, until the sounds of her combat boots disappeared down the hallway, before Javi collapsed, glancing worriedly down at the girl in front of him. She’s all grown up, said a vague, awed voice in the back of his mind, the tiny-but-mighty kid that you used to know is gone.

“Holy shit – Clem, can you hear me?” He gently shook her shoulder.

Clementine groaned, her eyelids fluttering. “Javi?” she whispered. “Is that…you?”

“It’s me, mija,” he promised. “You’re okay. You’re alive.”

“Where are we…?” She raised a hand and touched her forehead. “Fuck, my head…”

“We’re in a prison on a ship.” Javi told her. “The Delta have taken us hostage.”

“The Delta…?” Clem’s eyes flew open. “Lilly-“

“She’s gone up onto the deck.”

“Clem!” Gabe edged over, leaning over Javi’s shoulder, and peering down at her. “You’re…you’re here!”

The girl smiled weakly. “Hello to you too, Gabriel.” She murmured. “Glad to see you…”

“What happened?” Javi urged.

“They attacked my…my family. I gave myself up…to…” She winced, sucking the air through her teeth. “Shit, my head is killing me.” Her fingers probed at her forehead.

“Can I take a look?” Javi lightly touched her brow, hesitating.

Clementine smirked wearily. “Don’t touch…the hat.” She jested.

Javi shook his head fondly and pulled the hat from her head, grimacing at what he saw. “Clem, you’re… you’re bleeding, mija. Fuckers hit you with a gun.”

“Must’a hit pretty hard.” She muttered. “Hurts like hell.”

“Looks like it.” He peered at the wound. “It’s not deep, it’s just bleeding quite a bit.”

“I promised that I wouldn’t fight back if…it meant they left my family alone.” Clem closed her eyes. “My baby…my little AJ.”

“You found him?” Javi gingerly dabbed at the wound on her forehead with his sleeve.

“Yeah. He’s…he’s a good boy. I-”

“You never came back to Richmond,” Gabe interjected sharply, a hurt look on his face. Javi bit back a smirk. Gabe had never quite gotten over his crush on the curly-haired girl. And, well…that infatuation probably wasn’t going away anytime soon. Over the past five years, Clem had filled out her awkward, wiry stature and had blossomed from a cute teenager into a lovely-looking young woman. As Javi glanced at his nephew, he grinned. Yep, the boy was still smitten. It was stamped all over his face.

“I’m sorry.” She mumbled. “I meant to, I just…”

“You said-“

“Gabe, cool it with the interrogation for now, okay?” Javi cut in. “Clem is pretty out of it right now.”

“I promise I’ll answer whatever questions you have, but…” Clem sighed.

“You need to rest.” Javi finished her sentence. It was obvious that even this small amount of conversation was straining her. “Clem, when was the last time you had a good night’s sleep?”

A small smirk flitted across her face before being replaced with a look of total exhaustion. “Too…long. But I need to-”

“Sleep.” Javi insisted, shifting Clem so her head rested on his leg. It probably wasn’t the best idea to let her sleep, because in all honesty she may have had a concussion but Javi hated how vulnerable she looked.

“Thanks, Javi.” The girl sighed. “I missed you two.”

“Missed you too, mija.”

Chapter Text

She was on the train. Watching the countryside fly by, feeling the rushing wind on her face, and the bite of the autumn air in the breeze. It was beautiful, and just how she remembered it. She was so little. Only nine years old, not knowing the horrors she’d see not even a week later. Not knowing that she’d have to say goodbye…

She peeked down at her hands, twisting them nervously. Lee should be here any minute.

What would she say to him? It had been so long since she’d escaped into this corner of her mind, her happy place.

“Hey, sweet pea.”

“Lee?” She quickly glanced up at him, at his gentle smile and kind eyes,  before breaking the eye contact. She was scared to look too closely at him, scared that he’d disappear from in front of her. He sat beside her, taking in their surroundings. A soft chuckle escaped his lips.

“Why the train?” He asked. “You always pick the train.”

“I’m not sure…” She replied, the girlish pitch of her voice momentarily surprising her. She had forgotten how high her voice used to be. “Maybe because…this is where it all started. Where you taught me how to shoot, and to cut my hair. To be ready for what was coming.”

“You were a quick study.” Pride coloured his voice. She looked back up at him. A guilty feeling pooled in the bottom of her stomach. Truth be told, if she ever tried to remember all the way back to her childhood, her real father’s face would flicker and blur before her eyes before taking on Lee’s appearance. His voice, which she faintly remembered as slightly higher than Lee’s, would deepen and thicken into the gruff tones of the selfless man who had taken her under his wing. It just made her miss Lee all the more.

“So…”He began gently. “What’s on your mind this time?”

Little Clem shook her head. “I’m worried, Lee. I’ve got a lot of people depending on me, and I don’t know if I did the right thing.”

“Oh, I know that feeling.” Lee nodded. “You know I was, uh… making it all up as I went along, right?” He sighed. “Couldn’t let on, of course. With you being so little.”

“You kind of had to think on your feet.” Clem agreed. “Monsters taking over the world, and you got stuck taking care of an eight-year-old girl.”

“You were a handful,” Lee conceded, “But I didn’t ‘get stuck’ with anything. You kept me going.”

Clem looked at the rushing ground beneath her dangling feet, her thoughts weighing heavily on her mind.

“You wanna tell me about what you’re up against?” Lee probed gently.

“I was with a new group. And I’ve been in so many, and they always fall apart. But I really like this one. It’s different.” Clem bit her lip. “It felt like home.”

“That’s a good thing. It’s hard being alone out there.” Lee reassured her. “But what do you mean it felt like home?”

“We’re in trouble. Some bad people attacked my friends, and I gave myself up to protect them. Getting back to them might get them all killed.” A distressed tone entered Clem’s voice. “I’m scared, Lee.”

Lee stayed quiet for a second, deliberating what to say. “I’m not worried.” He smiled at her.

“What?”

“Whatever trouble you’re in, you’ll get out of it.” Lee said confidently. “You’ll get your friends out of it.”

“You don’t know that.” Clem fretted. Lee was a smart man, but some things were too difficult to predict.

“I know you’re a survivor.” He assured her. “The Clementine I know is gonna fix it. I really believe that.”

“You’re right.” Clem took a deep breath. “I just needed to hear you say it.” They held a loving gaze, Lee smiling proudly at the little girl. “I’m going to get myself and my friends out of this.”

Lee nodded. “That’s right. Imagine what Louis will say when you meet him at the gates of the school. He’ll be so glad to see that you're safe. And Violet will know that you didn’t betray them. Your people will be happy to see you.” Clem let out a small, sad noise, turning away so Lee couldn’t see the hurt on her face. “Aw, sweet pea, you know you always get like this before something big.” He placed a hand under her chin, gently making her look at him. “Remember how scared you were before you charged into that mess at McCarroll Ranch? You survived that, didn’t you?”

“That was different.” She argued. “I was alone.”

“I know. It’s harder when you have something to lose,” Lee agreed. “But having people you care about…that’s a good thing.”

Clem pressed her lips together, unconvinced.

“Friends.” Lee insisted. “A boy who loves you, who thinks the world of you. They’re fighting for you. Because of you.”

Clem nodded silently, watching as Lee rose to his feet, taking a few steps back into the safety of the boxcar.

“Come see me again when you’re back home, okay? Safe and sound.” He implored. “Sound good? Hopefully, we can talk about happier things.”

“I meant what I said,” Clementine reassured herself. “Every single one of my friends is a fighter. We’ll make it. I’m just…you know. Talking myself up to it.”

Lee looked down at her fondly, laughter in his eyes. “To think, when I cut your hair, I was just following the advice of an old drunk we’d just met.” He shook his head. “But you…you have a knack for surviving. You’ve kept those kids alive. They look up to you. You’re a leader, Clem. A natural.”

“Thank you, Lee,” Clem said quietly. “Talking to you always makes me feel a little bit better.”

“I meant to ask…” Lee hesitated. “How’s the boy?”

AJ… “He’s good, Lee.” She said proudly. “You’d like him.”

“I bet.” Lee grinned at her. “You teach him to shoot yet?”

Clem giggled. “You have no idea.”

Lee sighed, a somber expression on his face. “I guess the world got pretty hard since I left it. A kid growing up in it, he’d be hard too. You’re in my shoes now, raising a kid. Think you got a handle on it?”

“AJ’s amazing, Lee.” Clem insisted. “I’ve taught him to be strong and brave and capable. You’d be so proud.”

“You mean more than I already am?”

Clem hesitated before jumping to her feet and running into his arms. She hugged him like she’d never let go of him, wondering when she’d see him next. A whistle blew, and they pulled apart. He looked down at her, something unreadable in his eyes.

“Wow.” He said, awed. “Just look at you.”

Clem scoffed playfully, shaking her head. Back to her normal, sixteen-year-old self.

“Just look at you.” He took a step back, taking in her appearance. He chuckled and touched her hair. “Thought I told you to keep this short.”

“Um, you don’t know how hard it is to find scissors these days.” She teased.

Lee stared at her again, his face softening. “Time to go. Clementine.” He walked towards the back of the boxcar. “You’ve got people that need you.”

“Goodbye, Lee.” She closed her eyes, her breath hitching, and he was gone.

“Clem!” Her eyes flew open as she was gently shaken awake. “Wake up.”

“Wh-“ She grunted, squinting. “How long have I been out?”

“A day or so.” Javi sighed. “You needed it, but I thought I ought to wake you up now, just in case…”

“Thanks.” She sat up, peering around. Her hat was on the floor, and she grabbed it, placing it in the usual spot atop her head. “I didn’t get a good look at this cell when I was half-asleep before.”

“There’s not much to see,” Gabe said sullenly. “We’ve been here for days at this point.”

Clem grimaced. “Gabe…if I knew that you were here, I would have…”

Gabe scoffed, rising to his feet, and walking over to the door, peering out the small window. “Yeah, sure.”

“Ignore him, mija,” Javi said quietly. “He’s bitter that you never came back to Richmond.”

“Hm.” Clem bit her lip.

Javi hesitated. “If you don’t mind me asking…”

“I know,” Clem interjected. “I promised I’d come back, I just…” She raked a hand through her hair, frustrated. “At the time, the community was in ruins. Remember, we’d just come off of the back of a war, and…I didn’t feel safe bringing AJ into an area where we could be attacked any minute. After what happened at the ranch…”

“Whoa - what happened at the ranch?” Javi cocked his head, curious.

“Tons of death…and fire…and blood.” Clem touched her shoulder, feeling the raised skin of the New Frontier brand underneath her thin shirt, and shivered. “I didn’t want him to see any more death. And that’s all I want to say about it.”

They sat in silence for a moment. “What’s he like?” Javi asked suddenly.

“Hm?”

“AJ.” Javi clarified. “What’s he like?”

“He’s…” A flicker of a smile crossed Clem’s face as she tried to figure out how best to describe him. “A firecracker. He’s sweet most of the time, but… get on his bad side – or threaten me – and you might end up with a bullet in the head. He’s smart, and strong…he’s a good kid.”

Javi whistled. “Wow. How old is he?”

“I think he’s five.” Clem sighed. “I just…want him to grow up like a normal kid and not have to worry about the bad shit.”

“But what’s a normal kid, now?” Javi said gently.

“I suppose you’re right.” Clem’s brow furrowed. “I just hope he’s okay.”

“If he’s as tough as you just told me, I’m sure he’s fine.” Javi assured her.

“But he’s only little…and we’ve never been apart like this, not since I got him back.”

“You have a group, right?” Javi prodded. “There must be someone in your group who would look after him for you.”

Clem’s face dropped. “Louis.” She whispered, pressing her hand to her chest as sharp pain flared through her heart. “Louis promised that he’d…take care of AJ if anything happened to me.”

Louis…what was he doing, right now? A million pictures ran through her head – Louis sat at the piano, unable to focus on a song. Hands hovering over the keys, but the notes not coming to him. Maybe he was comforting AJ, telling him that she’d be okay, and she’d return. Or maybe he was alone, stuck with his thoughts. Fretting about her. Punching a wall or two, in his frustration. Louis always had an idea – not always a good idea, but an idea, nonetheless. Maybe he was formulating a plan to rescue her with the others. She could just picture his expression – the determined line of his mouth and the furrowed brow. Sometimes, when Louis was deep in thought, she had the urge to press her thumb to his temples and smooth his crumpled forehead. To take his concerns away. Lou…don’t do anything stupid.

“Clem?” Javi frowned at her, uncertainty in his tone. “Are…you okay? Who’s Louis?”

“He’s…a guy in my group. He gets on well with AJ.” She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to not think of him. “And I’m fine, I’m just worried.” She stood up, joining Gabe in looking out the window. “We don’t have much time if we want to escape. They won’t keep this boat here forever.”

“They’re keeping it here until they can get their next batch of prisoners,” Gabe offered. “They’re planning to lure a local group in to capture them.”

Clem’s blood ran cold. “They – what?”

Gabe shrugged, his voice faint over the deafening noise in Clem’s ears. “Yeah, they were talking about it when they brought you here. You were out cold. Apparently, the Delta have someone in their ranks who has a connection to this group. I think they said her name was Minerva or something.”

“No!” Clem clapped a hand to her mouth. “Lilly told me she’d leave them alone if I came peacefully! God, fuck…!” She let out a sudden howl of fury, punching the metal door. “My family will get themselves killed trying to get me back. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted her…fuck!” She punched the door again, harder. And again. And again.

“Whoa, whoa – Clem, calm down. Shit-” Javi cursed, pulling her away from the door. “It won’t come to that. I’m sure it won’t.”

“You don’t know them, Javi.” She hissed, twisting feebly in his grip. Her hand throbbed from her fingertips all the way up her wrist, and a dim voice in the back of her mind noted that her knuckles were bleeding. “They’re loyal, and they're brave, but…they’re so reckless.” Her voice cracked on the last word, and she sank to her knees. “They’ll get themselves killed.” She repeated, covering her face with her good hand.

“Clem…”

She scrubbed at her eyes furiously. “I’m okay, just…”

Clem jolted as the exterior door swung open. She leapt to her feet and rushed to the front of the cell, Javi following after her. Gabe grabbed her arm, cautious. The three watched intently as a girl – one she hadn’t seen before – cautiously walked into the room, followed by-

“Louis!” Clem’s eyes welled up.

“Clem.” He said breathlessly, relief shining from his face. It just about broke her heart. “Thank god.”

She clung to his hand through the cell window, latching on like she’d never let go. “You shouldn’t be here.” She hissed. “It’s too dangerous. Lou, if they hurt you…”

He shot her a soft smirk. “You think I’m here alone?” He teased, squeezing her hand. “I’m glad you have such faith in me, princess, but no. We’re all here, to help get you back.”

“All…?”

“Clem?” Violet’s anxious face appeared over Louis’s shoulder. “Shit-“

Clem’s eyes widened. “Violet…”

“Fuck- Clem, I’m sorry!” Violet bit her lip. “I shouldn’t have blamed you. You were just trying to help us. It’s just…after Marlon-”

“Vi, it’s fine.” Clem interjected. “Tell me later. Right now, you need to get out of here.”

“Aasim and AJ are here too.” Louis supplied. “AJ wouldn’t let us come here without him.”

“Clem!” Little AJ rushed to the wall separating them, staring up at her tearfully. “I thought you…”

“No-no-no…” Clem shook her head wildly, her chest tight. “You shouldn’t be here, AJ! None of you should be. Go!”

“You’re coming with us.” Louis insisted. He turned to the girl who had brought them there. “Minnie, open the cell! We need to get her out of here before Lilly realises that we’re here.”

“Louis – no, don’t trust her.“ Clem pled. “She’s one of them.”

“Min?” Violet said uncertainly. That’s right, they had been girlfriends… “Open the cell.”

Minnie shifted uncomfortably. “That’s not happening, Vi.”

Chapter Text

“Wonderful job, Minerva.” A voice drawled from down the hallway, and a familiar figure walked into the room, flanked by her usual lackey – Dorian. “I knew I could trust you.” Lilly smirked smugly.

“What the fuck?” Louis’s mouth dropped open and he turned to Minnie, horrified. “You set us up!”

“I…” Minnie wavered, before her face steeled. “I did. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” She snarled.

“What the fuck have they-” Aasim began.

“Grab them.” Lilly ordered. “Lock them up.” She unlocked the door to the other cell.

Dorian seized AJ around the waist, ignoring his kicks and screams, and tossed him into the cell. Violet cursed, drawing her gun and aiming for the nearest attacker, only to falter when she saw it was Minnie. Minnie took advantage of her hesitation and grabbed the gun, shoving her into the open cell, where she was soon joined by Aasim. Dorian set her sights on Louis, who fought back but was soon overpowered. While he was by no means weak, his lack of professional training was obvious. He grunted as she landed a heavy blow on his head, falling to his knees. Clem let out a sharp, incoherent cry.

“Toss that one in their cell,” Lilly instructed, inclining her head to Clem, Gabe, and Javi.

Louis landed on the ground in front of them with a groan. Clementine knelt beside him, helping him into a sitting position. Three pairs of footsteps echoed down the hall. They were alone.

“Lou…” Clem whispered, brushing back some hair from his face with her good hand. “You shouldn’t have come here…”

“I couldn’t leave you here alone.” Louis wrapped his arms around her tightly. “I thought they…”

“I’m okay.” She exhaled shakily, clinging to his coat. “I’m okay.” Louis laughed uneasily and kissed her forehead, snaking one hand into her hair.

“Clem?” Javi asked, an eyebrow raised. “Care to explain?”

Clem scooted back out of Louis’s arms, and cleared her throat shyly. “Louis, this is Javi and his nephew Gabe. I used to travel with them a few years ago. When AJ got taken from me, they helped me get him back. And Javi, this is Louis. My, uh…” She trailed off, unsure. What were they? They hadn’t exactly put a label on it yet.

“Boyfriend?” Javi supplied the word, a playful grin on his face. Gabe made an irritated noise in the back of his throat and turned away.

“Yessir.” Louis surprised Clem by answering. “Uh, well – kind of.”

“This wouldn’t happen to be the Louis you were talking about earlier?”

“You were talking about me? Clem, I’m touched!” Louis placed a hand on his heart, sending her a dopey grin.

Aasim’s voice cut in, annoyed. “As sweet as that is, you’re kind of forgetting that we’re imprisoned on a fucking boat.”

“Right.” Louis leapt to his feet, suddenly serious. “Our infallible escape plan-”

“-went out of the window when Minnie betrayed us.” Aasim interrupted. “Time for Plan B. Just get out of here before the bomb-“

“Whoa, bomb?” Gabe turned back, wide-eyed. “There’s a fucking bomb?”

“Willy.” Clem closed her eyes. “His idea, right?”

“But of course.” Louis grinned fondly. “He’s stationed outside with Tenn. They’re keeping a lookout. Ruby is tending to Omar back home. And James helped us, used his walkers as a distraction.”

“James is here?”

“I spoke to him,” AJ piped up, peeking out through a gap in the cell wall, “And convinced him to help. He said he couldn’t let them turn you into a murderer.”

“I’m sorry,” Gabe interjected, “Are we skipping over the fact that there’s a fucking bomb in here?”

“Gabe, cool it.” Javi hissed. “They obviously know what they’re doing.”

“The bomb is planted in the boiler room,” Violet spoke up suddenly, a dejected tone to her voice. “We don’t have much time. And they took our weapons…”

Clem sighed, looking around at the corridor. Her eyes fell on a metal bar, holding the other cell closed. Their cell must have been closed in the same way. If she had something to scratch away at the rough, worn material…

Clem searched her pockets, cursing when they came up empty. They must have taken her weapons on the way there. She turned to Javi and Gabe, an unspoken question in their eyes, and they both shook their heads. Great.

“AJ, do you still have your knife?” Clem demanded.

“Yeah, they didn’t find it. Only the big one.” The kid confirmed, showing it to her.

She smiled. “Good. I need you to slide it over to me.”

He did as he was told, sliding his knife through the small opening under their cell walls. Whoever had made this prison, they had done a messy job of it.

Clem snatched the shiv from the floor, inspecting its sharpness.

“Clem, what are you going to do with that?” Javi watched her cautiously.

“Look, these cells are only held closed by a metal bar.” She explained quickly. “If I can chip away at the welds on the door – it’s mostly old, rusted metal – I might be able to reach the bar and open the cell.”

Javi whistled, impressed. “Smart girl.”

Clem knelt by the door and began to bash the shiv against the welds. She heaved a sigh of relief as the metal began to chip off.

“Hey!” Something rattled the door and Clem jumped up, dropping the shiv.

Dorian stood on the other side; a disapproving look on her face. “Whatever you’re doing…don’t. I promise you, it ain’t worth it.”

“I’ll take it from here.” A familiar voice called. Clem gritted her teeth, annoyed.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Lilly came into view, a scowl on her face. “Where’s Abel?”

“He’s dead. We killed him.” AJ glared. “We put a knife in his head.”

“Fuck!” Lilly punched his cell door. “You little monster!”

“It was mercy.” Violet defended him. “He didn’t want to turn. We gave him what he wanted.”

Clem turned to Louis questioningly, who nodded.

“I’m sure you did,” Lilly muttered darkly. She turned back to Clem, pulling her gun out. “Back up. All of you.”

Heart in her throat, Clem did as she was told. Her foot bumped the shiv, and she kicked it under the meagre bed by the door. That could come in handy as a concealed weapon later.

“Minerva.” Lilly directed. “Open the door.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Normally, the trouble you caused,” Lilly began, entering the cell slowly, gun still trained on her prisoners, “I’d shoot you and toss you overboard.”

The four were backed up as far as they could be, huddled in the corner. Louis’s hand fumbled for Clem’s, and he grabbed it.

“But, I’m impressed.” Lilly continued. “First you organize these idiot kids into a fighting force and kill two of my most experienced soldiers. Then you sneak onto my boat under cover of a herd?” A note of incredulity entered her voice. “I bring a prize like you back to the Delta, it might make this whole clusterfuck of a mission worth it.”

“You should have never attacked us, Lilly.” Clem spat. “Your ‘mission’ was a bad idea from the start, and you failed.”

“And you’re still mouthing off, despite being in a cell. That’ll change.” Lilly studied the younger woman, a look of intrigue on her face. “You remember my father, Larry? He was a military man, and when I was a kid, he had all kinds of rules.” She sat on the bed. “The thing he hated most was waste. If I ever left a light on after leaving a room, he’d flip. No matter how many times he ranted to me about the cost of electricity, I could never remember to hit that switch.”

“So?”

“So one day he let our power get cut. He liked…illustrations. To show that actions have consequences.”

“I always hated your dad.” Clem scowled. “Right from the start, when he tried to throw Duck out of the drugstore that we were hiding in.”

“He never gave a damn what people thought of him. My father had his faults, but he showed me the effectiveness of teaching by example.”

Clem scoffed. “Oh, is that what this is? A lesson?” She took a step forward, and Minnie raised her crossbow. Aiming right for her forehead.

“Clem-” Louis fretted.

“Let me tell you a story. Call it…‘the parable of the twins’. Two girls were taken from their home, and brought to a new place to live.” Lilly announced. Clem’s eyes flitted to Minnie, who had started to look pale. “They had to leave their friends and family behind, and that was hard at first. They shed a lot of tears. But the new place was a good place. The people there grew corn and raised pigs, and the twins ate well for the first time in years. They had hot showers. Clean clothes. They were given clothes and trained to use them. The people there were kind to these girls. All that was asked in return was that they helped defend the group.”

“How generous.” Clem deadpanned.

“One of the girls saw that this was a place worth fighting for, and her tears dried.” Lilly continued. “But the other twin... she could never forget her old home. She rejected every gift, every opportunity. Stirred up trouble every chance she got. She convinced her sister to help her steal a raft and leave on the river. Of course, they didn't get far. What happened then, Minerva?”

Minnie hesitated, the slightest tremble in her hands holding the crossbow, and she closed her eyes.

“I killed her.”

“What the fuck?” Aasim jolted.

“M-Minnie?” Louis stuttered.

“Minnie, no…” Violet faltered, her voice cracking. She grabbed a bar on the door. “Tell me it’s not true.”

“Dios Mio.” Javi shook his head, stunned. He didn’t know these girls, but…he couldn’t imagine himself ever betraying David in such a way. To turn on your own sibling like that…

“Your own sister? Why would you do that?” Lilly kept her eyes trained on Clementine.

“She was twisting my head with her lies.” Minnie recited the words as though she was reading them from a book. Wooden. Emotionless.

“And?”

“I made a mistake.” Minnie’s voice became distressed. “I needed to show my loyalty to the place I call home.”

“What have you done to her head, you fucking psychotic bitch!” Violet screamed from the other cell. She slammed her hand into the door. “You’re evil. You’re fucking evil!”

“Like it or not, you’re one of my people now, Clem,” Lilly claimed. “The question is…which twin are you going to be?”

“I’ll be the one who breaks out at night and cuts your throat while you sleep,” Clem vowed.

A flash of fury crossed Lilly’s face before she replaced it with a grim smile. “Kind of what I expected you to say. But you’ll see I’m not kidding around.” She turned to Dorian. “Pull the mouthy one out of the cell. They clearly didn’t get the moral of the story.”

Dorian opened the cell, advancing on Violet.

“Stop!” AJ put himself between the two, bravely standing off against the older woman. “Don’t hurt Violet. Or I’ll hurt you.”

“You better cool it or you’re gonna get yourself hurt.” Dorian threatened, grabbing Violet.

“What the fuck? No! Get off of me!” Violet struggled as they dragged her out. Dorian pushed her to the ground, pinning her down with her knee.

“Stay still.” Dorian urged through her teeth, brandishing a cleaver and holding Violet’s wrist in place.

“Shit! Fuck you, no!” Vi screamed.

“Violet!” Louis called, petrified. He made a move towards her, but Lilly aimed her gun at him. He stood back.

Clem stood frozen, unsure of what to do. She caught some movement at the corner of her eye. While Lilly and Minnie were pointing their weapons at Clem, Louis, Javi and Gabe, their attention wasn’t focused on the true threat – AJ, who was creeping up behind Dorian. He hesitated, catching Clem’s eye. Should I take the risk, his eyes were asking, or do I let it happen?

Clem nodded.

AJ leapt onto Dorian’s back, wrapping his arms around her neck and latching his teeth onto her ear. Dorian screamed in pain, reeling backwards and knocking him off. He landed roughly on the floor with a grunt.

“AJ!” Clem yelped. The little boy sat up and spat a bloody lump out of his mouth. With a queasy turning in her stomach, Clem realised that he’d bitten off a chunk of her ear.

“Son of a bitch!” Dorian roared, kicking him square in the chest. AJ rolled backwards with her kick, letting out a pained noise as he banged into the radiator.

“No, stop!” Clem pleaded, running forward until Minnie held her back with her crossbow. Clem could only watch in horror as AJ clutched his face, looking so small and vulnerable it made her heart stop.

“That’s enough.” Lilly snapped.

“He bit me!” Dorian blurted like a petulant child.

“I said, that’s enough!”

“You deserve to die.” AJ sat up, panting. “We’ll kill you!”

Lilly finally turned away, advancing on the little boy. Seeing her chance, Clem tried to follow. But Minnie was still there, crossbow at the ready.

“You think you can kill me?” Lilly challenged.

“I know I can!” AJ insisted, squaring himself up. But he was still only a boy of five years old. “We’ll throw you in the river! Or we’ll put a knife right to the side of your head!”

“Big talk for a little guy.” Lilly goaded, calm.

“I know I can do it. I killed Marlon!” AJ clenched his fists. Louis flinched and he swore under his breath. “He wasn’t a monster. But you are.” AJ mimed holding a gun and aiming straight for Lilly’s head. “Bang.”

Lilly knelt down, intrigued. “So you killed Marlon. Huh. I bet you’d make a great soldier.”

Clem’s breath caught in her throat. “AJ, listen to me.” She urged. “Don’t talk to her, okay? She’s a monster.”

“Clem seems to care a lot about you.” Lilly taunted. She stood back up. “Come on. Let’s go have a chat. Just us.” She grabbed him by the wrist.

“Don’t you fucking touch him!” Clem screamed as Minnie swung the door shut on them. She punched the door with her injured hand, ignoring the pain shooting up her wrist. “No, please!”

“Clementine!” AJ cried out as he was dragged down the hallway.

“Keep an eye on her, Minerva,” Lilly instructed.

“Lilly, don’t!” Clem pleaded.

“Get this thing moving. I want to be far away from this place, fast.” Lilly ordered.

“I’ll start the boiler.” Dorian nodded.

And then they were gone.

Clementine turned to Minnie, fury in her eyes.

“Don’t.” Minnie hissed. “Don’t you dare look at me like that. This is the only way we survive.”

“Who are you?” Violet burst out. Minnie turned around, prepared to defend herself. “Fuck survival. Look at what the fuck you’ve done!”

“The knife.” Louis hissed, and Clem ran to the bed, fingers closing around AJ’s shiv.

“Minnie, please. I just wanna talk to you.” Violet appealed. “I’m sorry we never looked for you or Sophie. I’m sorry we trusted that fucker, Marlon…”

She continued feeding Minnie sickly sweet nothings – Clem caught her eye and saw a harshness that didn’t match up with her words. Clever, Vi.

While Minnie’s attention was now completely focused on her ex-girlfriend, Clem resumed knocking at the welds on the door. She sighed with relief as they fell to the ground, leaving her free to push the hastily placed boards out of the way, and unlock the door from the inside.

Clem retreated as Minnie turned towards her. “This is the only way!” She insisted, eyes bulging. “Lay down, stay in line, or you die. The people you love die!” She began to approach Clem. “If you just do what they say, you can live. All of you.”

Clem rammed the door open, knocking into Minnie and pushing her to the ground.

“Nice one, Clementine!” Gabe enthused, awed.

Minnie began to get up, and Javi pushed her back down to the ground, holding her there despite her protests. Louis picked up her crossbow, shuddering at the weight in his hands.

Clem unlocked the other door, letting Violet and Aasim out.

“Are you two okay?” She asked frantically.

Violet wrapped one arm around her in a hasty side-hug. “We’re fine. They didn’t hurt us.” Violet’s eyes lingered on Minnie’s struggling body, and her face softened for a brief second before she turned away, unable to bear looking at her. Javi gritted his teeth as he pushed the younger girl into one of the cells, locking her in.

“You know…” He began, catching Clem’s eye with a grin. “When you said AJ would kill anyone who threatened you, I didn’t think you meant it.”

“What do we do with…” Aasim gestured to Minnie.

“Leave her.” Violet snapped, her face twisting into a furious expression.

“Vi, are you sure?” Aasim peered at her worriedly. “I mean…it’s Minnie.”

“That’s not the Minnie I loved. That’s a stranger.”

“Vi!” Minnie begged. “You can’t leave me here!”

Violet squeezed her eyes shut. “You’ll just come after us. I won’t put Tenn through that.”

"Violet!"

Louis swore. “Okay, fuck, just…come on, we have to go.” He ushered them towards the end of the corridor. “If that woman has started the boiler, the bomb will go off any minute.”

Clem hesitated. “You go ahead.” She told him. “I have to find AJ. Alone.”

Louis blinked at her, wide-eyed with horror. “I’m not leaving you!”

“You have to.” She emphasized. “I’ll be fine.”

Louis’s face crumpled. “Clem…”

She shook her head and kissed him. The sweet moment lasted all too long and yet not long enough, at the same time. “Go.” She repeated against his lips. “I’ll meet you onshore.”

He pulled away reluctantly. “You better. I will kill you if you die.” He joked half-heartedly, giving her a gentle half-smile, and pushed Minnie’s crossbow into her hands. “You’re better with bows than I am.” She smiled back softly. And she was off.

She ran up the stairs, crossbow in her hand, and climbed a ladder, poking her head over cautiously and ducking down with a whispered curse when she saw Lilly and AJ, the former hauling the latter along. He wasn’t hurt, luckily, besides a single gash on his cheek. More importantly, Lilly hadn’t seen her. She watched as Lilly carted AJ along the deck, and began to follow, ducking behind crates so she wasn’t spotted.

“Ma’am!” A soldier called to Lilly. “Found one more sneaking over the docks.”

Clem watched in horror as the soldier brandished a petrified Tenn. “Fuck.” She whispered.

“Tennessee!” Lilly jeered. “Did you get lost?”

“He wasn’t alone, ma’am.” The soldier informed her. Clem edged closer and cursed again when she saw what appeared to be a walker sat against the crate. James. They pulled off his mask, and he winced. Had they hurt him?

“No wonder there were so many walkers.” Lilly noted. “Must have thought you were clever, leading those walkers here.”

“You don’t fucking scare me.” James swore at her, his soft voice dripping with malice.

“Is that so?” Lilly smirked. She turned to her soldier. “Kill it.”

“No!” AJ wailed. As the soldier aimed her shotgun at James’s head, Tenn ran forward and grabbed her pistol from her holster.

“Easy there, Tenn!” Lilly cautioned.

“Don’t hurt him!” Tenn trembled, switching between people to aim at. “Just…stop hurting people. Please.”

“Shoot her!” AJ urged. James began to protest and struggle to his knees, and the soldier aimed at him again.

“Stop hurting my friends!” Tenn pleaded.

“Put the gun down, Tenn!” Lilly commanded. Tenn walked towards her, gun still trained on her.

The soldier aimed for the back of his head, walking closer and closer towards him, but stopped when a crossbow bolt passed through her skull.

“What the fuck?” Lilly swore.

Clem stepped out from her hiding place. “Tenn!” She called, keeping the crossbow aimed on Lilly. “It’s okay. Drop the gun.”

“Clem!” AJ’s eyes welled up.

“How the fuck did you get out?” Lilly sputtered.

“Maybe next time you shouldn’t assign a soldier so…easily distracted.” Clem spat.

“Minerva-“ Lilly’s eyes widened.

“Minnie!” Tenn gasped. “Is she…?”

“She’s alive, Tenn,” Clem reassured him, approaching Lilly. “Which is more than I can say for her.”

“Clem – wait.” Fear flitted across Lilly’s face. “Don’t…I don’t want to die. I’ll leave you alone. I swear, we won’t come back for you.”

“Clementine,” James cautioned. “She’s surrendering.”

“You don’t know her like I do, James.” Clem shook her head. “She has to die.”

“Please.” Lilly begged. “I swear, I won’t come after you.”

“Clem.” James pleaded. “Just let her go. Be the bigger person.”

As Clem’s finger gently pressed on the trigger, she stopped. She’d killed so many people before, but…this felt different. Lilly was the last link to her original group – to Lee. She was surrendering. Her lackeys were dead. Clem instinctively lowered the crossbow.

Lilly saw the hesitation in her eyes and her face twisted. She seized the shotgun the soldier dropped and aimed for Clem.

“No!” AJ shrieked.

Bang.

Lilly collapsed to the floor, blood leaking through a hole in her forehead.

“What…” Clem turned to the source of the gunshot. “Tenn?”

The preteen stood there, staring at this pistol in his hand with a look of sheer terror. He dropped it, as though it had burned him.

“I…I didn’t mean to…” Tears flowed down his face. “She was going to hurt you, and…”

“Tenn,” Clem knelt. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not, I…I…”

“We need to go, Tenn. Now. The ship is going to blow up.”

He turned his frightened eyes up to hers, frozen to the spot. “I…”

“Tenn!” AJ grabbed his arm and tugged. “C’mon, now!”

Something about the plea in his friend’s voice steeled his nerves, and Tenn nodded.

“The ladder is over there!” James called. “Quick!” He made sure the others got down first, and jumped down after them.

“We have to run.” Clem commanded, “As fast as we can.”

As they sprinted along the pier, they heard a metallic clang behind them. Clem looked over her shoulder.

And then the world went dark.

Her ears were ringing, her wrist ached, and her chest – she couldn’t breathe. All she saw and felt was smoke.

Am I dead? She wondered. Did I really come this far only to die in a stupid fucking explosion?

Her eyes struggled to focus as a shadowed figure approached her.

“Lee?” She mumbled, her voice ragged. Her head swam, the figure blurring before her eyes…until the ringing in her ears stopped, and she heard the bloodthirsty groans. Saw the shamble in its walk.

“Shit.” She feebly lifted her head. “No…!”

The walker reached out for her, opening its bloody maw wide…and fell to the ground. Louis appeared behind it, a bloodstained rock in his hands, which he tossed to the side when he saw her lying there.

“Lou…”

“Clem!” He fell to his knees beside her, clutching her close to him. His shoulders shook, a sob bursting from somewhere deep in his chest. “Thank god, you…I…I thought…”

“I’m okay.” She exhaled, pulling herself into a sitting position. He helped her to her feet, clutching her hand like a lifeline. “I’m okay.”

He stared at her like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“I thought I lost you.” He breathed.

She smiled at him. “Only for a minute.”

“Longest damn minute of my life.” He shook his head wonderingly. “I’m starting to think you’re immortal.” She laughed and kissed him fiercely. His arms encircled her, squeezing her tightly. “God, I missed you.” He whispered against her lips.

“I missed you too.” She kissed him again, quicker this time. “Where’s AJ?”

“He’s fine, he’s with the others. In a clearing further down.” Louis buried his face into the curve between her neck and shoulder. “We should probably…”

“Head home.” Clem finished his sentence.

“Yeah…” Louis grinned at her. “Home.”

“Clem!” AJ’s face lit up when he saw them approach through the trees, holding hands. He barrelled towards her, hugging her tight round the waist. “I thought you were…”

“I’m fine.” Clem promised, wondering how many more times she’d have to say it. She counted the people in front of her, pleased to see everyone was alive and safe. “How’s Tenn doing?” She asked, catching a glimpse of the slouching boy out of the corner of her eye.

AJ’s face dropped. “Not great.”

“Wait, what happened to Tenn?” A worried look crossed Louis’s face. “Is he hurt?”

“He’s not hurt.” Clem reassured him. She detangled her hand from Louis’s and approached the younger boy. “Tenn?”

He looked up at her, eyes wide. “Clementine!” He croaked. “I didn’t…I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay, kiddo.” She knelt beside him. “You did the right thing.”

“But she’s dead!” Tenn shook his head wildly. “I didn’t mean to kill her!”

“And if it weren’t for you, she’d have killed me.” Clem insisted. “You saw the way she had that gun pointed at me. She’d have shot me without hesitation if you didn’t get to her first.”

“What happened?” Violet crossed her arms, concerned.

“He shot Lilly,” Clem explained, “She manipulated me into hesitating, and then tried to shoot me when I did. Tenn stepped up and protected me.”

“James said not to kill her!” Tenn agonized.

“I…did, but…” James paused. “You…did the right thing. She was going to kill Clementine.”

“But you said…”

“I thought she was surrendering, but she was playing a dirty trick on us.” James hesitated and patted Tenn’s shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Where’s Minnie?” Tenn agitated. “I thought she was alive.”

“I…” Violet bit her lip. “I don’t think she made it off the boat.” She lied.

Tenn’s eyes welled up with tears and he fell into Violet’s arms, sobbing softly.

“Clem.” Javi approached her solemnly. “You got a sec?”

“Of course.” She followed him to the other side of the small clearing they were in. “Is everything…okay?”

“We have to go. Me and Gabe.”

Clem cocked her head. “Go where?”

“Back to Richmond.” He clarified. “The Frontier need us. We have to protect ourselves for if the Delta come back for us. I’m sorry we’re leaving so soon, but-“

“I understand.” She interjected. “Go. Give Eleanor and Conrad my love.”

“Will do.” Javi grinned at her. “Sure you don’t want to come with us this time?”

Clem looked back at her people. “I’m sorry, Javi. I have my family.”

“Take care of them.” Javi told her. “Family is important.”

“You, too.” She said softly, and then raised her voice. “Hey, Gabe?”

The older boy, who was lingering a few paces away, turned to her. “Yeah?” He said gruffly.

She surprised him by walking over and hugging him. “I’ll see you around.” She kissed his cheek. “Take care, Gabe.”

“Uh-I…” He spluttered. “Y-yeah. You too.”

“I’ll miss you, Javi.” She hugged the baseball player tightly. “If you need it, there’s always a space here for you.”

“The same goes for you, too.” He promised. “Look after yourself, mija. Visit, if you get the chance. We’ll all be glad to see you.”
As she watched her old friends disappear into the forest, Clem heaved a sigh.

Louis lightly touched her shoulder. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” She said quietly. “I’ll just…miss them. Didn’t realise how much I already did until seeing them yesterday.”

“Should I be jealous?” He teased. “You and that Gabe dude looked pretty close there.”

“Ha, ha.” She deadpanned. “Not anymore. We kind of had a thing going on a few years ago, but…” She shrugged and gave him a wicked grin. “I prefer guys with more personality.”

He laughed. “Well, I’m glad to hear that.” He kissed the side of her head. “We should get going.”

“To Ericsons?” Clem asked.

Louis nodded. “To Ericsons.”

Chapter Text

It wasn’t easy at first.

Even the simple things were tough – he couldn’t even eat on his own, to begin with, too worried that he’d choke on even the smallest of bites. He never wanted to relive that humiliation - Clem gently coaxing spoonful after spoonful of stew into his mouth as he struggled to make his way through even a single bowl.

“I know it’s hard, Lou,” she pleaded, “But you need to eat. You’re killing yourself.”

It was true. He’d always been a lean kid – even before the walkers – but now the skin just hung off of his bones. He could count his ribs in the mirror. And his face...he looked like a skeleton. Or a particularly fresh walker.

And he tried to eat, for her. Forced down mouthfuls of burning hot stew. He never had the appetite, but it was worth it just to see the relief on her face. She never told him, but he knew she was genuinely terrified for him.

He was grateful to her for keeping him away from the others when that was happening. She'd sit with him in his room, telling the others to stay outside, to give him some privacy. He didn’t want them to see him like this...so helpless. So useless.

And while he’d ribbed Omar before for making the same stew every day – as if he had a choice – he soon realised he would give anything just to taste it again. To tell the younger boy that he was doing a fantastic job at keeping everyone fed and happy. Or just to be able to tell in general.

As much as everyone claimed to be annoyed by his voice while he still had it, he knew they missed it. His laugh, echoing round the music room. His jokes, his boisterous attitude. Never again would he sing ‘My Darling Clementine’ to the girl he loved, or annoy Violet just to see that exaggerated eye-roll that kept him going. He’d never call AJ ‘little dude’ again, or tease Ruby and Aasim’s newfound romance.

But the worst thing by far happened two weeks after the Delta’s attack, eight months prior. At this point, he was still prone to bleeding from the stump where his tongue once was, not quite healed yet, and he didn’t know how to control his spittle yet. He would often idly touch his face just to find drool running blood-red down his chin.

It almost killed him, that night.

eight months ago

Clementine’s crutches tapped as she painstakingly walked along the hallway, louder than she hoped she would. At times like these, she often couldn’t sleep. Plagued with memories of the walker that bit her. Wondering what everyone would have said if AJ had come home without her, covered in blood and guts with tears streaming down his little face. Remembering the white-hot pain that seared through her leg when AJ brought the axe down. Again and again. It hadn’t come off in one blow.

She hated to risk waking everyone up, but she just had to move. If she spent too much time in bed with nothing to distract her, her mind would settle on the phantom pain that plagued her missing limb, with no relief. She’d wasted a quarter of the already limited painkillers that they had on hand. They couldn’t afford to use any more, not until the next supply run – which, a bitter voice in her head whispered, you can’t go on. Aasim and Violet are picking up the slack for you.

She sighed, slowing to a halt. No, these thoughts of self-loathing wouldn’t do. She had people who needed her. She knew that AJ and Louis relied on her to be strong.

Clem turned as soft footsteps sounded behind her, and smiled when she saw who it was.

“Hey, girl,” She cooed softly as Rosie padded to her side. She carefully leant down to give the dog a scratch under the chin. “You can’t sleep either?”

Rosie whined and tugged at Clem’s sleeve. Clem frowned.

“What is it, girl?”

Rosie let go and barked quietly, urgency in her tone. She began to scurry down the corridor, and stopped at the door leading to the dorms, turning back, and barking again, slightly louder this time. She wants me to follow her, Clem realised.

Clem trailed after her cautiously. The dog led her down the hallway, sitting outside Louis’s room and whining again.

“Louis?” Clem furrowed her brow. “Rosie, what are you trying to tell…”

She trailed off as she reached his door, stopping short as she strained to hear the noises coming from inside.

Her blood ran cold. She stumbled, barely managing to keep upright.

It sounded like…choking. Like…a walker.

“Oh, god, no.” She clapped a hand to her mouth.

Rosie whined sadly.

“Louis?” Clem knocked on his door, panic entering her voice. “Lou…?”

She waited for a moment, her head spinning. He didn’t open the door. But she didn’t hear any sign of a scuffle either. No…scratching at the door. She wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not.

She cautiously drew her knife from the waistband of her pyjama pants, fumbling with her crutches – the others always teased her for being overly cautious with concealed weapons, but she’d been attacked in her sleep before. Never again.

“Louis, I’m…I’m coming in.” She gritted her teeth, her vision blurring as tears formed in her eyes. “Please…please be alive. Please.”

She gently opened the door, bracing herself for the worst.

“Lou?”

Nothing attacked her when the door swung open. Louis was lying in bed on his back, writhing, as a horrible gagging noise ripping from his throat.

“Oh my god, Louis!” She dropped her knife, limping to his side on her crutches and falling to her knees, grabbing his hand. “What happened?”

Louis shook his head, clawing at his throat and retching. His face was a sickening shade of blue. When he opened his mouth, Clem could see thick blood, black in the moonlight shining through the window, coating his gums and lips.

“I…I need to get Ruby.” Clem stammered frantically. “I need to…”

She hauled herself up, cursing loudly as she struggled to stay balanced.

“Rosie, stay,” She ordered desperately, her voice cracking. “Stay with him.” Rosie settled at the foot of his bed, eyes glued to Louis’s fragile, convulsing form.

Clem limped down the corridor, down to the very last door – Ruby’s room. It was only a short walk, but it felt like years as Clem stumbled, twisting her ankle. She swore – “stupid, useless fucking leg!” – and dragged herself upright, pounding on Ruby’s door.

“Ruby!” She called urgently, tears flowing freely.

“Clem…?” The red-haired girl opened the door, blinking blearily. Her eyes widened as she took in her friend's shaking, weeping form. “Whoa, are you okay, shug? Is it your leg?”

Clem shook her head wildly. “It’s Louis!” She broke down into further sobs. “I think he’s…he’s choking on something.”

“Fuck.” Ruby shook herself awake, all business. “Right. Okay, take a deep breath, hon. Where is he?”

“In his bed.” Clem shivered, inhaling sharply. “I was taking a walk and Rosie led me to his door…I heard gagging noises and I…I thought…!”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Ruby wrapped an arm around her, helping her stumble down the hallway to Louis’s room. She winced as she heard the gagging noises that Clem had talked about. “We’ve gotta stay calm, alright? We’re not doin’ him any favours by panicking.”

Clem bit back a retort. Arguing wouldn’t help either.

When they reached Louis’s room, Ruby left Clem in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe.

“Hey, Louis.” Ruby knelt by the head of his bed. His eyes – wide, frightened, bloodshot – caught hers, and she suppressed the worry that rose in her throat. “You’re gonna be fine, okay?” Ruby promised, not allowing her uncertainty to show. She gently guided him into lying on his side, unfazed at the blood that dribbled from his mouth and soaked into the mattress. She looked up at Clem. “Stay with him a sec, would you? I’m going to wake up Aasim to give me a hand.”

“I can help.” Clem insisted.

“With the way you’re shaking? I don’t think so. Stay with him, shug. He needs you. I won’t be a second.”

Clem heaved herself forward, sitting on the edge of his bed. Her hand fumbled for his, clutching it tightly.

“You’re gonna be okay,” She whispered like a mantra, wincing every time he let out another pained retch. “You’re gonna be fine.”

Two long minutes later, Ruby returned, Aasim in tow. Aasim was carrying some of their precious water bottles in a dingy bucket from the supply cupboard. “Clem, I think you should…”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She cut in. “I’m not.” She argued when Ruby opened her mouth to object.

Ruby sighed. “Fine, just…don’t get in the way, alright?”

“What’s wrong with him, Ruby? What happened?”

“It looks like he started choking on his own blood while he was sleeping. We should have seen this coming, what with his tongue always bleeding, but…I guess that’s why they say hindsight is everything.” Ruby shook her head and knelt by Louis’s side. “He’ll be okay.”

Clem watched as Aasim and Ruby got to work, talking in hushed voices. Louis looked so vulnerable...

Please be okay, she thought, focusing on the pressure of his trembling hand in hers. I can’t lose you, too.

Aasim removed the water bottles from the bucket, pushing it across the floor to the top of the bed.

Ruby leaned over Louis and pulled him forward, so he was hanging off of the bed and hovering over the bucket. She hit his back with her fist a couple of times, scrunching her face with disgust as he coughed out more ropes of clotted blood into the bucket.

“Here,” Aasim brandished a water-bottle, handing it to Louis. “Rinse your mouth out with this.”

Louis did as he was told and spat the water into the bucket, shuddering when he saw how red it was. He retched, bile rising in his throat.

“Easy, easy,” Ruby cautioned, patting his back again. “Throw up, if you have to. But don’t force yourself.”

Louis leaned over the bucket, eyes closed. He exhaled shakily and sat back against the headboard, covering his face with one hand, ashamed. Ruby caught Clem’s eye.

“Are we okay to leave you here?” She asked. Clem nodded. “Make sure he doesn’t sleep on his back, okay? And make sure he drinks some water. I’ll leave a clean bottle here.”

“I got it.” Clem’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank you, both.”

“Wake me up if you have any more issues.” Ruby hugged Clementine goodnight, Aasim patted her shoulder, and they left her alone with Louis.

Louis took a deep breath, closing his eyes slowly. When he opened them, he gave Clem a feeble, almost sheepish half-smile. Sorry for troubling you, his eyes told her.

She stared at him, eyes wide. “I thought you died.” Her lip trembled. Her eyes began to well up. “I thought you – you died in your sleep, and those sounds were…I thought you had turned.”

Louis weakly opened his arms, inviting her in. She sighed shakingly, lying down next to him and melting into his side. His arms encircled her, pulling her close, and he burrowed his head into her neck, his breath misting on her neck.

“Don’t you dare do that to me ever again,” She told him. “I really believed that I lost you. Or that I was going to lose you. Promise me.”

He pulled back and traced a cross over his heart, shaking his head. I promise. Rosie, who had been sat patiently at his feet the whole time, woofed softly and nudged the mound where his feet were under the blanket.

“Good,” Clem closed her eyes, tired, and rested her forehead against his chest, tucking her head under his chin. “You’re never sleeping alone again.”

Chapter Text

It’s at dinner one day when AJ asks the question. 

The Ericsson kids are all sat around the table, enjoying the peace and the warm summer breeze. The idle chatter, the relaxed banter, Louis’s hand secretly clasped in hers under the table…Clementine can’t remember the last time she was this happy.

AJ looks up. “Louis?”

“What’s up, little dude?” Louis grins at the kid, who is stirring his stew idly.

“I’ve been wondering…why do you have a thingy scratched on your piano?” AJ asks, wiping his mouth on his sleeve, a perplexed look on his face.

Ruby furrows her brow. “A thingy? What do you mean, a thingy?”

“Yeah, like…” AJ hovers his finger in the air and traces the shape. “Like this, and it has letters scratched inside too. I can’t read them, though.”

“A heart?” Aasim crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows. He looks at Louis, who is suddenly extremely interested in the wooden table. “You have a heart carved on your piano?” Ruby claps a hand to her mouth, giggling, and glances at Clementine, who is also feigning disinterest.

“That’s a really good question, AJ.” Violet says enthusiastically, shooting Louis a shit-eating grin. “Why do you have a heart carved on your piano, Louis?”

Louis coughs, bright red in the face. “Well, I…uh…you know. Reasons.”

“Holy shit!” Willy cackles, clapping his hands in amusement. “Louis is in luuuurve!”

Louis turns to Clementine, who has gone possibly even pinker than him. “Clem, give me a hand here.” He pleads.

“You’re on your own.” She tells him, quashing her own embarrassment, and squeezes his hand under the table. “Sorry.”

“Clem!” Louis whines.

“Uh, no, he’s not.” Ruby holds up a hand to stop her. “Hold on, lovebirds. Since when has this been a thing?”

“Lovebirds?” Clem snorts. “You’re one to talk, Rubes!”

“At least Aasim and I were open about the fact we were dating!” Ruby throws her hands up in mock exasperation, laughing. “You sneaky fuckers!”

“In our defence,” Clem begins, “We weren’t that sneaky. You just didn’t notice.”

“Like fuck you weren’t!” Ruby insists. “Fuck, everyone could tell Louis was head-over-heels for you, but we didn’t think you felt the same about him!”

“Wow, um…ouch?” Louis furrows his eyebrows, faux wounded. “That hurt, Rubes!”

Aasim rests his face in his hands, incredulously mumbling, “I can’t believe this jackass actually has a girlfriend.”

“I mean, no offence, Lou, it’s just…” Violet shrugs. “You’re…you know, you. And Clem is an absolute badass, so…”

“Is this ‘Everyone-Bullies-Louis Day’?” Louis shakes his head. “I’m wounded. I truly, truly am. And you…” He turns to Clem, pointing at her with false betrayal in his tone, “Aren’t you going to defend your poor boyfriend?”

“Eh,” Clem shrugs and grins at him. “I could, but…”

“Great,” Louis crosses his arms, trying to look angry but failing. He laughs. “Thanks, babe.”

“Gross.” Violet remarks.

“You’re gross,” Louis counters childishly.

“I don’t get it.” AJ frowns. “Is this like when I saw you two kissing?”

Ruby collapses in peals of laughter. “Did you, now?”

“Yup.” AJ nods. “When we went to save Violet, Aasim, and Omar from the boat. Louis was really worried and distracted, so he told Clem to slap him, and she kissed him instead.”

“Kinky.” Violet snickers.

“Fuck off.” Louis groans, slouching and covering his face. “You guys are the worst.”

“And then again later when they were saying goodbye, he kissed her again for good luck.” AJ giggles as Louis slouches even further, letting out an even more exaggerated whine.

”Clem and Louis, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Ruby sings playfully. AJ blinks at her, confused.

”Ruby!” Clem sighs. Louis grabs her hand again, stroking his thumb over her knuckles reassuringly.

“Hey, I think it’s sweet,” Omar assures the pair, holding back a laugh.

“I can’t believe you carved a heart into your piano.” Willy shakes his head. “You love that thing.”

“Uh, blame her!” Louis protests, pointing at Clem. “I only carved my initial into it and told her to do the same. She did the heart.”

“Clem did the heart?” Ruby raises her eyebrows. “I didn’t see that coming.”

Clem blushes. “Yeah, um…I did do that.”

“Who knew you were such a romantic?” Violet teases her. “And to think I thought you were an asshole when I first met you.”

“That’s exactly what I told her when she confessed her crush on me,” Louis exclaims. “I told her that I thought it was more likely that she’d stab me in my sleep than ever like me back.”

“Am I really that bad?” Clem inquires.

“You’re lovely,” Louis reassures her, chuckling, and kisses her nose. “You’re just intimidating. Despite, you know. Being so tiny and cute.”

“Watch it,” Clem warns half-heartedly, smiling at him. “I will fight you.”

“Oh, I know you will. And I will lose.” He tells her, completely serious. “You terrify me.”

Clem laughs and wraps her arms around him, leaning her head onto his shoulder. “Good.”

Willy scrunches his nose. “Ew. First, we have to deal with Ruby and Aasim, now you two as well? Gross.”

Louis reaches across the table and ruffles the boy’s hair. “You won’t think it’s so gross when you’re older.”

“How long has this even been a thing?” Ruby asks with interest.

“Since the day of the attack. When Louis was on ‘piano duty’.”  Clem clarifies, using air quotes around the last two words. She catches Louis’s eye and smiles, remembering the day clearly. The song. The teasing. The confession. The kiss.

“You blew off checking our defences with me…to go and make out with Louis?” Violet shakes her head in mock disappointment.

“Not specifically for that.” Clem deflects, blushing. “It just…kind of turned out that way.”

“Sure it did.” Violet gives her a slight smile. “I’m not mad if you did, you know. I’m happy for you. You’re a good match.”

“You think so?” Clem raises her eyebrows.

“I mean…” Violet shrugs. “He makes you laugh. And he’s not nearly as annoying since he met you.”

“I am still here, you know,” Louis interjects.

“We can tell.” Aasim rolls his eyes, but his voice is lacking his usual bite. He's joking, for once in his life. “It’s almost as if you don’t shut up.”

“Aasim, you wound me.” Louis whines. “I thought we were friends, dude.”

Clem laughs and kisses her boyfriend – much to AJ and Willy’s disgust, and Violet and Ruby’s amusement. The chatter continues as the sun gets lower and lower in the sky. Clem leans into Louis's side, ignoring the jeers from their family, and she smiles.

She’s home.

Chapter Text

“So…” As they walk along the forest path, AJ kicks a rock into the trees. “What is a caravan, anyway?”

“I keep forgetting that you were born after all this.” Louis sighs, Chairles resting on his shoulder. “A caravan is like a car, but bigger, and there’s furniture inside. Like a fridge, and a bed, and stuff.”

“Would people live in them?”

Louis shrugs. “Sometimes. Mostly they were used for camping, though.”

“People used to camp before?” AJ frowns. “Why would they do that if they had houses with working electricity?”

“People used to camp for fun,” Louis explains, “As a way to get away from the real world. Go back to our primitive roots, and all that.”

“For fun?” AJ puzzles on that for a second, marvelling at the fact that something he was raised on out of necessity was once considered a novelty. “Did you ever camp for fun?”

Louis snorts. “Oh yeah. We had the swankiest caravan known to man. It had a working bathroom and a flatscreen TV.”

“Will this caravan be the same?”

“I doubt it, little dude.” Louis shakes his head. “We were rich. We could afford swanky caravans. Most people couldn’t. Fuck, I used to beg my dad just to try camping in a tent once. But he wouldn’t even hear of it. It was too dirty, too uncomfortable – what, did I think we were lower-class or something?” Louis scoffs in an imitation of his father. “My old man liked to keep up his appearances, that’s for sure.”

“Do you think these people will be friendly?” AJ asks.

“Only one way to find out.” Louis’s ears catch the soft noises of chatter, and he slows down, holding a hand out to stop AJ. “I think we’re there.”

AJ readies his gun.

“Whoa, steady.” Louis hisses. “We don’t know if they’re dangerous yet. We don’t want to make them think we’re looking for a fight.”

“Right.” AJ lowers his gun, looking abashed, but keeps hold of it anyway.

They cautiously step out of the trees. Louis raises his unoccupied hand, keeping a tight grip on Chairles just in case.

“Hey, there.” He greets apprehensively. One of the people in the group – the girl, there are two guys as well – whips around, immediately drawing her gun.

“Who are you?”

“Easy, I’m not here to hurt you,” Louis promises.

“Drop your weapons, then.” One of the guys tells him.

“You got it.” He drops Chairles and turns to AJ. “Drop your gun, little dude.”

AJ purses his lips, unsure, but does it anyway.

“You trust a kid with a gun?” The guy asks incredulously. The other guy – younger, with glasses – stays silent, watching Louis and AJ with mistrusting eyes. “A kid that little?”

“Blame his adoptive mom,” Louis jokes, “I told her the same thing when I first met them. He’s mostly harmless, though.”

The girl relaxes slightly, but still looks cautious. “What do you want with us?” She asks in a thick southern twang. “We’re not doing anyone any harm.”

“We know,” Louis holds his hands up in surrender. “We just heard that there were survivors near our community, and thought we’d scope you out. Offer an agreement, of sorts.”

“You’ve scoped us, now leave.” The guy tells him. “We don’t want any trouble.”

“Look, they’re kids.” The girl says uncertainly. “How dangerous could they be? Maybe we could…?”

“No. We’ve seen first-hand how dangerous kids can be,” The guy argues. “Or have you forgotten…?”

The girl sighs. “She wasn’t dangerous. The only dangerous thing about her was the fact that she could shoot, and that she had bad role-models. She was a sweet kid.”

“The answer is still no. We can’t afford to trust anyone else. And we have a mission, don’t forget.”

“Look, uh…” Louis coughs. “I’m Louis, and this is AJ.”

Something flickers in the girl’s face – recognition? Confusion? – but she smothers it. “Well, it was swell to meet you and all, but…we’d like to be left alone. We’ve met too many evil people to trust anyone else.”

“So have we. I understand. But if you change your mind…” Louis shrugs. “We’ve got a community up the way. Ericsons.”

The girl perks up. “Ericsons? Like, the school for troubled youth?”

“Uh, yeah?” Louis frowns. “How do you know it?”

“I need you to take me there.”

“What?” Louis shakes his head. “Whoa, why?”

“Please.” She begs. “Take me to the school. I’ve been looking for it for six years. I need you to take me.”

And he can’t tell why – maybe the tears brimming in her eyes, maybe the desperation in her voice – but he nods uncertainly. “Okay.”

“So,” Ruby peers at the map, tracing the mark where the caravan is supposed to be. “What do you think these people will be like?”

Most of the remaining Ericson kids are crowded around the map, planning what to do next, while Aasim sits guard.

Clem shrugs. “Hopefully good. I’ve had enough fighting.”

“There has to be at least one friendly community out there.” Ruby purses her lips. “They can’t all be bad.”

“Yeah…” Clem sighs. “You’d think so, but the end of the world kind of brought out the worst in people.”

“I think they’ll be friendly.” Willy pipes up. “I have a gut feeling about it.”

Clem grins. “A gut feeling? Sure you’re not just hungry?” She leans across and pokes his stomach, enticing a laugh from the younger kid. But then her face grows serious. “I hope you’re right, kiddo. We can’t afford another war.”

Violet pats her hand. “We’ll make it through if it comes to it.” She promises. “We’ve done it before.”

Clem winces when she looks at Violet, the burn scars and milky white eye serving as a harsh reminder of her failure. How she should have tried to save them both. She thanks whatever deity is up there for the fact that Violet can’t see her expression. “I…”

“They’re back,” Aasim interrupts from the gate. “And they’ve brought people.”

“Oh boy,” Clem mutters under her breath, before turning away from the map and smiling at Louis, who has a troubled, uncertain look on his face. AJ looks perplexed.

“They insisted on coming here,” Louis tells the group apologetically. “They wouldn’t tell me why. If this results in us getting brutally murdered, blame me.”

Clem’s brow furrows, worried, and she looks past her boyfriend to see the strangers.

She freezes.

Tall, lanky. Broken glasses sat atop a thin nose, eyes shifting around nervously, never focusing on any one thing. Her mind fills with images of dark bruises, Kenny’s fist planting into the guys face, over and over, as he yells anti-Russian slurs. A smoking shotgun, a flash of white-hot pain through her shoulder. Arvo.

The only person who has spotted her, eyes wide, and mouthing her name in disbelief. With the missing chunk from his ear, and that same cautious look on his face that she’d seen when they betrayed her and took her supplies. Mike.

And…

“Bonnie!” Ruby wails, barrelling forward towards the other girl, who opens her arms.

“Oh, thank god, thank god.” Bonnie hugs her. “Ruby, darlin’, thank god. Look at you, all grown up.”

“You never came for me,” Ruby accuses, seeming so much like a child that it’s hard to see the hot-headed hardened medic that Clem knew. “I tried to call you…”

“Daddy didn’t trust me, Rubes.” Bonnie shakes her head. “He didn’t want me knowing where the school was. I tried, Lord, I tried.”

“It’s okay. You’re here now.”

After what seems like an eternity, the two girls separate. Ruby turns to the group.

“This is Bonnie.” Ruby introduces. “She’s my sister.”

Clem’s mind reels. Bonnie was Ruby’s older sister? She shakes her head, mouthing expletives to herself. This had to be a trick. She cautiously edges forward on her crutches.

Bonnie inclines her head. “It’s nice to meet y’all. Sorry for, uh…” She turns to Louis, “I know it seemed strange, how much I wanted to come here, but…”

“I get it.” Louis visibly relaxes. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Bonnie,” Mike cuts in. “There’s…”

“Oh, this is Mike.” Bonnie interrupts. “And Arvo, over there. We’ve been surviving together for six years.”

“Bonnie,” Mike says more forcefully. “Look.”

Bonnie frowns at him and turns to look at the group. More specifically, at Clementine. Her mouth falls open. “Clem-“

“Hello, Bonnie,” Clem says coolly. “Long time no see.”

Ruby’s brows furrow. “Clem, you know Bonnie?”

“What…” Bonnie’s gaze falls to her stump. “What did you do to your leg?”

Clem shrugs. “I got bit.”

Bonnie gasps. “You? Bitten? Oh, god, Clem…”

“Don’t you think there are more important things to address, Bonnie?” Clem retorts.

Bonnie jerks as though she’s been hit. “Clem, I’m so sorry. We fucked up.”

“You think?” Clem scowls. “We almost died because of you. Jane died because of you.”

“What happened to her?” Mike cuts in. “Clem, what happened to Jane?”

Clem bit her lip. “Kenny killed her.”

Mike doesn’t look surprised. “Why? Where is Kenny?”

“She wanted to teach me a lesson…to show that Kenny was unstable. So…” Clem closes her eyes. “She hid AJ and told us that he was dead.”

“Clem?” AJ says uncertainly. Clem beckons him over, and the kid walks to her side.

“It sent Kenny off the deep end,” She continues. “He killed Jane in his grief. And then…we found AJ crying in a car. Kenny and I travelled together for a while after that, but…” Tears begin to prick at her eyes, and she pulls AJ close to her side. “He died a couple of months later. Sacrificed himself for us.”

“I’m sorry,” Bonnie says sincerely. “We never should have…”

“It’s too late for apologies.” Clem snaps. “You stole our shit. Food, supplies, meds, you took it all.”

“You stole from her?” Ruby asks reproachfully. “Bonnie…”

“And Arvo,” Clem waves her hand in the Russian boy’s general direction, “He shot me. A defenceless eleven-year-old.”

Louis swears loudly. Arvo ducks his head, abashed. “Мне жаль…”

“He was scared,” Bonnie defends him.

“So was I!” Clem hisses back. “I was going to let you go. But he shot me.” She shakes her head and touches her shoulder, where the bullet wound scar marred her skin. “I almost died. If he’d aimed only slightly closer to my heart, then…”

“I’m sorry,” Bonnie mouths, tears welling up. “If there’s anything we can do to make it up to you…”

“Clem,” Ruby takes a step forward. “She’s my sister. I…I don’t know what she did to you, but…”

“It’s okay, Rubes,” Clem assures her. “I won’t send her away. They can stay, for now, but…they’ll have to work hard for forgiveness.”

“We will,” Bonnie promises. “I swear.”

“Do me a favour and show them around, okay?” Clem tells Ruby. “AJ will come with you.”

“You got it.” Ruby deliberates before hugging her friend. “Thank you.”

As Ruby leads the three off, Louis wanders to her side.

“He shot you?” He asks darkly. “That skinny one with the glasses?”

Clem shrugs. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” Louis shakes his head in disbelief. “He shot you. Like you said, if it was any closer to your heart, you wouldn’t…I wouldn’t…”

“I know.” She leans up and kisses him before poking the corner of his mouth in an effort to make him smile. “But I’m alive now.”

“Thank god.” He kisses her forehead. "I don't know what I'd do without you."