20Gosh, I'm so sorry for the absurdly long wait. I sure hope that at least some of you still want to read this thing. I know that this chapter isn't the longest, or the best, but I've had it written for quite a few days by now and I didn't exactly want to change anything.
The next chapter: Kenny!
Fire.
All that he knew was the fact that it burned with flaming pain. He couldn't get away from it, from the pain conquering his body, because it hurt too much. The pain was uncontrollable, that was one thing that it's taught him.
You can't fight with the fire.
His heart hurt much more than any other part of his body, having experienced so much death. It wasn't the regular violence he would see everyday, nor was it the burning pain in his chest. No. Death felt different, almost numb.
He couldn't bring himself to make it stop, reliving it over and over.
"Bigby!" Another scream filled the air. Ignoring all the pain, he rushed to the source of the voice.
Snow needed him.
He runned. Down on all his fours, not even noticing the moment when his feet turned into paws, fur growing onto the whole of his body. He runned, holding onto the hope that he wouldn't be too late. He couldn't bear it. He didn't even as much as begin to grow tired, yet the running took its toll on him. It felt like he's been running for forever, the same monotony repeating over and over in his head: breath, step, breath, step, breath, step.
At that point he couldn't even remember whether it's been seconds, minutes or days since he began running. He just knew that he couldn't stop. His legs felt sore, and he had to fight the urge to stop for a moment. It wouldn't be for long, just a moment to catch his breath... No. He wouldn't.
Another inhuman groan filled the air, followed by a female scream.
He roared, ruuning into the small cabin and tearing half of the wall apart in the process.
He looked around, growling, just in time to see Snow holding an axe and being attacked by a group of zombies. She stood her ground bravely, but it was clear that she didn't stand a chance against her attackers. Her eyes lit up when she saw him enter. She opened her mouth to say something, but another one grabbed her.
He was too late.
The realization hit him even before it was too late.
He jumped, lunging at the zombies with an angry look on his snout.
He was too late.
"No!" He screamed, roaring in agony as he watched one of the zombies bite into Snow's neck.
"No!" Bigby gasped for breath, jolting awake. Beside him, Clementine laid peacefully in her sleep. The campfire was beginning to die, slowly becoming just one more part of the darkness around them.
Bigby ran his hand through his hair, sighing. It was just another nightmare. Nothing to be afraid of.
The nightmares've been following him ever since that day and, while it would be predictable, he still couldn't get used to them. They weren't just about Snow's death, and it was the worst part.
He would relive the most terrible of his memories, and sometimes not even know that it's not for real. He still remembered that day when he had a dream about Red Riding Hood. It was from that part of his life he certainly didn't want to remember.
Sighing, he slowly shook his head. It wasn't healthy, to mourn like that.
He looked at the dying campfire. He would probably have to go for more wood eventually. Might as well do it now.
While seeking for more relatively dry twigs and trying to stay relatively close to the camp, Bigby thought about what should they do in the nearest future. Clementine wanted to get to this Wellington in order to find out whether her friend Christa was there. Bigby was skeptical. He didn't want to get his - or worse, hers - hopes up only to find nothing there. He wouldn't make that mistake again. No. Not anymore.
He was going to make sure that Clementine would get as happy of a life as he could possibly get her.
"You don't know hot to shoot a gun?"
Bigby looked down. He didn't exactly want to look weak in they eyes of an eight years old, but he just slipped during a conversation.
"I never really had the time to learn." He answered. Clementine looked at him sincerely.
"Then I guess you wouldn't mind taking a lesson?" She offered as kindly as she could.
"Yeah, thank you. It would come in handy sometime." He almost smiled. "How does tonight sound?" He joked casually, earning a little smile from Clem.
They were silent for a while, simply walking.
"What's that?" Clementine suddenly asked, making Bigby look up at the road before them. There was something in the distance, but he couldn't place it just yet.
"I don't know. It looks like..." He narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better view, "a bridge?"
"I don't know. We have to get there in order to know for sure."
"Right. So there we go."