#do you guys think she was the one who set up tenns grave :(

[heartsquigz]

[ericsonclan]

Coping

Summary: Marlon comes across Tenn drawing a peculiar subject.

Read on AO3:

“Hey Tenn, whatcha got there?” Marlon asked as he walked toward the younger boy who was sitting at the picnic tables.

Tennessee looked up from his paper and crayons, giving Marlon a soft smile. “Hey, Marlon. Just working on a drawing,”

“Oh, can I see?” Marlon glanced down only for his eyes to widen in horror and his face to fall as he saw the subject of the drawing. It was Sophie and Minnie, dead and bloody, their bodies sprawled across the ground. To see such a thing in any form was frightening, but to see it drawn in crayon by a child, by their own brother… Marlon cleared his throat roughly. He’d have to tread carefully here. He didn’t want to say anything that might hurt Tenn or let it slip that the contents of that drawing were a falsehood.

Before he could say anything further though, Tenn spoke up. “I guess it’s sort of weird, huh? Brody saw me working on it earlier on the stairs of the admin building and it made her really sad. That’s why I moved over here – to make sure she doesn’t accidentally see it again,”

Shit, Brody. The only other person who could let the truth slip out. It had been about six months since they had run into those raiders and been forced to give them the twins. Brody had been a nervous wreck ever since. Sometimes she would wake up in the night screaming, saying they were coming for her. Marlon would always rush to her side in those moments. On the outside it might appear that he was comforting her, but Marlon knew with a sick certainty that he was always the first there to make sure Brody didn’t tell the others that it wasn’t the walkers she feared but the raiders.

“Marlon?” Tenn’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. “Are you sad too now? I’m sorry if the drawing upset you.

“It’s not that, it’s just… doesn’t seeing them like that make you sad too, Tenn? I would’ve thought you’d do anything possible to never think about that day,”

Tennessee shrugged. “Even if I didn’t think about it, that wouldn’t mean it didn’t happen. Drawing it helps it feel more real. It helps me realize that they won’t come walking through the gates again. I know it’s been a while now, but sometimes I need reminding of that,”

Marlon put a hand on Tennessee’s shoulder, feeling utterly lost. How could you comfort someone for deaths you knew never happened? At the same time, maybe by now those deaths were a reality. That woman, Lilly, had said her people needed soldiers for a war. Any war was bound to bring casualties. It could be that by now, after all these months of hiding the truth from the other kids, that this picture was in fact the only truth that remained. Marlon took a seat beside Tenn, his legs suddenly feeling heavy.

“Would you like to draw too?” Tenn offered. Marlon took the paper and crayons with a faint smile. It was a habit of Tenn’s, inviting others to draw even if they didn’t have a lick of talent. By now he’d accumulated a stash of drawings by all of them, some of the best displayed proudly on his walls. Seeing Marlon with a given task, Tenn seemed satisfied and resumed his drawing. The particular red crayon he was using was only a nub at this point. It made Marlon wonder if this wasn’t the first time Tennessee had depicted such gruesome subject matter.

Marlon found himself unsure of what to draw. He couldn’t draw humans for shit and there wasn’t anything else in particular that came to mind. Glancing up at the sky, he caught sight of the Ericson flag, an old t-shirt flapping proudly in the wind on this breezy morning. That was it. He could draw the school. Buildings were just a series of straight lines, right? He could handle that. Grabbing up a brown crayon, Marlon set to work outlining the frame of the main building.

As he worked, Marlon noticed Tenn was still focused on the details of his gruesome illustration. Tenn glanced over, seeing Marlon’s interest. “I don’t know how long you and Brody stuck around when it happened. You guys don’t talk about that day much so I’m not sure if this is how it really went,” He’d given a neck wound to Sophie while Minnie was bleeding from her side. Their skin had been colored as well, a sickly gray. Marlon realized with horror that Tenn hadn’t simply drawn their corpses, he’d drawn them in the midst of turning. The thought made Marlon feel as though he’d be sick.

The truth was he remembered that day in excruciating detail. The way his hands had trembled from having his bow drawn for such a long time, knowing if he fired a single arrow it would mean his own death. Sophie pinned to the ground, a boot on her back while the sleazy man held Minnie in place by a fistful of her hair. Brody’s presence behind him, utterly helpless to stop the horrible things happening before her very eyes. He hadn’t had a choice. It was two right then or all of them. If he was taken, Marlon had known they’d break him, hurt him until he gave up the location of the school. He couldn’t let that happen. He’d sacrificed two to save the rest. If it had been the right choice though, why couldn’t he look back on it without feeling his very soul writhe inside him?

“Oh, you’re drawing the school. It looks really good,” Tenn’s voice was so calm, trusting. Marlon couldn’t believe he was sitting here and playing further into the lie he’d woven in the boy’s mind. But he simply kept on going, his body unwilling to do anything else.

“Yeah, I figured it would be easy enough. I guess it’s more complicated than I expected though,”

“Are you going to try to show the broken windows?” Tenn gestured toward one to the far left of the building. “I remember when Sophie broke that one. It was during that soccer game she and Louis put together,”

Marlon remembered. For one glorious day, they had set aside their fears and daily tasks to do the most normal thing ever: play a game. It had been wonderful. Competition between the two teams had been fierce, leading to the broken window Tenn mentioned when a kick by Sophie went wild and flew off toward the school. They continued on after that mishap; no one really cared about broken windows anymore. The game had stopped however when a particularly strong kick by Marlon had sent the soccer ball flying over Ericson’s walls. Mitch had climbed over the wall to retrieve it before anyone could plan a better approach and had almost gotten bitten in the process. After that Marlon made a decision: soccer was banned from the courtyard. It wasn’t worth risking their lives for a simple game. It was an unpopular decision, but the other kids had learned to accept it, the remaining soccer balls being kicked around indoors rather than outside.

“It was so much fun,” A small smile was upon Tenn’s face. “I’ll never forget that day,” He glanced up at Marlon who was looking at him in confusion. “What?”

“How do you do it? Talk about happy times in the middle of drawing that?” Marlon immediately wished he could bite his tongue. It was callous to ask something that personal so bluntly.

Tenn didn’t take offense though; he never did. Instead he sat there thoughtfully, looking at his drawing. “I guess it’s because both are real. They both happened, the good and the bad. It’s nice to remember the happy times, but this helps too,” He fidgeted with the corner of the paper. “It’s not my only drawing. I have lots of them. Happy and sad. I did one a while back of Sophie and Minnie having a fishing contest, just like they used to. Wherever they are now, I bet they’re still doing that. We had to make empty graves though. Drawing how they died, even if it sometimes makes me sad, feels like a good thing. Death isn’t as scary when you know what it looks like. And it’s not like it’s them anymore, just their bodies.

Marlon stared at the child in dumbfounded horror. What could he say in response to that? He wanted to tell Tenn that death was very scary, that it was downright horrifying. But what good would delivering that message do? Right now Tenn was happy or at least as much at peace as anyone could expect. He couldn’t take that away from him, not when he was the reason his sisters were gone. “Wow,” he murmured, looking down at the table. “Guess you’ve thought about this a lot,”

“It’s all I can really do for Minnie and Sophie now – think about them,”

Marlon cleared his through roughly, feeling tears prick the corners of his eyes. “Scuse me, Tenn. There’s something I gotta go do,” Without another word Marlon rose to his feet and walked off. He didn’t dare to look back. He made it just round the corner of the school before he couldn’t hold it back anymore. He puked, his shoulders heaving as his vomit spilled upon the ground. Looking round quickly to make sure no one had seen him, Marlon quickly wiped off his mouth, his hand shaking slightly as he did so. He should go back up to the headmaster’s office and reexamine the map. Look for entry points to the school that needed to be better guarded, maybe draw back the safe zone a bit. He couldn’t risk running into those raiders again. What happened with Sophie and Minnie was a tragedy, one he couldn’t repeat. He couldn’t lose another one of these kids. He’d protect them all or die trying.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

[he’ll grow on you]

Day 08: Walkers #twdgdrabblechallenge

Note: These two are the definition of love at first sight. Sort of. Kind of. A little bit. Maybe. Not really. Not at all. 

AO3

---

The low gurgles and moans of walkers are too close for his liking. 

Mitch’s fingers twitch, tense and hovering over the knife attached to his hip. Narrow eyes search through the dark trees, glaring at the passing walkers and silhouette of the delta’s ship. In the distance, a woman’s voice barks orders that are followed by a single shot and the thump of a body. 

Fuckers are well prepared, but so are they. 

The stench of rotten flesh hits his nose as Clementine drags a fallen walker to the group. 

Ruby sighs from beside him, saying, “Well, I guess we’re really doin’ this.” 

“Only the team blending in with the walkers need to cover themselves.”

Mitch steals a glance at Louis, who’s gazing down at the walker with a distasteful look as if he’s already going to hurl. 

Mitch had offered to go with Clementine and AJ, figuring that he’d be the best to tag along given that he created the bomb they’re planting. However, Clementine already had her heart set on taking Louis, much to his- and Louis’- confusion. 

He didn’t question her, though. She knows what she’s doing, and if she trusts Louis with the bomb, then fuck, so did he. He went as far as to go over everything in grave detail to Louis, who stood there nodding and mumbling several “okay”’s before Mitch finally grabbed his shoulder and told him, “Dude, you’re not gonna blow yourself up. You got this.” 

Whether that actually made him feel better or not, Mitch didn’t know. 

The group awkwardly glances around at each other, a heavy silence weighing in on them because holy shit, this moment is finally here. They’re going to infiltrate that motherfucking boat and blow it to hell and back. He can hardly wait to see Lilly and her fuckhead crew rain from the sky. 

They just needed that guy- the one Clementine said could help them sneak on-

“He’s here!”

A presence shadows over his back, so Mitch turns around and is face to face with one ugly ass walker. 

“Jesus fucking CHRIST-!”

He whips around so fast that he thinks he might’ve almost knocked Ruby over. The walker stumbles back, dark eyes wide with shock as Mitch yanks his knife out, only for Clementine to grab his arm. 

“Mitch, shh!” 

“U-uh-” The walker takes another step back, and it finally registers that it’s not a walker, it’s the dude Clementine was talking about. 

Clementine yanks the knife out of Mitch’s hand before he can protest, scolding him with, “Damn it, Mitch!”

“I’m sorry,” the guy apologizes quietly, still staring at Mitch. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

He didn’t mean to scare him? Yeah, because everyone goes around wearing walker skin without any intention in making people almost shit themselves. 

“What the fuck, dude!” Mitch says in a loud whisper. “Don’t just sneak up on us like that. I could’ve,” he snatches his knife back and waves it around to make his point, “like, stabbed you or something!”

Everyone else is looking at the guy, all with unsure faces. 

Clementine elbows him with a silent “you behave” glare before her eyes land upon James, softening as she approaches him. 

“Guys, this is James.”

“He’s my friend,” AJ adds with a beaming grin, stepping up to him, too. 

James awkwardly looks around the group before staring right at Mitch, blinking fast from beneath his mask. 

What, is he sizing him up or something? Seeing if he’s a threat? 

Mitch glares back. 

“He’s, uh....” Tenn trails off.

“So cool!” 

What?

“How do you get the skin like that?” Willy asks, getting way too close to this stranger and clearly making him uncomfortable, given that he tears his gaze away from Mitch to stare down at the boy, panic blooming in his pupils. 

Before he can think, Mitch grabs the back of Willy’s jacket and pulls, earning a surprised “oof!” from him before stepping in front of him. 

“Too close,” Mitch tells him. 

“What? I was just curious!” Willy complains. “And I wanted to try it on.”

“Volume, Willy,” Clementine says. 

Willy goes to speak, but then promptly shuts his mouth.

“Right, sorry, I uh, didn’t mean to be weird or anything,” Willy sighs. “And, uh, I’m sorry I almost shot you that one time. Your mask looks so real!” 

It does look real and Mitch hates it. It’s... gross and uncomfortable.

“Functional and fashionable,” Louis grins. “I’ll take two.” 

James laughs. Of course, he does. 

“Funny.” 

Folding his arms over his chest, Mitch takes a challenging step towards him, his attention returning forward. 

“So, you’re the dude that’s gonna help us sneak in there, huh?”

“I’m going to try,” James nods. “I-”

“Geez, take that thing off.”

“What?”

“Mitch,” Clementine warns. 

“Hey, I can’t take him seriously looking like that. Besides, I wanna see who you’re trusting here.”

“Yeah, take it off!” Willy adds, excitement glowing in his attempted whisper. 

James glances at Clementine, who returns the look with an apologetic one. When he looks forward again, Mitch is surprised to see something challenging mirroring his own. It’s a shared stare- or rather, glare- that they hold before he shrugs slightly, reaching behind his head to loosen the ties before slipping it off.

 Dark hair falls over James’ face and dark eyes before he brushes it back, and Mitch can see his face. 

He can see him perfectly. 

“...Nevermind. Put it back on.”

A hand smacks the back of his head. 

“Mitchell!” Ruby hisses. “Don’t be rude! Where are your manners?”

“Left ‘em back at the school,” Mitch snaps back. 

“Don’t mind him,” Louis tells James, who’s the glaring one now. “He’ll grow on you.” 

“Somehow I doubt that.”

What?

Mitch is about to unload on this fucker but then growls and moans grow louder, closer. 

"Clementine,” James turns his back to him, fully facing away. “Could I speak to you alone? For a moment?”

“Good idea,” Clementine nods. “Hold tight.”

Mitch rolls his eyes, scoffing, which earns him another elbow to his side, this time courtesy of Ruby. As he watches James and Clementine walk away, several thoughts cross Mitch’s mind. 

The one that sticks out the most is fuck that guy. 

[mydarlingvioletine]

 "Let's Talk About Lee"

Ship(s): Violet/Clementine

Media: The Walking Dead Game (Season 4)

Summary: The weight of unfinished grieving eventually drags Clementine down, and turns to Violet for help in getting closure + some cute AJ & Violet bonding.

             It was a warm, slightly windy summer day, when Clementine shyly approached Violet, clutching her hat to her chest. Omar, Willy, and AJ were playing catch in the courtyard with the beach ball AJ scavenged. Violet was sitting beside Brody's grave, lost in her thoughts.

       "Hey, Vi. I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt," Clementine stepped forward, her soft and sincere voice snapping Violet back into reality.

"No, it's okay." Violet pushed herself back up, instinctively placing her hands in her jean pockets. "What's up?"

           Clementine's gaze dropped to Brody's headstone, a solemn expression across her face. "I, uh, was wondering if I could borrow your graveyard." Violet's eyebrows shot up at Clem's awkward wording, and a smirk crossed her face as Clementine started stammering. "Wait, no. That's not the word. Um, I want to bury something. For Lee."

"Of course you can, Clem." Violet gave a reassuring smile to Clementine, who's tight grip on her hat loosened a little. "C'mon, we can pick a pretty spot."

            Violet led her towards the end of the graveyard, where a towering dogwood tree provided a small, shaded area, ground seemingly invisible under the layer of fresh flowers that had fallen from the tree.

           "Here." Clem whispered, "If that's okay."

"It's more than okay, Clem. I can make a headstone for him, if you'd like." Violet reached out to grab her free hand, giving a reassuring squeeze as she felt Clementine's hands shaking.

     Clem nodded, a sad smile across her face before she let her fist unclench, taking in a deep breath. "That'd be really nice.. Thank you, Vi."

"It's no problem, Clem. Everyone deserves a burial, a funeral.. Especially Lee. I have a lot to thank him for." Violet watched as her girlfriend smiled to herself, happy that she could crack her somber mood.

         "I can have it ready by tonight. We can have a little ceremony for him, too. It'll be really nice and you could tell us stories about him i you wanted to-"

Violet was interrupted by Clementine throwing her arms around her, her face safely rested in the crook of her neck.

         "Thanks, Vi." Clem happily breathed out. "I don't know if I'd want to bother everyone else with it, though. Maybe just me, you, and AJ. If that's okay?"

Violet smiled to herself, wrapping her arms around Clementine's waist. She looked over her shoulder to see an enthusiastic AJ, happily holding the sides of his face at the sight of Clementine being cheerful. Violet ducked her head, an embarrassed smile on her face as she backed away from Clem.

       "I'm, uh, gonna get started on the headstone. I'll see you in a bit." Violet shyly held her arm to her side and started towards the greenhouse, eyes averting AJ as she passed by him.

"Hey, goofball. What are you smiling about?" Clem knelt down to be parallel to AJ's eye level. AJ shrugged, his eyes landing on the hat that Clementine was holding onto. "Look, tonight we're having a little... ceremony for Lee. I know you don't like funerals, but this really isn't one. You don't have to come if you don't want to, I'm sure you'd much rather be playing with Tenn."

        AJ cocked his head to the side, eyebrows furrowed. "I thought he died a long time ago."

"I, yeah. He did. I just, I think I'd really like to celebrate his memory. I haven't felt... safe in such a long time. Even before you, I was alone and running. I didn't even really have time to reflect on Lee's death, but now.. It's different. Safe. I want some closure."

       "Closure." AJ cautiously repeated, to which Clementine smiled and nodded. "We can 'closure' Lee. And it'll make you feel better?"

"I really think it will." Clem sighed to herself, looking down at the old and worn hat that was practically falling apart at the seams.

         "Okay, I can do that." AJ beamed up at Clementine. She smiled back, then started tussling his hair.

                "Thanks, goofball."

Violet had bribed Mitch into lending his skills to carve 'LEE' into the piece of wood that she managed to scavenge from the rubble outside of the school.

         She had managed to get everything set up, the makeshift grave in place. The sun had set hours ago, the graveyard only being illuminated by the multiple lanterns that Violet had set up.

Clem sat herself down beside the shallow hole in the ground, clutching her treasured hat. Violet softly placed her hand on her shoulder, which sparked something in Clementine.

           All the rage, the self-doubt, the sorrow, every single emotion that had built up since her loss came out through tears. Violet held her girlfriend in her arms, holding her up as she silently sobbed, tears hitting the bottom of the makeshift hole.

"Clem?" AJ had peered around the corner, expression full of worry and shock. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her cry.

       "Don't worry, 'm fine." Clem stammered, "Come here." She outstretched her arm, pulling AJ close to her chest. He didn't resist at all, putting aside his ‘I'm not a kid anymore' act to bury his face into Clementine's shirt.

The three sat in silence for a while, both clutching onto Clem as if her life depended on it. Violet pulled a wet strand of hair away from Clementine's eyes, tucking it softly behind her ear.

         "Fuck, I'm sorry." Clem suddenly reeled back, rubbing her eyes and blinking rapidly to try and cover her vulnerability. "I didn't think I'd just break down like this. I wanted to say some stuff. I wanted.." Clementine's voice hitched, her voice shaky while she sniffled.

"Hey, it's okay." Violet cupped Clementine's face in her hands, urging her to look into her eyes. "God knows how long you've had this weight on your shoulders. You can let go, Clem."

       "This is part of closure, right?" AJ whispered, lifting his head up to meet the eyes of a girl he had viewed as a hero his entire life, now shaking in front of him.

"Yea," Clementine felt solace in the unintentional reassurance from AJ, and gave a breathy, unconvincing laugh. Her grip on her hat tightened as she "Yea, I guess it is, kiddo."

          "What was he like?" Violet softly pressed. A smile brought on by happy memories washed over the original sadness of Clem's features.

Clementine lifted her head, a singular tear rolling down her chin. She raised her hand to wipe it away.

         "Unbelievably kind. Just.. selfless. He risked his ass for me more times than I can count. He was human. He was handed the short stick every fucking turn of his life, but giving up just wasn't in his blood. Shitty people took advantage of his softness over and over again, but he kept it until the very end. He cared about people so fucking much. He cared about me so fucking much."

Clementine sniffled, her eyes watering not with sorrow, but with happy recollection.

     "Hell, he'd probably be upset that I'm crying over him now." Clementine dryly laughed, going to wipe a tear from her eye before AJ tightened his grip on her arm.

Clementine sighed, staring down at the hat in front of her. It was worn, old and outdated. Not to mention it reeked. As much as she thought she wanted it safe and preserved, she couldn't go through with it. She couldn't let dirt and bugs collect in it. The only memento left of Lee, besides herself.

        "I, uh, don't think I can." Clementine retracted, slowly shaking her head. "I really thought I'd be able to."

"You don't have to, Clem." Violet squeezed her arm in support. "If you don't want to."

            Clementine let out a relieved breath, her muscles relaxing with a tension she'd been holding for years and years. She took the hat and softly hung it on the cross just above the 'LEE', as if she was placing it on top of Lee's head once again.

"Thank you for everything." Clementine sighed, pulling herself to her feet. "I've got lookout duty with Aasim in a bit. Vi, can you make sure AJ actually makes it to bed?"

          AJ gave a sheepish smile, then latched onto Violet's leg. "She's gotta get me there first.”

Violet snorted, seemingly lifting her leg with ease. "I've carried Louis before, kiddo. This a piece of cake."

Clem happily shook her head, then leaned over to kiss Violet's cheek. AJ impatiently poked at his own cheek, to which Clem rolled her eyes, and knelt down to plant a goodnight kiss on AJ's signature dimple.

          "Goodnight, guys. I'll see you in the morning." Clementine raised her hand to wave, then turned around to head towards the bell tower, leaving the hat, along with the weight of the past, behind her.

Violet looked down at AJ, still attached to her leg, and hoisted her leg, holding AJ high while they headed back toward the school. She waited until the door was shut behind her to express her exhaustion just from carrying AJ. Like a little gentleman, he hopped off.

       "You didn't really carry Louis back, did you?" AJ raised his eyebrow, looking at the panting, faint mess in front of him.

"Well, not exactly. Ruby did, but I held his head and made sure it didn't bump into any trees." Violet yielded, gingerly smiling down at AJ, then winking. "For the most part."

         AJ giggled to himself as Violet led him back towards he and Clem's room. They stopped at the door, and Violet put her hands on her hips, expecting AJ to put up a fight. Instead, she got a soft spoken sentence from a boy with a usually booming voice. One that completely caught her off guard.

 "Hey, Vi?" She looked down at the kid beside her, puppy eyes turned up to maximum power. Oh, boy. She promised Clementine to make sure he got to sleep, but his puppy eyes were so damn convincing. They could even break Omar. "Could you stay with me until I fall asleep? Tenn said you do that for him sometimes."

Violet sighed in relief, and nodded. "Yea, of course."

          AJ's face lit up instantly, and he eagerly climbed into his bed, pulling the cover up to his neck. Violet pulled a stool from the closet and placed it next to his bed, leaning against the frame. AJ didn't close his eyes, just staring directly above him, eyebrows furrowed in contemplation.

"AJ, you okay?" Violet asked, a concerned tone in her voice as she got up and put her hand over his forehead. No fever. 

           "I'm fine, Vi. Just not ready to go to bed."

"Why not?"

          "Clem usually blows out the candle, and then I can fall asleep." AJ recalled, sitting upright in his bed.

Violet nodded, then knelt down to blow out the candle on the bedside table. "Is that alright?”

          "Yea, thank you." AJ's voice was washed over with an overwhelming sense of tired, as he flopped back down onto his pillow.

Violet smiled at the content kid in front of her, then turned to head towards the door, quietly picking up the stool and setting it down in front of AJ’s desk.

She couldn’t help but still be nervous around him, as he always seemed to pop up when she and Clementine were left alone. As dumb as it sounded, Violet wanted his approval. She wasn’t as good with kids as Louis or Ruby was, but tried her best to show how much she cared about both Clem and AJ.

 Ever since they got here, she felt the want for a family that she’d tried so desperately to push deep down. She knew that if it came down to it, she’d do anything to keep them both safe. It was scary, but also freeing after so many years of detaching herself from the people around her.

Violet’s gaze landed on a new scrap of paper on top of the desk, still fresh with crayon shavings. She lightly brushed away the colorful shavings, and looked down at AJ’s newest creation. It was indisputably childish and adorable, even having the signature sun in the corner of the paper. Three stick figures sat in the center, all with matching smiles. 

The one with curly hair in a short ponytail and a cap was obviously Clementine. The smallest one, in the center, had AJ’s hair and Disco Broccoli shirt. The last one had straight blonde hair, and horrible, almost diagonal posture. Violet slapped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

Welp, accurate. She thought to herself, then looked over the drawing again. The three figures were holding hands in the courtyard. Her eyes fixated on the messy caption on the bottom of the paper.

                                 ‘FAMILEE’ by Alvin Junior

Her eyes immediately welled up, and she quietly stepped away from the desk, making sure that the wooden floor didn’t creak under her feet. She smiled to herself and looked back over her shoulder at the half-asleep AJ.

                                     "Goodnight, AJ."

"G'night, Vi."

         Just as Violet's hand rested on the door frame and she was about to leave, AJ's tired voice would pipe up once again. "Vi?"

"Yea, AJ?"

            "You're really cool. That’s why we love you."

Violet's heart jumped up to her throat, as she involuntarily placed her hand on her chest to check for a pulse. A delighted smile crossed her face, as she nervously tapped on the wooden door frame.

         "You're pretty cool yourself, AJ. Get some sleep, okay?" Violet tried to mask the overwhelmingly happy tone of her voice, but failed miserably. She quietly shut the door behind her, and leaned against it for a couple seconds.

Violet nervously fiddled with the loose seams at the bottom of her jacket, smiling down at the dirty wooden floor. After a couple seconds of contemplation, she pushed herself away from the wall, figuring she'd head out and keep Clem company during her lookout shift.

[goofygomez]

Hope Ch. 1 - Clouis Story

Description: Clementine has been feeling very under the weather lately. She decides to take a walk outside the school, her mind full of questions. One simple answer could change her life.

Wordcount: 3136

This was my first ever (and last) Clouis series. It is 23 chapters long, and I will try to post one per day this month. Enjoy!

---

“Calm down Clementine, you don’t know shit yet.”

That was what she kept telling herself, pacing her small room. Early morning sunlight seeped through the cracks in the window and cast odd shadows on her desk decorations. In her five years at Ericson’s, she’s amassed quite the collection of animal skulls now displayed proudly all over her and Louis’s room.

“You’re just late, no biggie,” she told herself firmly, shaking her head.

She looked over to the bucket on the floor beside her bed, fresh vomit sticking to its inner surface and frowned. The bed covers were strewn around and five pillows covered the bed from head to toe. Clem had found out the hard way that Louis was indeed a pillow hog when he’d brought all his stuff to her room four years ago. Half of his ‘stuff’ was his pillows, which he guarded jealously.

Louis himself was not around. He’d woken up early for the morning shift and had let her sleep in. Clem had been rather sick the past few days and he didn’t want to bother her. How considerate, she thought, rolling her eyes. As she tried to move toward the bed, another cramp reached her abdomen and she bent over in pain, clutching her stomach.

“Thirteen years surviving the apocalypse, and I’ll get killed by a fucking stomach bug,” she mused, chuckling at the irony of her statement.

Standing up firmly, she pushed through the pain and walked out of her room. The hallway was empty except for Aasim, who was moving a stack of chairs somewhere. Over the last couple of months, he’d been trying unsuccessfully to grow a beard. It was not suiting him very well, Clementine thought. He looked over up and down and raised an eyebrow.

“Louis said you’d be in bed all day,” he pointed out.

“Do I look like I’m in bed?” she asked irritably, rolling her eyes.

Backing off, Aasim nodded, “Alright, sorry. Good to see you on your feet.”

He waddled as best he could down the hallway. “Wait Aasim, I’m sorry!” she called out to him as he disappeared into the courtyard. Damn these hormones, she thought.

“No, that’s not what’s happening here!” she chastised herself, shaking her head and walking down the path Aasim took.

Outside, she saw Aasim setting the stack of chairs down next to a hunched Violet, who thanked him. AJ was sitting on the steps to the admin building, talking absently with Tenn. Her small boy had grown into a strong ten-year-old, every day taking more and more after his father. He’s Alvin’s son alright, she thought with a smile.

When AJ spotted Clem exiting the dorms he sprinted in her direction, launching himself at her. Doubling over in pain, Clem groaned under his weight and almost collapsed. By now, he was almost the same height as her, and definitely more athletic. He backed away, a concerned expression on his face.

“Shit, sorry Clem,” he blurted, helping her to her feet.

“It’s okay kiddo,” she assured him, ruffling his hair. “I’m just rather tired this morning.”

“There’s the most beautiful woman in the apocalypse.” She heard the sing-song voice coming from her left and turned to see a very giddy looking Louis walking in her direction. ‘Chairles’ was hoisted on his right shoulder, and he had rid himself of his usual trench coat for a much more comfortable leather jacket.

“And there’s the funniest man in the apocalypse,” she responded, on hand on her hip and a smile on her face.

“Wow, you get beautiful and I get funny?” he feigned offense, clutching his heart dramatically. “This relationship feels unbalanced, Your Majesty.”

“Well, you are funny,” AJ stated matter-of-factly. Louis looked at him for a moment and eventually nodded.

“That I am, little dude,” he agreed, pulling Clem to him and planting a soft kiss on her forehead. He always joked that they were a perfect match purely because their heights allowed him to do that often, and she would always flip him off. In reality, she really enjoyed it, but she wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction.

Before she had time to respond, another sharp pain caused her to groan in discomfort. Louis looked at her in concern, and eyed her up and down. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m just having a stomach ache, that’s all,” she said, giving him the most reassuring smile she could muster.

Not altogether convinced, Louis pursed his lips but nodded at her. “Alright, if you say you’re okay, I believe you.”

“Thank you.”

Gingerly, Louis led Clementine and AJ to the tables, which Aasim and Violet had already vacated. A few years back, through general consensus, both of them became the leaders of their community. They would usually come to Clem about smaller issues that they thought required her survivalist expertise. They had stopped, however, a couple months ago after Clem and Louis announced their impromptu wedding, earning cheers from the whole school, AJ the most vocal among them.

Right now, Clem was mostly thinking about what had come after the actual makeshift wedding, and its dire and worrying implications. She gently clutched her stomach, feeling a warmth she hadn’t felt before. They had been a little reckless, she thought ruefully. And more than a little drunk. She traced the small cracks in the table with her fingers, her eyes following the shapes absently.

Meanwhile, AJ and Louis indulged in light conversation. They were talking about the boy’s eleventh birthday, which was fast approaching. Clementine hadn’t known the exact date, so she and Louis looked at the calendar and decided on a rough estimate. In the end, they’d settled for January 18th. Her head was throbbing in pain, the sounds of their voices becoming blurs as she closed her eyes shut.

“Clem!” she heard at one point, her eyes fluttering open and searching for the source. She saw both Louis and AJ staring at her with raised eyebrows and blushed.

“Yeah, sorry,” she blurted, nodding. “What is it?”

“I was just telling AJ that I have some time for another piano lesson with the little dude here.” Louis ruffled the boy’s hair and AJ laughed. “You okay being out here by yourself for a while?”

“You can come with us and watch me play, too,” AJ suggested, his eyes lighting up at the thought.

Clem smiled at him but gently shook her head. “No, I think I’ll wait out here. You guys go on ahead and practice.”

Nodding, Louis turned to AJ, “Well, it’s just you and me today, buddy,” he said, a grin decorating his freckled features. The boy smiled and stood up, balancing his weight on the balls of his feet. They each gave Clementine a kiss on the cheek, Louis capturing her lips the second time and leaving a sloppy grin on her face.

When they entered the admin building, Clem was left alone in the courtyard. She tried to rub the sleep off her face, only getting a dizzy feeling from it. Instead, she looked around and examined the surroundings. In five years, the place had not really changed much.

The gate was now properly sealed with wood and metal sheets, bound together by the combined forces of duct tape and rope. The kids had not been able to contain themselves, and a couple of graffiti were painted onto the boards. Most of them were vulgar words, a couple alluding to the victory over the Delta five years ago. The light from the rising sun shone on them, giving the impression that they glowed in the dim morning light.

The watchtower was essentially the same, save for a couple minor adjustments they’d deemed necessary over the years. Her eyes skimmed the walls and landed on the big archway that led to the graveyard. She was thankful that it had not gotten any new additions these past years, though they had added a small shrine in honor of each of the deceased. On it were whatever photos they had been able to find of them, and small notes from their loved ones.

Sophie’s grave, although it had already been dug before the war on Delta, had been the hardest to fill. To this day, Minnie regretted not going back for Sophie’s body, but there had been nothing they could do. The herd that consumed the compound had been enough incentive never to go back to that place. Instead, they’d filled the grave with the rest of her belongings, and Minnie had placed a lock of fiery red hair on her shrine.

As a gust of wind made her shiver, she buttoned up her jacket. Her mind was racing a thousand miles an hour, and the uncertainty was not helping. Shaking her head, she sat up and took a piece of paper from her breast pocket. She and Louis had decided that keeping a way of leaving notes for the other on them was important for these exact situations. She used a crayon to write him a small message.

‘Louis,

Out for a walk, won’t be long.

Love, Clem.’

Leaving the note pinned to the table with a small rock, she made her way to the gate and opened it. Slowly, she slipped through the gap and closed it behind her. The woods beyond were filled with traps, ranging from boulders hanging from trees to bear traps hidden among the shrubbery. A few birds chirped happily as she passed through the trees, creating a soft melody that clashed with her jumbled thoughts.

As she walked, careful not to set off any traps, she saw the sun begin to rise along the tree line. She let the warmth embrace her, still shivering from every cold breeze that crept from the north. Hugging herself, Clem trudged through a small patch of tall grass and kept her pace. She didn’t know how long she’d been walking, but before she realized, she arrived at a wooden fence.

It wasn’t unlike the fence that had separated her childhood home from the forest in Georgia, though a couple of planks had rotten and been torn down. She squeezed through, dizziness settling in as she stumbled on the other side. Pressing her hand to the side of her face, she pinched the bridge of her nose and opened her eyes slowly. The urge to throw up had thankfully passed, and she was looking at a parking lot of a convenience store they had found last year while scavenging.

Cars that had been picked clean years ago littered the place, most of their tires stripped off or rotten. She looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was already at its highest point, meaning she’d taken almost twice as long getting here as last time. Cursing under her breath, she took out her knife and walked forward.

As she got to the door, a sharp clinging noise came from her right and she jumped, her knife trained in that direction and her left hand covering her stomach protectively. A squirrel jumped from behind a trash can, holding what appeared to be a potato chip bag in its hands. It eyed Clementine curiously, its tiny hands crumbling the top of the bag slowly.

She slashed at the air and scared it away, shaking her head and turning back to the store. Inside, the shelves were mostly ransacked, gathering dust since the apocalypse started. To her right, there was a short line of shopping carts and to her left a rack filled with greeting cards. ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘Merry Christmas’, ‘Happy New Year’ she read absently, flipping through them. A sharp pain in her abdomen reminded her why she came in the first place, and she set out to find the pharmacy inside the store.

Empty boxes and crumpled bags littered the shelves and floor as she walked. The chirping of the birds seemed to have followed her, as more of them perched themselves on the windowsill of a shattered glass pane. The crunching of dirt and litter against her boots announced each step she took. Her eyes scanned the area every few seconds, alert in case anything happened. It would not do to get killed now, she thought ruefully.

She walked into the pharmacy office and searched the back shelves for whatever had been left. There wasn’t much. The office was a smallish room with barely any room for light to pass through. Only a broken half window decorated one of the walls, leading to the back to the convenience store. She dug through the boxes, ridding them of pill bottles that had been emptied long ago.

“No, no, no,” she kept muttering, discarding the items as she went through the office. After a few unsuccessful searches, her hand grazed a much heavier box on top of one of the highest shelves. “Damn, where’s Louis when you need him?” she mused, her hands on her hips.

Standing on tiptoes, she managed to hook her finger around one of the cardboard flaps of the box, pulling it to her. It turned out that wasn’t a great idea, as the contents of the box came pouring down. Now, strewn on the floor were small boxes with names such as ‘Trojan’ and ‘Durex’, which had no real meaning to her. She sorted through them until she found what she had been looking for all along: a pregnancy test.

She read the back of the box, familiarizing herself with the instructions and then taking the short stick out. Eyeing is with curiosity, she pursed her lips. Good thing I didn’t bring Louis then, she thought with a grin. She followed the instructions, however reluctantly, and then sat down on a box while she waited.

During the two minutes that the box advised, she busied herself by scanning the rest of the office. She could see posters for some health care business. They advised people to always have their shots up to date. Didn’t do much good now, did it? she thought. She wondered, after all these years, how many people were actually left.

“Not many, probably,” she reasoned out loud. Before her morbid thoughts could take another turn, a faint beeping escaped the small stick in her hand. How it still had a working battery after over thirteen years, she didn’t have a clue. She decided not to question it and, taking a deep breath, looked at the small screen. It was…

A loud bang from outside the office brought her eyes upwards. Stuffing the stick in her jacket pocket, she drew her knife and prepared for the worst. Soft growls and gurgles came from the front of the store, and she sighed in frustration. “Did you guys learn to sneak around or something?” she said to no one in particular, rolling her eyes.

At least it wasn’t raiders, she thought. She walked outside and inspected the store. About fifteen walkers had wandered inside and were making their way toward her. She tried to keep them spaced out, taking them out swiftly. As she drove her knife in the skull of the tenth walker, a sharp pain in her stomach brought her down with it.

“God damn it,” she swore, clutching her abdomen with one hand and the knife with the other. Before she could bring herself up to her feet again, a walker fell on top of her, its teeth dangerously close to her face. With all the force she could muster, she struck its skull from the side with the knife. The dead weight of the walker weighed her down, making her groan as she tried to escape its clutch.

With barely enough room to spare, she squeezed away from its grip and scrambled to her feet. She was surrounded by at least seven of them, slowly dragging their feet toward her. Broken glass crunched under their dead weight, creating a cacophony of sound combined with their loud growls and the chirping birds.

“Alright, come here!” she yelled, brandishing her knife again. “C’mere fuckers!”

-

“You’re overreacting, Louis,” AJ assured the man, watching him pace the courtyard. Violet and Aasim were seated on the table beside AJ, eyeing the gate nervously while Willy stood on the watchtower, scanning the tree line.

“What do you mean, little man?” Louis exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. “My wife could be in trouble out there!” The sun was scraping the treetops by now, a crescent moon creeping its way into the sky on the east. Omar was already preparing the fire for dinner, and Ruby was collecting some vegetables from the greenhouse.

“She’s been out longer,” the boy reasoned, shrugging. “Clem can take care of herself out there, don’t worry.”

“He’s right, Lou,” Violet spoke up, her eyes glued to the dark exterior. “Clem will pro–.”

“LOUIS! VIOLET!” came Willy’s booming voice. “She’s back!”

Louis’s head perked up and he rushed to the gate, looking through the bars into the darkness. He spotted Clementine stumbling her way through the trees. She was clutching her stomach and her face was contorted in pain, but what caught his attention was the amount of blood on her jacket.

“Clem!” he exclaimed, opening the gate and running to her. He wrapped her arm over his shoulder and dragged her inside. As soon as they crossed the walls, she collapsed under her weight. “What happened?” he cried, his eyes scanning her face closely.

“I…” she trailed off, too out of breath to talk. It was only then that Louis saw her hand clutching the right side of her abdomen firmly.

“Clem…?” he whispered, his eyes eyeing her hand warily and then finding her own golden eyes. “What do you have there?”

“I’m sorry,” she said simply, closing her eyes. It’s wasn’t her words that threw him off, but the small smile that crept up her face. Frowning, he looked down at her hand. She promptly released her grip on her jacket and revealed a small white and pink stick and a piece of folded paper in her pocket.

Louis took the stick warily in his hands and inspected it. It was thin on one side, and it got progressively thicker. Its tip was moist, and on the thick side was a small screen. On the screen, displayed in bright pink, was a small plus sign. Confused, Louis took the paper and unfolded it. Inside was a picture of a woman holding a baby and a small message below it.

‘Congratulations, you’re gonna be a daddy!’ it read.

His eyes widening in shock, he looked back up at Clementine, whose eyes were open again. Her pain seemed to have diminished enough for her to smile at him. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and took his hand. “It’s positive.”

[theskullboy]

My Sunshine (one shot)

Description: Clementine decides to sing a special song for Louis on a special night. But there’s a twist to this special night.

Finally, tonight was the night Clementine had been waiting for. Tonight she was going to surprise Louis with something special. Something she had been working on for weeks on end whenever she got the time to do so. She was going to surprise Louis with a song she had been practicing singing in the privacy of her own room when not even AJ was around to hear her. Both him and Louise would get to hear it soon enough. She had been practicing her singing just for the occasion and she felt that now was the time to see if all that practicing would pay off. It had to be grand. It had to be perfect...just for him. Before she headed out to give him her surprise present she thought about going ver the song she had been practicing signing for a while. She grabbed the paper that contained the lyrics all on sheet and cleared her throat, preparing to fill the room with a sweet acapella meant for her long time lover. However, before she could let out one line AJ came bursting through their room door, startling poor Clementine enough to make her drop her lyric sheet. “Clem! Is it time yet!? Is it!?” AJ exclaimed. Bouncing up and down with excitement. She placed her hand over hear heart and sighed with relief that it wasn’t a walker bursting in on her.  She then gave AJ her signature look of disapproval.

“AJ, what have I told you about running in on people like that? You knock first young man.” She reminded very sternful voice.

“I’m sorry clem it's just that I’m really excited to hear you sing to him for the first time. I know you’ve been practicing by yourself a lot and i’m really excited to hear it.”

With a look of joy and pure happiness how could she possibly scold a boy with a face like that. She smiled at him and knelt down to reach his level of height. “I was going to practice before visiting him tonight kiddo. Buuuut...since I have been practicing for a while why don’t we go see him now okay?” Clementine said, giving AJ a playful wink. His excitement never ceased and neither did his bouncing but now he was even more excited. He was excited to see his mother figures hidden talent in action. He grabbed Clementine by her hand, applying pressure to it due to his never ending excitement. This caused Clementine to chuckle a bit. She picked up her music sheet and looked it over one last time before. She knew she was ready. She had to be ready for tonight was the night. She stood up and looked down at AJ.

“Ready to go see him kiddo?” She asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be Clem. I know he’ll love it.” AJ assured.

“Hehehe I know he will too kiddo. Lets go.”

With that being said, the two walked out of their room and made their way down the school corridor. As they made their way down the path Clem couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. She had never really sing to anyone other than AJ before but that was when he was a little babe. She would sing a soothing melody to help him sleep but she had never sung to a significant other before. Not even...Gabe. But then again, she never really got the opportunity to do so to begin with. The pair made their way down the stairs that led to the schools main entrance. Clem noticed that Violet was sitting at the bottom of the staircase, looking through papers that had detailed drawings on them. The drawings turned out to be the hand crafted maps of the school and the location of its many defences and traps. Clementine remembered it as if it were not long ago they had turned their ugly run-down home into a strong well-built fortress and used the maps to do so. Hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, Violet turned around to see none other than her friends staring down at her. She smiled at them and waved. “Hey Clem. What’s up AJ? You two off to see Louise I reckon?” She asked. AJ nodded at her and so did Clementine.

“Yeah. Tonight's a good night to see him.” AJ replied.

“It sure is AJ. Well you guys already. He’s outside like always.” Violet reminded.

“Thanks Violet,” Clementine thanked and continued to walk past her friend. “Um..did you talk to him tonight?” Violet shook her head. She was far too busy tonight checking the schools defences and making sure everyone was safe and sound. She had to since she was the leader of the school now that Marlon had...well...passed.

“Nah not tonight. Unfortunately, I have a whole lotta shit to check on you know? But say hi for me okay? I’ll see him in the morning.” Violet said.

“Will do Vi. Um..goodnight.” Clem replied.

“Yeah. Good night Clem. You too AJ.”

Violet got up and made her way up the staircase, leaving AJ and Clem to attend to their meeting with Louis. The pair walked through the lobby and made their way outside where Violet said Louis would be. They knew where his usual spot was so they set forth to said spot. They made their way over to where the makeshift graves were. Clem could see there were four graves there. Two for Tenn’s sisters, One for Brody, and the last one for her lovers friend, Marlon. However, she looked over to the fifth one that was added not too long ago. She made her way over to this new grave that was decorated with playing cards. A feeling of guilt and sadness washed over Clementine like a hard crashing wave. She had visited this grave every night and each night she hoped the sadness and guilt would disappear...but they never did. AJ looked up at Clem and could tears in her eyes. He could feel the pain she was feeling and had the urge to cry himself but he wouldn’t. He had done enough crying before but even then..even then the tears he tried to hold back would fall down his cheeks. Clementine knelt down in front of the grave to examine the words on the makeshift cross once more like she had done every night. The words written on the cross of the grave read “In memory of Louise”. Clementine sighed. “ Hey Lou...so sorry to keep you waiting.” She said, gliding her fingertips across the words engraved on the cross. Tonight was indeed a special night. Tonight was the night Clementine would finally sing to her deceased lover who was the unfortunate victim of a walker attack he never saw coming. One bite. One bite was all it took for the world to take away another loved one of Clementines. “Clem? Are..are you-”

“Yeah...I know kiddo..I’m ready.” Clem interrupted AJ. Her voice so soft, filled with so much grief.

She unfolded the music sheet she had held onto the entire night. She never let go of the musical piece that would have made Louise proud to hear if he were standing in front of her at the moment. But just because he was not with them, didn’t mean he wouldn’t be able to hear her. At least that was what she prayed for. The song Clementine had chose to sing was “You Are My Sunshine” because it was such a lovely song that Louis had sung to both her and AJ when they had trouble sleeping at night. Clementine could wait no longer as she brought the paper up to her face close enough to be able to read each verse clearly. she cleared her throat as AJ gripped her free hand.

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know dear, how much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away

The other night dear, as I lay sleepin'

I dreamed, I held you by my side

When I awoke dear, I was mistaken

And I hung my head and I cry

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know dear, how much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away”

Clementine paused. Tears began to flow from her cheeks as her heart ached from the pain she was feeling. She felt AJ’s grip on her hand tighten. She looked down to see that he had tears streaming down his face as well but..he was smiling. The song was so melancholy but so peaceful at the same time that he didn’t want her to stop. She could see it on his face that he didn’t want her to stop so she did what she knew was best and kept going. She folded the musical score and put it in her pocket. She wouldn’t need it anymore.

“You told me once dear, you really loved me

And no one else could come between

But now you've left me and you love another

And you have shattered all my dreams

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know dear, how much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away

I'll always love you and make you happy

If you will only say the same

But if you leave me to love another

But you'll regret it all some day

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know dear, how much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away

Please don't take my sunshine away”

As Clementine finished she felt a raindrop touch her nose. She felt another and another until it began to downpour. However, this would not ruin the moment for her or AJ. This was their time to see their beloved Louis again. It was their time to mourn and nothing would stop them. But through the downpour something happened. Clementine smiled and so did AJ. Of course his smile never went away even though the tears didn’t either. “Hey Clem,” AJ Began. Clementine looked down at AJ. “That was really...cool. You should sing more.” Clem placed a on top of AJ’s head.

“You really think so kiddo?” Clementine asked.

“It’s...it’s what Louis would have wanted right?” AJ replied.

“Yeah..yeah he most definitely would”

Not even the heavy rain couldn’t stop the duo from looking up at the dark sky. They wanted to believe that even though Louis was...gone he was still there. Watching them from above with a big goofy grin that he used to where on his face whenever he would entertain Clementine and AJ. Maybe the rain was a sign that maybe..just maybe..he is watching over them. Watching over his family. “Hey Clem,” Aj began. Clementine looked down at him, never losing that motherly smile AJ adored so much. “Do you think..do you think he heard you? You know..your singing?” Before Clementine could answer the sky flashed a bright white. The sound of thunder had replaced the sound of heavy winds and rain. It sure did give AJ quite the scare and it made Clementine jump. Louis always knew they hated thunder showers so maybe this was a sign. Clementine chuckled.

“Yeah...yeah kiddo I think he did.” She replied.

[inactive-revenge-may-vary]

Eff You, Mr. Eff - Part 1

The familiar sound of the front door quickly scanning and then allowing patrons to enter alerted Tenn to come from the security footage room upstairs. She had already set up the screens to broadcast each street from earlier yesterday into the current day at that exact time.

She waved from the top of the stairwell.

“Good to see that you all made it here safe. Brother Squee, Brother-in-Law Pep, and TAK are all on their way here. But in the meantime we can get started.”

She met them halfway down the stairs, she was in strategic soldier mode, her arms clasped behind her back and her head held high.

She gave small professional smiles to the two tall men and the red tentacled, dog-like creature.

“Everything is already set up for review.” She went on to list all of the streets up on the screen as she opened the door for them to come inside the security room.

“You can take your pick on which you’d like to station yourself to.”

“Down the line- There’s Grave Road, Maple Street, Obilivia Lane, Brighton Circle, Badger Road, Windhurst Lane, Aegis Street, Aligheri Street, and the Downtown area goes through a rapid cycle of certain areas, so that may become a bit disorienting, so just a warning in advance if you wish to take post there.”

Jhonen looked over the map. “Honestly I’ll go downtown. The city is there, and if Prince is like my Nny- most of his walks are through the city,” he said, looking over at the different stores and buildings in the area.

A beep at the door heralded the arrival of Tak.  “So what’s the set up?”  She paused.  “Actually, Squee and Pep are right behind me.  Wait a moment, would you?”

The duo came in, weary and cold.  

“Thanks for waiting, TAK.  Not like you could have held the door open.”

“She really couldn’t have - there’s bio-scans for each key card swipe.”

Pep grumbled.  He didn’t have to like it.  

“So what did we miss?”

Edgar continued, uninterrupted by the appearances. “I’ll take Grave Road, I trust that Jhonen and Tenn haven’t seen Nny personally, but Nny is fast and I’m sure things have been busy in their house anyway,” He stood in front of the screen where familiar houses stood in a row. Few cars went by.

Lil’ Shit shook their head.  

“Nᴏᴛ ᴀʟᴏɴᴇ.  Gʀᴀᴠᴇ Rᴏᴀᴅ ɪsɴ'ᴛ ᴀ ᴄᴏɪɴᴄɪᴅᴇɴᴛᴀʟ ɴᴀᴍᴇ, ᴡʜᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄɪᴛʏ ᴋɴᴇᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴏʀ ɴᴏᴛ.  I'ʟʟ ᴘᴜᴛ ᴍᴏɴᴇʏ ᴏɴ Pʀɪɴᴄᴇ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀᴛ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛ - I ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ғᴇᴇʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ʟᴇᴀᴠɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ɢᴏ ᴀʟᴏɴᴇ.“

“You misunderstand, Little Shit, was it? Edgar won’t be physically going anywhere. We’re just going to watch the screens.”

“No one will be going anywhere without a plan, okay?” She called over her shoulder as she went back to the top of the stairwell to wave the rest of the group in.

“We are up here,” she walked down to the middle of the stairs again, same militaristic stance as before, “TAK, Brother Pep, Brother Squee. Come with me.”

“Father Vee’s already surveying Downtown cameras, Edgar took Grave, and I still haven’t heard confirmation from Little Shit where they will be looking.”

“Maple, Oblivia,Brighton, Badger, Windhurst, Aegis, and Aligheri. Take your pick.”

“Let me know if you see anyone who looks like Nny. Sometimes cameras can skew appearances. Even if you see Nny at an earlier point of time, we still will benefit from that, retracing steps is important in this case.”

Jhonen nodded, concentrated on the screens. So far- he didn’t really see Nny….just a bunch of people walking around…he payed attention to each person who managed to pop up on the screen.

“I’ll take Maple.  It’s a major road, so the odds are high he’s gone down it at least the once, especially to leave the apartments.”

“We’ll take Aegis, Aligheri, and Windhurst - the amount of obfuscation that’s on those streets - it’s irrational to assign anyone else to them.”  

Squee nodded.  “Windhurst is the only street that ISN’T warped, but it rounds out the quadrant.”

Edgar had felt incredibly touched by Lil Shit’s offer of companionship. Although misguided, the fact that the service pet had even spoken up made him smile, “It’s alright, Lil Shit. I’ll be right here with you. Before any of us go anywhere we’ve gotta find Nny.”

Lil’ Shit looks to Edgar, still worried, but it dawns on them that A NEW PERSON, TENN, can hear them!  Despite the solemnity of the situation, their tail wags.

“Yᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ʜᴇᴀʀ ᴍᴇ?”

No.  Bad Lil Shit.  Concetrate.  Think about the options.  “…Bʀɪɢʜᴛᴏɴ Cɪʀᴄʟᴇ ɪs ǫᴜɪᴛᴇ ʟᴀʀɢᴇ.  I'ᴍ sᴜʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ ᴄᴀᴍᴇʀᴀs ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴍᴏsᴛ ᴄᴇʀᴛᴀɪɴʟʏ ʙᴇɴᴇғɪᴛ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴍʏ INFINITE EYES.  I'ʟʟ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ Bʀɪɢʜᴛᴏɴ.”

Tenn loves dogs, of course being around five at once nearly twenty-four/ seven, so she smiles at Lil Shit wagging his tail.

She nods, albeit being a bit confused, it shows on her face, “Well a talking service pet doesn’t exactly faze me as much as any random person. I mean, you’re no stranger to my family and friends.”

“Good choices to you all. I wish you luck, I’ll be keeping an eye on the current monitors. I’ve set up an algorithm that should alert me should Nny appear in any current shot.”

Jhonen kept an eye out, Nny didn’t seem anywhere! However, what he noticed might have some clues of Prince’s whereabouts. In the camera feed, he noticed a pattern; a slight decrease in people. He saw people zoom by and then end up on the floor, knowing that Johnny was out there; the people on the floor were most likely dead. However, it’s tricky to catch, unless you really pay attention. So, Jhonen kept a watchful eye, hoping that the killer would pop out of the shadows.

Tak’s eyes widened, and she nearly moved her head to glance back at her adopted sister - but she restrained the impulse, never looking from her screen.

“Tenn, I couldn’t understand what Lil’ Shit said.  Never have been able to.  Squee, Pep, Dads, Todd, Edgar, Prince?  Yeah, they can.  I can’t.  Dib can’t -”  She cut off her trail of thought.  So how can YOU?

“Guys, I caught him going northwest from the apartments.”

Squee’s eyes widened in alarm, briefly glancing away from Windhurst to Tenn, then right back.  “Tenn- Tak- do you think it’s because of that THING that Tenn can hear them?  Also, still nothing on my end.”

“Nothing on mine.”

Edgar had barely ever interacted with Vasquez and Co., finding that seeing another Nny who was distinctly different from his Prince and also had been a source of much unintentional heartbreak wasn’t worth any get-togethers. He certainly hadn’t learned much about Jhonen’s alien daughter, Tenn, aside from when he gushed about her or Tak had mentioned something.

He was alarmed and quite frankly wary now that he knew Tenn could understand Lil Shit. It was just his nerves.

Instantly his attention was brought to the screen where he saw Nny come on screen, walking down the street. Edgar called for everyone’s attention. He watched as Nny seemed to pause near the old 777 and then… walk almost in a daze into the dilapidated shack.

He blinked almost non believing.

“He went into 777.”

Lil Shit was discomfited by the fact that Tenn could in fact hear them.  The rules regarding who COULD were pretty clear by now.  “I ᴍᴜsᴛ ᴀᴅᴍɪᴛ, ɪᴛ’s sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ʜᴇᴀʀ ᴍᴇ.  Yᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ FEEL ʟɪᴋᴇ ʏᴏᴜ'ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ sʏsᴛᴇᴍ… ʙᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ DO ғᴇᴇʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ.  Sᴏʀᴛ ᴏғ.”

It dawned on them what Edgar had said. “Wᴀɪᴛ - ʏᴏᴜ sᴀᴡ Pʀɪɴᴄᴇ? Aᴛ- Aᴛ 777?”  Lil Shit shifted nervously.  “Oʜ ᴛʜɪs ɪsɴ'ᴛ ɢᴏᴏᴅ - ᴛʜɪs ɪsɴ'ᴛ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴀᴛ ALL.”

Tenn didn’t have enough time to continue entertaining Lil Shit’s observation. She bolted over to Edgar’s station.

“That was recorded earlier today. Experience tells me that any Nny going to a 777 and not coming back out is not a good sign.”

Jhonen heard the commotion and went over to investigate. His eyes widened, he didn’t know Prince that well- but any Nny going into 777 was NOT good.

“Oh fuck.”

Tak bolted up, worry all over her face and demeanor.  “Edgar- He LEFT 777 for a REASON- the ghosts- they’re still there- aren’t they?”  Her eyes have nothing but fear in them - but not fear of Prince- fear FOR Prince.

“Fuck- Eff lead him there- and I hope I’m not right as to WHY - I’d rather the murders to what I fear.”

Pepito’s eyes widen.  “So for one: there are GHOSTS there. Two, they caused Prince to LEAVE 777, presumably for his safety.  And THREE: HE WENT BACK?” He gets out of his seat.

“WHY THE FUCK ARE WE STILL HERE?”

Squee nods. “Pep has a point - Prince is clearly in danger on two fronts.”

“Nny had told me when he was in the throes of the worst days of his life there were two doughboy entities. Obviously we know it’s the work of one. But there’s two different ones… one that he told me wanted to be alive and do things outside of Nny’s control and one that just wanted to end Nny and be set free of a physical presence. To serve a master. To serve whoever had a hold on Lil Shit… Judging by the circumstances.. that would make it be that it’s the former one… Mr. Eff. And I don’t think it’s fair to saw that he just went back. Obviously he was under some type of trance. We need a plan before we jump the gun, we have to expect the strangest and prepare for the worst.”

Tak shifted uncomfortably.  “I’m well aware of the… stranger things.  I saw the house when Lil Shit was a barely-uncontrollable BIG Shit.  …I’ve seen… some of the current situation, as well.”  She pauses, unsure of how much to say.  She glances to Jhonen.

“I’ll just say that I’ve seen an unmanageable Eff before.  We were lucky that the situation was what it was - both Jhonen and Nny.  It- we all would have died.” She goes silent.  “I’m scared.  I don’t think the way things went before will work again- not when Eff has the upper hand with territorial knowledge.”

“If you look in Prince’s post, there’s still parts of him there. He’s not entirely gone which can be used to our advantage. Obviously we all know Nny is incredibly strong and has only gotten stronger, despite the contrary being said by Eff. He’s holding on for us and he’s asking for help. However, I too fear that what TAK has done before might not be so effective.”

She looks to Jhonen, having only heard what happened with Nny and seeing the aftermath in the form of a scar, of course that was the work of Psychodoughboy and not Eff, but still, it was worrying to say the least. Tenn also knew some things, but just like Tak, she didn’t know what was in the open and what wasn’t.

Jhonen looked back at his daughter, and then spoke up.

“We should all be very cautious nevertheless, the last thing i’m sure we want is for Prince to cause harm to himself or others. We need a strategy, and a plan, so that we can approach the situation without getting too hysteric or too cruel. If we get out of line, it could get way more serious.”

Squee spoke up. “…Has nobody been looking at the newest post from Prince? ‘Into the house Johnny, It’s time to finish painting that wall.’ Lil’ Shit’s not IN the wall.  This seems like Eff’s getting revenge - or attempting to open a new cell that will never be created.”

“What does he have to gain then,” Edgar glanced in confusion to Squee.

“Just revenge? If a cell can’t be created… and there’s no master there… what is this thing’s end game? Could it really be that vengeful where it would just want Nny to kill for the sole purpose of… killing? He still kills.”

His brow furrows. “Unless.. Eff just wants us gone so that Nny is left with no-one… or even worse. Trap him in that house- isolate him until he’s right back where he started… In any case, Jhonen is right, we need to eradicate as many risks… and eliminate as much harm as possible.”

Lil Shit curls up.  This doesn’t sit right.  “Uɴғᴏʀᴛᴜɴᴀᴛᴇʟʏ - ᴛʜᴀᴛ’s… ᴛʜᴀᴛ’s ᴀ D-Bᴏʏ’s ᴍᴏᴅᴜs ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀɴᴅɪ.”

“Doughboys are predictable, that’s about the only thing we can expect from them. Is that they want one thing and that’s to have control over something, whether it’s to destroy or self-destruct.”

Tenn taps her chin. “We still don’t have a plan…I don’t know if fighting is the right way to go, but knowing the doughboys… how they work… how things like them can make people into someone they’re not-“ She gives another much shorter glance to Jhonen, “We might have to. But if anyone has any other ideas say it right now. We need to hurry though… whatever we come up with, we need to implement it soon.”

Jhonen doubted there was another solution to all this. Unfortunately, it seems the thing infecting prince wasn’t just gonna let go if you fucking asked! He stayed silent, unable to come up with any alternative solutions.

Tak stood up.  “I’ll go.”

“I went in when THAT happened.  I went in when Lil Shit wasn’t so little and was quite nearly unmanageable.  I- I need to.  I can fight him off, use the PAK legs to get him restrained, then use my implant.”  And pray it works.

“For me, failure is not an option.”

Squee could only bite his lip.  He’d go, if only in hopes that it would take Prince’s guard down to see ANY Squee there - but he knew that if things got BAD - it would be back to step 1 with his recovery.

“I can’t go.  But I’ll keep an eye on the monitors?” he said, ending it as a question.

Pepito looked to his side.  Of course - if it came down to blows and the worst situation came to pass - no.  He couldn’t let that happen, couldn’t let his Squee see that.  “I can see about boarding 777 off from the rest of the world for an hour or so - even then, that might be pushing what I can do,” he admitted.

“I’ll go too. I shouldn’t have let this go on so long and I should have been there in the first place. I need to see he’s at least a little okay and I want to be there for him when he… I want to be there for him,” Edgar finishes with a sigh.

Lil Shit manifests several tendrils ending in various sharp objects.  

“I ᴀʟsᴏ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴄᴛɪғʏ ᴛʜɪs.  I ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ I ᴀᴛᴇ ʜɪᴍ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʜɪs ʙʀᴏᴛʜᴇʀ.  I ᴍᴜsᴛɴ'ᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴅɪɢᴇsᴛᴇᴅ ʜɪᴍ ᴀs ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴀs I ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ.”

Tenn gave a grim smile to the determined group, nodding.

“I would like to tag along, but only if I am needed. If there’s nothing I can do, or if you believe you have it covered then I won’t. I just want to help the best way I can.”

[ericsonclan]

I Am a Poor Pilgrim of Sorrow

Summary: AJ is on watch duty when two people show up at the gates of Ericson that seem to have ties with two Ericson kids who are dead and gone.

Read on A03:

A.J. was up on watch duty for the morning. It was one of his favorite places to be. Keeping watch gave him time to think through things and make future plans. Not that the ten year old had anything particularly big to plan out today, but still, he got time to himself and that was good enough for him. Raising the binoculars to his eyes, A.J. scanned the tree line. There looked to be four walkers wandering about.

No, make that three. One had just fallen. But what had taken it down? A.J. leaned forward, his eyes narrowing.

There was a rustling in the bushes where the walker had just been. A.J. thought he caught a glimpse of something. Too big to be a rabbit and walkers were too dumb to hide. He drew his bow, arrow at the ready. “Whoever you are, you should come out now. I won’t harm you if you’re friendly, but don’t fuck with us,”

Immediately the bushes shifted again. Two women rose from them, one looking to be a young adult while the other was in her teens. They both had their hands raised, though the teen looked unhappy with this arrangement. The older girl stepped forward, a bright smile on her face. She wore a winter coat with several buttons missing and a pink flower was tucked behind her left ear. Her other ear was missing completely. “Hi there. My name’s Renata and this is Allison. We don’t mean you any harm, we’re just glad we finally made it,”

Made it? A.J. had never seen this girl in his life and he was pretty sure that nobody at the school had anyone they knew outside the gates. What sort of trick was she trying to play? He drew back the string on his bow farther. “We’re not expecting anybody,”

“Oh, I’m not surprised,” Renata shrugged, lowering her arms. “You take a couple years to get to a place and you can’t really use the “fashionably late” card anymore. Should’ve gotten better directions when I had the chance,”

Is she one of Prisha’s old classmates? No, Prisha had said herself that they were all dead. Maybe she was one of the kids who ran away from Ericson back when the world ended, but then why would she not know the way back?

Renata looked up at him sympathetically. “You’re confused. I get that. Tell me, would your name happen to be Tenn?”

A.J. hadn’t heard that name in a long time. Who outside of the school would have even heard of him? And he’d been dead for years. This was too much for A.J. to figure out on his own. “Willy!” he called back behind him. “Tell Clem she needs to see this! We’ve got visitors!” Immediately the lanky teenager scurried towards the admin building, only sparing a second to squint in curiosity, trying to figure out who was outside the gates.

Renata seemed happy with the outcome of their talk. She motioned excitedly for Allison to join her in front of the gate. Allison did so cautiously, dropping a set of broken pruning shears at Renata’s feet once she reached her. Renata quickly picked them up and tucked them in the belt loops on her jeans. The two of them stood there silently, looking up at A.J. who refused to say a word. Finally Renata broke the silence. “So, you guys got any board games in there? I’m pretty much a pro at Monopoly if I do say so myself, but-”

“A.J., who’s there?” Clementine’s voice cut through the air as she hurried to the front gates, Violet and Prisha flanking her. They all observed the girls outside with suspicion. The location of Ericson was a well-kept secret. They never gave out that information. From the looks on their faces, none of them recognized the girls either.

“Hi there,” Renata smiled, sticking a hand through the bars. “My name is Renata and-” She backed up quickly when Rosie ran forward, snapping and snarling at her. It only took a moment for the smile to return to her face though. “Oh my gosh, Rosie’s still alive? I can’t believe it! She must be how old by now, 12? That must be like 80 in human years!”

“Who the fuck are you?” Violet’s tone was harsh as she stared at the pair, her hand on her meat cleaver.

“What my friend means to say,” Clementine cut in, trying to ease the tension. “Is you’re a stranger to us. So we’re curious as to how you came to know Ericson’s location,”

“Oh, right. Minnie and Sophie told me,”

It had been even longer since those names had been spoken. The group looked amongst themselves in confusion.

“Can we come in now?” Renata’s tone seemed hopeful. “We can lay down our weapons and even have you tie our hands if you want,”

“Renata!” Allison hissed behind her.

“What? Allie, this is the place we’ve been searching for all this time! And they didn’t shoot us on sight. I’d say that’s a pretty great start,”

Clementine observed the pair with caution. Renata seemed unusually chipper for a complete stranger trying to negotiate her way in with absolutely no leverage. Allison was clearly the more calculating of the pair, though she seemed to follow Renata’s lead. “Toss your weapons through. Then we’ll see,”

Allison didn’t seem to like that idea at all. Her hand reflexively went to the gun on her hip, but Renata chucked her blades through without a second thought. She gestured towards the gates with her head. “C’mon, Al, show of good faith,” Going against what she clearly believed to be better judgement, Allison tossed her gun and hunting knife through the bars of the gate.

Prisha and Violet picked up the weapons, looking to Clementine for the next step. Clementine glanced back in the direction of the school. Louis had stepped outside, waiting on the steps of the admin building, their daughter Maisy cradled in his arms. Clementine shook her head and he gave a nod, quickly heading back inside. Ruby was in the greenhouse with little Zachariah strapped to her back and Aasim and Omar were out checking the fish traps. If need be, Clementine was confident she, Prisha, A.J. and Violet could take down these two in a fight before they got very far. Clementine whistled at Rosie, directing her to keep watch in front of the admin building. “Open the gate,”

A.J. had climbed down from the watchtower and did as he was told. Renata and Allison strode through quickly, the gate clanging shut behind them.

Renata reached out her hand once more. “Name’s Renata. It rhymes with frittata,”

“Clementine. This is Violet and that’s Prisha,”

Renata looked amongst the three of them. “Violet I recognize from the stories, though I’m pretty sure the glasses are new. You two aren’t ringing a bell. I guess some other people have found their way here as well,” Her eyes scanned the yard hopefully before locking on Clementine’s. “Did the twins make it back?”

----

The group stood silently in front of the twin’s graves. Allison stood back a few inches from Renata, her dark eyes piercing as she glared at the others, daring them to infringe on her friend’s space. Renata was silent, staring at the graves. Everyone else stayed quiet as well.

Finally Renata turned around. “Did you find the bodies? Because you know if you never find the body-”

“They’re gone,” Violet cut in. “We saw,” She didn’t tell Renata the truth about Sophie, the terrible revelation Minnie had given on her last night alive. That was too cruel to share.

Renata turned back around, slowly kneeling beside the graves. “Shit. Fuck. Maybe it was crazy to hope, but part of me always thought they’d be waiting here when I finally made it.” Her voice cracked a bit at the end. “They must have escaped though if you guys saw them again and they’re buried here,” She looked up at Violet. “Were they alright the last time you saw them? I don’t need to know how they died, but did they get to be happy again?”

Violet looked helplessly into Renata’s eyes. She wished she had something positive to offer. The most merciful option though was silence.

Allison placed her hand on Renata’s shoulder, looking concerned.

Renata sniffled loudly, shaking her head as though to clear her thoughts. “This world never goes easy on us, does it? Could I maybe speak with Tenn? I’d like to share some stories of his sisters with him if that’s alright,”

The group shared a look.

Renata followed A.J.’s gaze over to the cross with Tennesse printed upon it. “Oh,” Her voice was soft, almost frail. “He sounded like such a sweet kid too. I guess a lot changed while they were gone,” Slowly she picked herself up off the ground, looking amongst the group. “I suppose I should tell you how I know the twins then. Well, knew them,” She sighed before straightening her shoulders. “I was a Delta soldier alongside them,”

The news cut through the group like wildfire, setting all their nerves aflame. It was the only explanation that made sense, but still all of them had hoped it wasn’t true. The Delta had taken so much from them. Even though they’d heard from the caravans they traded with that it had fallen apart years ago, the mention of its name still haunted them.

“Not sure if it needs to be said that I was captured and forcibly drafted. Allison too. I bet Minnie and Soph told you all about the Delta and their practices capturing children when they got back here,”’

“Actually, the Delta came through here again,” Clementine answered. “That’s the reason we lost Tenn… and some others,”

Renata’s eyes were hard. “Did Marlon lead them back here?”

“Marlon is dead too,” Violet cut in.

“Guess there’s some karma after all,” Renata’s expression was dark, but soon faded into gloom. “Delta took so many. I shouldn’t be surprised they came back. That was always Minnie’s fear,”

“Fuck Delta,” Allison’s words were sharp and full of anger.

“Yeah!” an enthusiastic cheer came from behind them. They looked up to see Willy, the tallest of the group, smiling behind them. “What’d I miss?” he asked excitedly.

Prisha gestured to the newcomers. “Willy, meet Renata and Allison. From the sound of things, it appears they escaped from the Delta,”

“That’s so cool!” Willy exclaimed, his gap teeth prominent as his smile widened. “How did you guys do it? Did you blow up their ship? Cause that’s what we did. It was awesome!”

“Dude, you did that?” Renata exclaimed, her eyes wide. “We heard about that! A whole crew of Delta soldiers blown to bits. All that was found was the burnt-out hull of the ship. Man, if I’d know that was you guys, I could’ve found this place so much faster! All Delta units were ordered to steer clear of the area since no one knew what the hell happened. High five!” She reached up to slap Willy’s hand. He accepted the praise eagerly.

Clementine watched the conversation warily. These girls were trained soldiers. True, Renata didn’t act much like one, but there was something in Allison’s eyes that reminded her of the first time she’d met Minerva. Was it really safe to let them stay inside these walls all on the word of two Ericson kids who were dead and gone.

“Hey,” Renata’s voice broke Clementine out of her thoughts. “You wouldn’t happen to know the name of the commander whose unit came back to Ericson, do you?”

“Lilly. Her name was Lilly,”

Renata’s eyes seemed to sparkle at those words. “That means she’d dead then, right? You saw the body?”

“I killed her myself,” A.J. declared proudly.

This time it was Allison’s turn to give a high five, the smallest of smiles crossing her lips.

“Excuse me for a second,” Renata hurried back over to the graveyard, kneeling in front of the twins’ graves once more. They couldn’t hear what she was saying from such a distance, but she seemed to be gesturing animatedly.

Allison stood in silence, watching the group with a cold stare. It didn’t seem like she was particularly invested in being here.

“Hey, you want some food?” Willy offered. “Our apple trees have a butt ton of apples this year!”

Allison seemed fascinated by the offer, but shook her head a moment later, looking back toward Renata. Her protectiveness reminded Clementine of how she had been back when she and A.J. were on the road. Her loyalty to Renata clearly ran deep.

Renata joined the group a minute later. “Just had to share the good news. I mean, they probably already know since I’m sure you guys had a huge celebration after defeating the Delta, but I wanted them to get my first reactions,” The pink flower that had been in her hair was now gone. Glancing over, the others could see that she’d placed it between the twins’ graves.

Prisha had been silent for this entire time, observing rather than speaking. Now was no longer the time for silence though. “What are your intentions in coming to Ericson?”

Renata shrugged. “Originally, the plan was to stay here. I figured Soph and Minnie got back way faster than me seeing as they knew the actual location of the school and I just knew it was somewhere in eastern West Virginia. We’d hug, cry, share all the crazy stories of what it took for us to make it here… but they’re gone. Tenn’s gone. Any connections I could’ve hoped for aren’t here anymore. And I figure offering a place to stay is beyond what could be expected of you seeing as we’re just a pair of strangers who claim to know your long dead friends,”

The group shared a look. A.J. tugged on Clementine’s arm, leaning over to whisper to her. “Maybe we should let them stay. It’s what Marlon did for us and what we did for Prisha,”

Clementine looked over at Violet and Prisha. Both of them seemed unsure. They’d taken in Prisha in order to save her life. She never would have survived out in the wilderness with the severe crush injuries she’d sustained. Then again, wouldn’t sending these two outside the gates simply be a veiled form of murder, just as exile had felt to Clementine and A.J. when the group kicked them out? These girls had handed over their weapons freely. Was that enough of a sign to trust them?

“You can stay the night,” Clementine decided. “We won’t decide anything further yet,”

Renata’s face lit up at the offer. “You hear that, Allie? They’re not kicking us out yet!” She turned back to others. “There’s still daylight. If you want to put us to work, we’ll help scrounge up the best meal possible!”

Allison nodded, seeming tentatively excited at the prospect of food.

“You can help Willy pick some of those apples he mentioned for dinner. Prisha, Vi, can you set aside what you were working on and join them?”

The pair nodded, guiding the way to their small orchard. Renata skipped along with them, Allison keeping a steady pace behind, Willy walking beside her.

Clementine looked over to A.J. He had grown so much over the years; he was almost up to her shoulder now. “Look at you, being the most trusting of us all,”

“It’s the right thing to do,” A.J. said seriously. “You got left outside before when there was shelter right in front of you. I know you said you never want others to feel the same way you did,”

Clementine nodded, remembering when she was about his age, shivering alone in a shed in the middle of the woods, wondering if she would die from infection or hypothermia first. “I’m counting on you to keep an eye on them, just like I will,”

A.J. nodded. “I won’t let them anywhere near Maisy or Zach,”

“I know you won’t,” Clementine watched the newcomers as they disappeared round the corner. She never expected anyone from the past to ever arrive at Ericson’s gate, least of all a friend of the twins. She hoped this was the right decision. For now, she needed to talk to her husband and hold her daughter. “Heading back to watch?” She asked A.J.

He nodded, already beginning to walk over.

Clementine made her way back toward the admin building. Hopefully there would be no further surprises today.