"I missed you... So, so much..." Clementine uttered feebly, her words fluttering through the fusty air. Barely audible and serene. She questioned how he hadn't heard anything, it wasn't like the gunfight was quiet. Jarringly, she pushed him away, holding him at arms length. She patted him down, forcing him to pivot as she checked his back. "They didn't hurt you, did they?" She asked, licking the tips of her finger and combing it through his hair, flattening it.

AJ shook his head.

"Good." She breathed.

The teenager stood, allowing her hand to linger past her hip. She beamed a sad smile and wiggled her fingers playfully. AJ wrapped his hand around hers and she clutched it tightly, afraid to let him go.

They began to leave the store. "Just, uh, just try not to look, alright?" She warned.

"Why?" AJ queried, looking up at her. Coffee-coloured orbs glistening with the boundless curiosity only a child could have. The same wonder she used to have before the world ravaged and destroyed it with its tide of death and being forced to grow up way too soon. He'd never become like her. It was the single thing other than his safety that she strived for.

She paused. "It's... not pretty." She was right, it wasn't. Rows of dead bodies, puddles of blood that shone in the flickering orange light from the barrel fire. Razor-edged shards of glass littered the ground like torn paper. Supplies: medicine, ammo, food and water all spilt messily. Heaps upon heaps of rations spread carelessly. Her eyes softened, the short-haired woman had turned and was crawling at them, leaving a trail of bloodied guts behind. Her eyes sunken and white, nails scraping and hoarse groaning croaking out her mouth. She took out her pistol, detached from AJ and trained it at the walker's head. She fired and the dead body slumped.

"You're bleeding." AJ supplied from behind her. He was scanning the store despite her pleading of him not to. She washed the disappointment away like a wave and rubbed the hole in her shoulder, hissing.

Retracting her bloodsoaked hand, she answered, "Yeah... Yeah, I am."

"Nothing you can't fix though, right?"

"I'm gonna need your help with this one, buddy. It's in an awkward spot for me."

"B-but I've never done it before!"

"Every day's a school day." She smiled softly, "I'll walk you through it, don't worry."

"If you say so..." He still sounded unsure.

"Trust me. You'll do fine." She ejected the magazine and counted the bullets. Sighing, she pushed the cartridge back in and held the gun out to AJ. "Nine bullets. Take this. I need you to start bagging up the supplies. I'm gonna get the car and then we can leave all this," she gestured to the mess, "behind us."

"Yeah..." AJ accepted the pistol and Clementine smiled at him.

"Be back in a few." She promised, stepping outside.

Her eyes landed onto the pregnant women, who were looking at back at her, terrified. She sighed, shook her head and crossed the road. The Saviours wouldn't be too far away now. They would help the woman out. Probably.

She gazed up at the steep hill, seeing the path she had made when sliding down it. She dug her hand into the sloshy, sludgy mud and began the climb up. Her arms ached, her broken ribs stabbed, the bullet wound bled and her bruised neck was tender. She grit her teeth and pushed forward, up and up until finally she made it to the top; rolling over the lip.

Exhausted and feeling her own body begin to betray her, she staggered to her feet and limped over to her car. She caught herself mid stumble by slamming a hand down on the filthy hood. Her breaths were quick and panic-filled as she attempted desperately to reign herself in. Tears swelled in the corners of her eyes. Trying in all her might not to get swept away into yet another panic attack, she slapped herself. Her cheek stung but it worked and Clementine found herself back in control of her senses.

Taking a huge breath, she slipped into the driver's seat and slammed the door behind her. The teenager rested her forehead on the outer rim of the steering wheel. Thoughts swirled like an insane hurricane in her head. A loud bang rattled the car's frame and she snapped her neck to look at it. A walker. The gunfight had would probably attract a lot of them. Kicking herself for being so stupid, Clementine switched the blinding headlights on and thumped the pedal to the metal.

The tires squealed in the wet ground, spinning in place before the car subsequently took off, barreling down the hill at top speed. She winced at the worrying sounds the suspension made as the car bucked, scraping against the concrete. She slowed to a stop outside the gas station and raised an eyebrow at a gas pump. Maybe...? She shook her head and stepped back out the vehicle, entering the store.

AJ was hunched over two bags, filled to the brim with supplies. He zipped up a pack twisted around on his heels.

"Good job, kiddo." She smiled.

"I thought you said to avoid killing. That is should always be a last resort." AJ said abruptly, staring her down.

Her smile slipped off her face and she deflected her gaze away from him. The still bodies seemed even more apparent to her now than ever. Sticking out like a sore thumb amidst the chaos.

"Did you even try anything else?" The child challenged.

"N-no... I didn't..."

"So your first thought was to kill everyone?" AJ opened his mouth, gaping at her like a fish and closed it again, shaking his head. He continued, "Why, Clem? Why would you do this?"

She looked at him, about to answer when Milz's radio went off, a low buzzing immediately followed by Negan's gravelly voice. "Do you copy?"

Clementine froze, staring at the object with piercing blades. A growl escaped her snarling lips and she marched over to the offending radio and snatched it, holding the bottom to her mouth. Hesitating. "AJ." She whispered coldly, "Put the bags in the car and do up your seatbelt, we're gonna have to move.

"B-but-"

"Now, AJ." She replied sternly, leaving no room for argument. AJ picked up on her seriousness and swallowed the lump at the back of his throat, picking up the packed bags and leaving through the swinging door.

"I repeat, do you copy?"

Her finger clenched around the button, turning it on. "Hello, asshole."

"Clementine! What a fucking surprise!"

"He tried to kill me, the deal's off."

"Why do you think I sent him? To make sure you keep your end of the bargain."

Clementine smirked, walking out the store and into the rain. Feeling it smash against her skin, a relief to long dried mud that hardened on her face. "You know me so well, I'm honoured."

When Negan responded, his voice was laced with toxic ice, "You best fucking run, little pig. Run as fast as you can because you've pissed me off."

She got in the car and slammed the door with a deafening bang. Rolling the window down, she held the radio out of it and dropped it effortlessly. Her fingers clasped around the steering wheel. "Hold on, AJ. This might get bumpy. I-I don't actually know where he's coming from so keep an eye out but we have to get going."

"Clem? What did you do?"

Amber met coal in the rearview mirror as she pushed down on the gas, "Later. I promise."


Negan slammed the truck door shut, pinching his forehead irritably. The gas station was flooded with Saviours. "I'm gonna fucking go grey from this shit..." He muttered under his breath, crouching down in front of the weeping pregnant lady. "Hey, darlin'... What's your name?"

"K-Katy." She whimpered,, lip trembling.

"Well, Katy," He said, poking the ground with Lucille, a bloodied baseball bat with sharp barbed wire wrapped around it. Katy eyed it cautiously. "Where did she go? I can help you if you help me."

Katy gulped and with a shaky arm pointed, over his shoulder; causing him to sigh heavily.

"Fucking great... She's gonna be long gone by now." He stood, dusting himself off and resting Lucille over his shoulder. He called out, "Jacob!"

The man in question came jogging over, a long moustache dangling from his upper lip. "What is it, boss?"

"Get this lovely lady into a car, we're bringing her back. While you're at it, get the rest of these useless fucks to loot what little is left. This was a waste of time."

"Right away," Jacob replied, jogging away as quickly as he came. Negan shook his head and casually twirled his baseball bat, marching up to a walker. It was masculine, wearing a tattered red and white flannel shirt and brown cargo pants. He crashed Lucille into its flimsy jaw, sending it flying off to scatter across the damp ground. The walker tumbled to the ground and he brought Lucille down on its crumbly skull, over and over again. Smashing its head until it was nothing but a bloody, mushy stain against the concrete. He straightened, adjusting his black leather jacket and swiping specks of blood off.

"Hey, uh, Jacob? One last thing before you go. Send a search party out. Only a small one. I don't wanna make this easy for her. She crossed us and that ain't a wise move, no way in fucking hell is it."


They were back in the house, the very same one where she tortured the brothers. The bathroom was small, the walls were painted with grimy white tiles and the shower had fallen, plunging through the glass. Shards crunched under her boot. Filth lightly covered the mirror. Clementine hesitantly brought her digits to the edge of her stained shirt, peeling it back to reveal the stitched bullet wound. She saw her reflection (still covered in mud) wince when she prodded it gently. It was a far cry from a good job but it would do. Not too shabby for a little kid.

She was proud of AJ regardless. He had been taking things really well in her opinion. She knew she would have to answer his questions sooner or later, despite how much she wished otherwise. She couldn't keep running from it. The teenager stared into her reflection, haunted eyes stared right back. Soulless. No flicker of warmth. She was unable to recognise the person looking back. She frowned and quickly darted her gaze away. She was dangerous on her own. AJ was... He was her anchor. The one thing holding her to the mark. Rooting her in place, stopping her from going too far. He was her light in a world of suffocating darkness.

Gripping the edges of the sink until her fingers tensed white, she took a deep breath. She could feel an unfamiliar feeling bubble to the surface and her breath shook as she realised what it was. Clementine fought back the urge to scream. To let everything out. All the pain, mental and physical, the raw emotions she had stored within the deep depths of her heart. Tears welled in the rims of her eyes, threatening tersely to trickle. She clenched her jaw shut and hurled her head into her hands, grasping uselessly at the strands of her curly hair.

And...

Everything calmed. Settling like the sea after a particularly violent storm. She composed herself and stood tall, grabbing her hat from the window sill and placing it neatly on her head. Shifting some stray curls from her face and leaving the bathroom. She stepped down the stairs and into the living room, watching the basement door like a hawk and taking her navy jacket from the back of the sofa. AJ observed her, sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and head resting on the beige wall and torn wallpaper.

"You holding up okay?" She asked, shrugging into her jacket.

AJ nodded silently. "Today was..."

"A bit too much?" She finished.

AJ nodded once again and she smiled sadly at him. "Take all the time you need, I'm gonna go wash all this mud off me. There's a small lake nearby."

"Yeah, see you later, Clem."

She hovered in the doorway, "AJ... d-don't go in the basement, okay?"

"Alright..."

"Great. And I... I love you."

"Love you back."

She beamed and left, leaving AJ to his own devices and trusting him to listen to her. For the most part, AJ did. Remaining in the same spot until he got bored and ultimately got up. He roamed the house in a desperate search for something to use to pass the time. He finally stopped in front of the basement door, cocking his head curiously. Why did Clem not want him to go in there? He reached out and opened the door, staring into the cryptic abyss on the other side. He could hear jaws snap, groaning and tumbling. Sounds of things crashing around.

He startled when a bony hand landed on the bottom of the steps and heave the half-eaten body of someone not much older than him into the light. He stared into the undead eyes as an eyeless walker crawled past his younger brother. He froze in place and his mouth forced open, screaming a soundless scream. His body quivered, terrified, and he retreated. Shuffling backwards as the walker pair began to creep up the stairs. Just then, Clementine barged through the front door and she too froze in place.

Her eyes softened and she rushed over, kicking Sam's undead body back down the stairs and slamming to door shut, pushing her shoulder against the door as it rattled from the walkers on the other side.

"AJ-" She tried to explain only to get cut off.

"Don't."

"Please..." She begged.

AJ backed away, staring at her with wide eyes and that was when she realised he was looking at her the same way as he did the walkers. A wave of hurt flooded through her when she realised what that meant.

"You're... You're a monster..." AJ sputtered, still moving away. She watched in horror as his hand went down to his pocket as he pulled out the pistol she gave him earlier, "We kill the monsters."

He aimed the gun at her.

"AJ! Please!"

The gun wavered. "Why? Why did you do it, Clem?"

She grit her teeth as another crash echoed from the door. "I-I did it for you..." She made eye contact with him, "If being a monster means you're safe... Then so be it. That's a sacrifice I'm prepared to make."

AJ shook his head, lowered the gun and turned tail; dashing away. The banging stopped and Clementine cried, punching the door with all her might, splitting the skin around her knuckles. She sobbed, sliding down the door and tucking her face into her knees. Years of pent up emotions had finally been released in one fell swoop like a volcanic eruption. Tears streamed from her face as cried. She had lost him, she was sure of it.

AJ was never going to forgive her.