Reunions 3

Clementine's chest hurt. Her throat was raw, and her eyes were burning. AJ stood a few feet back, holding onto Lee and Mari. How did it come to this? Her little girl, her baby.

"Clem," Said Kate, crouching next to her, "Clem, we need to go."

"No."

"Clem, come on."

"No. No, I'm not leaving her."

"Clementine!" Snapped Kate, "We don't have a choice! She's dead!"

Clementine shakily looked down, Carley stared back up at her, her throat slit open. Clementine spotted small, almost indistinguishable movement in her throat.

"No, Kate," Said Clementine, desperately, moving Carley closer to Kate, "Look, look she's still breathing."

"She's turning, Clem." Sighed Kate, pushing Carley away from her and Clementine.

"No. No!" Sobbed Clementine, as a pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her away, "No! Get off me!"

Carley groaned, before sluggishly getting to her feet. Clementine stared at her, the walker snarled and started towards Kate, before a bullet hit her in the forehead. Carley's corpse fell to the ground, with Clementine staring at it, the arms holding her let go and her legs buckled under her. Clementine sat on the ground, staring at her daughter's corpse and, her memory revisiting the events leading up to this.

R

"Lilly?"

Lilly looked over and froze upon spotting Clementine.

"Clem, you know her?" Asked Conrad, looking at Clementine.

"Yeah, she led a group I was in at the start," Responded Clementine, "I thought she was dead."

"Thought or hoped?" Sneered Lilly, getting a glare from Clementine.

"Hoped. They should've put a bullet in your head after what you did."

"I was protecting the group."

"You murdered Carley because she wasn't scared of you."

"She betrayed us!"

"You betrayed us! You let your racist cunt of a father have free reign, despite him being a liability!" Snapped Clementine, making Lilly go red with rage.

"Shut up!"

"You harassed Ben because he didn't fit your oh so precious view of the group!" Clementine advanced towards Lilly, "You tried to make Lee your personal attack dog, you hoarded supplies you said you didn't want to take, and tried to out a secret Lee had kept because you fucked up!"

Lilly glared up at Clementine, with Clementine matching the glare with equal force.

"Okay," Said Conrad, getting between the two women, "Clem, I think Kate said she needed your help with something."

Clementine gave Lilly one last glare, before turning and walking towards the school. She passed Louis and Marlon, with the former changing course and falling into step with her.

"Hey, Clem," Said Louis, rubbing the back of his neck, "I, uh, I wanted to apologise for, uh, you know, um, after l-last week…"

Clementine raised an eyebrow at him, "You don't need to apologise, we were both drunk."

"Still, it, er, it wasn't appropriate." Mumbled Louis, as Clementine sighed through her nose.

"It's fine, I could use a hand, if you're free." Said Clementine, looking at him, "Conrad said Kate needed me for something, but I think he just wanted to get me away from Lilly."

"Lilly?" Asked Louis, "You know the bitch that led those raiders that took the twins?"

"Calling her a bitch is both too kind and an insult to every bitch in the world." Snorted Clementine, stopping, "She led a group I was in when all this started. For a while, she was kind and gentle. She actually taught me how to read properly. She, she was like a mother or a really cool aunt. Then her dad died, and was put down to stop him from turning, and she just, fuck, I don't know, she changed."

"How so?" Asked Louis, softly.

"She was guarded before, suspicious of new people, one alright with everyone in our group. But then she was paranoid, she accused everyone around her of putting the group in danger. She hoarded supplies we found," Clementine sighed, "Then we lost everything, and she just…lost it. She started screaming about someone betraying the group and accusing everyone around her. We had to stop, then Lilly killed Carley."

"The same Carley that you named your kid after?"

"Yeah, she was cool." Smirked Clementine, "She was a reporter with an amazing aim."

"Did, did she help take care of you?" Asked Louis, quietly.

"Yeah," Murmured Clementine, a soft snort escaping her lips, "I used to pretend that Lee and Carley were my parents, and we were on some massive adventure."

Clementine's face lost all traces of humour and nostalgia, "Then people started dying. First was Mark, a guy who joined our group because he had food, he had his legs cut off and fed to most of us. Thankfully, Lee prevented me from eating. He died from blood loss, I think. Then Larry died, he had a heart attack and his heart stopped. I didn't understand it at the time, but Lee and another guy, Kenny, they put him down before he could turn. That's when Lilly started to lose it."

"Larry was her dad?" Asked Louis.

"Yeah, he was an old racist asshole that acted worse that a child," Said Clementine, looking down, "When we first met him, he tried to get Duck killed because he thought he was bit."

"But he wasn't."

"But he wasn't," Confirmed Clementine, "The cannibals were either killed or left for dead. We came across an abandoned car on the way back to the motel, the place we were staying. Lilly said she didn't want to take the supplies, but as soon as we got back, she horded the stuff. That left Lee and Kenny to go on supply runs. More often than not, they'd almost die."

"And you think she planned that?"

"I know she planned it," growled Clementine, "every time they came back, she'd have this look of anger or disappointment in her eyes, everyone noticed it, but didn't say anything because they all thought it had something to do with her dad dying."

"Well," Drawled Louis, throwing a playful smirk at Clementine, "can't say they were wrong."

"Ha ha." Muttered Clementine, punching Louis's arm, "Very funny. But another member of the group, Ben, he was gullible," she snorted, "I remember I managed to trick him into standing on his head for an hour everyday because I told him it'd make him less hungry."

"How long did it last for?"

"A couple of weeks, I think, he only found out because a guy on a train saw him doing it." Clementine suddenly became sullen, "But, some bandits, they tricked him into thinking they had one of his friends hostage and had him give them supplies. He took them from Lilly's personal stash, which made her paranoid. Then, Lee found drugs outside of the motel, the bandits attacked, we escaped in an RV, we had to stop, and things came to a head and Lilly shot Carley in the face. Lilly was left behind. We didn't have time to bury Carley, we were forced to leave her at the side of the road, like a fucking animal."

Clementine didn't notice her hands were shaking, until Louis placed his over them. She blinked, trying to get rid of the burning feeling in her eyes.

"B-but, shortly after that, everything kinda went to shit." Finished Clementine, hastily freeing one of her hands and wiping her eyes.

"Want to talk about it?" Asked Louis, hiding the hope from his voice.

"Not now." Responded Clementine, "We should probably get going, in case Kate actually needs us."

Louis nodded and followed after Clementine.

R

Carley found herself staring up at a woman with messy brown hair. She quietly put a piece of fruit into her mouth, chewing it as she watched the woman. She didn't look very nice, she looked like she was pulling a face at everyone around her. Kate hadn't noticed she'd wandered off, or if she had she hadn't found her yet. No one had noticed her, so what was the harm?

R

Kate was frantically looking around, while still trying to watch the rest of the children. Carley had vanished on her, and she couldn't find the bag Clementine gave her for the children, meaning Carley took it wherever she vanished too.

"Okay, cavalry has arrived, what's wrong?" Asked Clementine, coming through the door with Louis in tow.

"Carley's wandered off again." Said Kate, getting a groan from Clementine.

"I take it Connie's gone for a hike?"

"Probably." Affirmed Kate, before freezing at one of the children with some glue, "No, Martin, don't put that in your mouth!"

Louis grabbed Martin's wrist gently and carefully pried the glue from his hands, "I can keep an eye on these guys if you want to look for Carley."

Kate found herself nodded, while Clementine smiled at Louis, before heading out the door.

"She took her coat with her, as well as the bag." Said Kate, walking in step with Clementine, "Any ideas where she could've gone?"

"At a guess," Said Clementine, frowning, "she might try to find Gabe. She didn't take his death very well."

Kate winced, Carley had been close with Gabe, often trying to follow him whenever he went outside the community. The radio on Clementine's waist suddenly buzzed, before Conrad spoke.

"We've got a problem. That Lilly person just escaped, and she's taken a kid with her."

Clementine and Kate shared a brief, horrified look, before they both took off running towards the gates. Clementine silently prayed that nothing happened.

Lilly looked down at the little girl in front of her, it'd been easy to trick her into showing her a way out. Lilly supposed this was how Lee took Clementine. She briefly considered taking the girl, but she'd only slow her down. She needed to get back to the ship as quickly as possible.

"Through here." Said the girl, leading Lilly towards the gates.

"Thanks." Muttered Lilly, quickly forcing the gate open, "Come on, I'll take you to your daddy."

"Okay." Said the little girl, grabbing Lilly's hand.

Lilly didn't say anything, quietly leading her towards that half-eaten corpse of the man Clementine was close to.

Clementine rounded a corner, skidding to a halt as soon as she reached the interrogation rooms, just old shops that didn't have anything in them. Kate came up behind her, breathing deeply as she looked around. The two women looked around, Clementine frowned, "Where is everyone?"

Kate froze, before looking around, "Good question, there should be at least one guard here at all times."

Clementine's eye narrowed, slowly approaching the corner, a familiar groaning putting her guard up. She unholstered her gun, Clementine whistled, making the walker appear from around the corner, allowing her to fire a single shot into it's head.

"How the fuck did that get in?" Demanded Clementine, as Louis, followed by Marlon, Mitch, Sophie and Javí.

"We've got walkers roaming around the gates," Said Javí, looking around, "Where the fuck is Clyde?"

Clementine glanced down at the walker, noticing it's face had been chewed off. She frowned, before crouching down next to it. She carefully poked it's head out of the way. A silver chain and a tattoo told her who it was.

"Found him." Said Clementine, looking up, "Looks like a walker got to him."

"Doesn't explain how a walker got in." Said Javí, frowning, "It also doesn't tell us where Lilly is or where the child came from."

"It's Carley." Said Conrad, getting everyone's attention, "Saw Lilly carrying her off, would've taken her out, but I didn't have a clear shot."

"Where would she take her?" Asked Kate, making Clementine freeze.

"There's nothing out there, I mean, aside from plants, animals and walkers."

"She's taking her to Gabe."

Everyone looked at Clementine, who was still looking at Clyde's corpse. "Lilly's taking Carley to Gabe."

"Why?" Asked Mitch, "Why would she do that?"

"You have a little girl, a child," Said Kate, "who's lost one of her parents and will do anything to have them back. What's the one thing you ask for in exchange for taking her to them?"

"A way out." Muttered Javí, looking around, "Everyone grab a weapon, we're going after them.

R

"CARLEY!"

The little girl stopped, suddenly grinning, "Mommy!"

Lilly froze, before looking a head of her, she needed to get out of here, fast. She grabbed Carley's arm and started pulling her towards where the corpse was, "Come on, you want to see your daddy, don't you?"

"But Mommy will want to see him too!" Carley struggled, making Lilly pick her up, "Put me down!"

"Carley!" Yelled Clementine, bursting through the trees. She froze at the sight of Lilly holding her squirming daughter, "Let her go."

Lilly didn't say anything, only glaring at Clementine.

"Please," Pleaded Clementine, "please, don't hurt her, just let her go."

"What was it, you said earlier?" Asked Lilly, quietly pulling a knife from her back pocket, "About our first group?"

"Don't, please." Begged Clementine, as the rest of the group caught up with her, along with AJ and her two other children.

"You called my dad a 'racist cunt' and said I 'murdered Carley'?" Sneered Lilly, glaring down at Clementine.

"L-Lilly, please," Clementine's voice broke, "I-I'm sorry, do what you like to me, j-just don't hurt her."

Lilly smirked at Clementine, before taking her knife and pressing it against Carley's throat, "But this is so much better."

She then violently dragged the knife over Carley's throat, slicing it open. Blood spurted from the wound, Lilly dropped Carley and ran, while Clementine rushed to her daughter. She quickly covered the cut with her hands, trying to flutily stop the flow of blood. Carley stared up at Clementine, everything was going dark.

"M-mom…" Gurgled Carley, slowly falling silent.

"No. No, no, no, no." Sobbed Clementine, shaking Carley, "No, Carley, baby, please. No."

R

Louis held onto a sobbing Clementine, helping her into Richmond. Conrad looked at them, his gaze freezing on Javí, who was carrying Carley, wrapped up in Louis's coat. He waved his hand, signalling for them to open the gate.

"We've got a nice little cell prepared…for…oh…oh no." Becca trailed off, staring at Clementine and looking towards Javí.

Kate opened her mouth, before closing it. She couldn't think of anything to say.

AJ led Louis towards Clementine's home, shoving the door open and stepping to the side, allowing Louis to guide Clementine inside. As gently as he could, Louis guided Clementine towards the sofa, carefully sitting her down. Lee jumped down from AJ's arms and toddled over to Clementine.

"Mommy?" Said Lee, looking up at his mother, "When's Carley going to wake up?"

Clementine looked down at Lee, before grabbing him and pulling him against her chest. She sobbed into his hair, wrapping her arms around him protectively. Louis looked at AJ, who adjusted Mariana in his arms, both shared a look, as Clementine wailed.

AJ swallowed, nervously looking up at the shelf, all the pictures with Gabe were face down. No doubt, all the pictures of Carley will join them.

R

Louis leaned forwards, his elbows resting against his knees. He ran a hand down his face, he'd been with Clementine and her remaining family for the past several hours. Clementine had eventually cried herself to sleep, she'd tried to keep Lee with her, only her exhaustion won out in the end.

He sighed, looking around, the streetlamp shone down at him. It was hard to think that this morning, Carley, a little girl, was murdered. Louis sighed again, little over three months ago Clementine had lost her husband, and now she'd lost one of her daughters.

Violet dropped down next to him, "They've put Carley's picture up in the church. Kate's asked if we could see if Clem's ready to hold Carley's funeral."

"I don't know." Said Louis, quietly, "When she found out Marlon killed Gabe, she was upset, but not like this. Now she seems, fuck I don't know, it's like she's broken."

"I remember a saying my grandmother had," Said Violet, after a moment, "A wife who has lost a husband is a widow, a husband who has lost a wife is a widower, a child who has lost their parents is an orphan. There is no word for a parent who have lost their child. That's how painful their loss is."

"I was going to say no parent should have to bury their child," Said Sophie, making Violet and Louis jump, "but, that works too."

"We seriously need to put a bell on you." Deadpanned Violet, getting a soft snort from Louis.

R

Louis quietly watched as Carley was carefully lowered into her grave. Clementine had his hand in a vice-like grip, Mariana was slung across her chest, Lee was on her other side, with AJ standing behind him. Louis tried his best to silently comfort her, she hadn't been able to give Carley a eulogy, every time she looked at the makeshift coffin she broke down. If Clementine wasn't crying, she was watching Lee and Mariana like a hawk, always close at hand so they couldn't wander off.

She'd wanted to do the same with AJ, but he'd always find a way to escape her sight. Clementine didn't like it, but didn't say anything, probably because she knew AJ wouldn't listen. Louis gently squeezed Clementine's hand, getting a weak squeeze in return. He watched as Clementine let go of his hand and shakily took a handful of dirt, before dropping it onto the coffin. Lee took a tiny amount and threw it in, slowly followed by the rest of the family. AJ picked Lee up, as Kate offered to watch Mari, while Clementine remained by the grave.

Javí led everyone bar Clementine and Louis inside, Marlon closing the doors of the former youth centre on the old church's grounds, giving the pair some privacy.

"Delta's been acting up lately." Said Mike, quietly, "Bonnie saw some scouts in the woods, dealt with them before they could do any harm though."

"I hate to say it," Said Christa, glancing at the doors, "but, I don't think anyone's safe until all of them are gone, I'm not suggesting we follow any examples set by Negan or the Whisperers, but it might be best if we…"

"Wipe them out?" Asked Javí, looking at the woman, "That seems a little extreme."

"At this rate," Said Mike, "it's more a matter of survival, they have no problems killing children or using children as soldiers. A single strike, we liberate any children or people who don't want to be there, and we leave the rest for the walkers."

"That's a very open ended plan." Said Sophie, folding her arms, "Besides, we don't even know if they have a camp."

Javí, Mike and Christa shared an uneasy look.

"They have a camp, and you know where it is?" Said Sophie, in disbelief.

"Clementine came across it a couple weeks ago, that's where Lilly came from." Said Mike, sighing, "Now the funerals out of the way, we may have to find something to distract Clementine."

After a moment, Christa looked at the group, "There's a couple of fields that were soaked with gas, we think it was Delta sabotaging out equipment, but Clem could head the clean up, there's an electric fence surrounding it, so any walkers or unwanted guests wouldn't be able to surprise them."

"It's better than nothing." Sighed Javí, heading towards the doors, "Best go see if she's ready to come inside."

R

Jesus looked down at Carley's grave, Rick and Ezekiel were speaking with Javí, while Carl and Enid got to know the Ericson's group.

"Ain't that the little girl that kicked Carl?" Asked Daryl, making Jesus jump.

"I keep forgetting how quiet you are." Muttered Jesus, before nodding, "Yeah, apparently someone called Lilly kidnapped her and sliced her throat open."

"She died three months after her pa." Noted Daryl, glancing around, "Her mother's still alive, right?"

"Yeah, so are her siblings." Confirmed Jesus, "I don't know where Clementine is, but AJ is talking with Judith and Enid's watching Lee and Mari."

"Clem's out on clean up." Said Mike, walking over to them, "Delta sabotaged one of out fuellers, it's leaking and has made a field a death trap."

Jesus frowned, spotting Aaron looking at something from the top of the wall, "Isn't that camp close to that site?"

"Yeah, but hopefully-" Mike was cut off by Conrad.

"Shit!" Yelled Conrad, "The tanker's just gone up!"

"Fuck." Swore Javí, before looking around, "Everyone grab a weapon and come with me, Louis, go get Eleanor and Ruby, we might need them. Meet up with us by the lake."

Louis nodded, before running towards the hospital area of the community.

The visitors all shared a look, before following Javí.

R

Clementine tried not to grimace at the smell, the gas hadn't evaporated, instead it mixed with the water in the ground.

"I'm glad Bonnie and Kate aren't with us." Said Jason, grimacing at the mixture got into his shoes, "One stray light and bam! No more us."

"I think some of us are still trying not to throw up." Grumbled Marlene, her face green.

Clementine cursed as her prosthetic got stuck, "Go on a head, I'll catch you up."

Jason and Marlene shared a look, before continuing on through the field. Clementine looked behind her, she was a foot away from the gate, so she could use that to free herself. Gripping the wooden structure with both hands, Clementine hauled herself out of the field. As she was checking herself over, she felt a gun pressed against the back of her neck.

"Fuck."

"Hello, Clementine." Sneered Lilly, looking down at her, "It's so nice to see you again."

There were two gunshots from across the field, Clementine glanced and spotted Jason and Marlene collapse to the petrol sodden ground, dead.

"You're going to pay for that." Growled Clementine, turning and glaring at Lilly.

"What, you mean like Carley paid?" Mocked Lilly, giving Clementine a little pout.

Clementine seethed, before glancing at the tankers, "You moved your camp."

"Couldn't have you finding us again." Said Lilly, making Clementine smirk.

Clementine suddenly gripped Lilly's hand and twisted it over itself, a satisfying crack to her that she'd rendered the hand useless, before she drew her knife and slammed it into Lilly's other wrist. Lilly stared at the unnaturally twisted remains of one hand and the stump of the other, Clementine head butted her and activated the electric fence.

"Boss!" Yelled a man, running up along the perimeter. Clementine recognised him as Abel, quickly bracing herself, she shoved Abel as hard as she could, knocking him onto the electric fence.

Lilly watched in horror as Abel screamed, Clementine covered her nose and mouth, not wanting to catch the smell of burning flesh. Glancing towards the field, Clementine spotted the rest of the Delta camp trudging through the muck towards her. Without thinking, Clementine pulled her lighter from her pocket, lit it and threw it into the field. The subsequent reaction of the petrol, diesel and water made quite the explosion. Clementine felt her hat get blown off her head.

Lilly stared at the explosion, allowing Clementine to look around. She spotted and salt lick on the ground and slowly made her way over to it. Lilly turned and looked at Clementine, trying to scramble away from her.

"Clementine, please," Begged Lilly, as Clementine picked up the salt lick, "I, I don't want to die!"

"Neither did Carley." Growled Clementine, hefting the block above her head.

Clementine placed her foot on Lilly's chest, before bringing the salt lick down on the older woman's head, destroying her skull.

Clementine breathed heavily, before looking around, she knew the sound alone would draw walkers and the smoke would draw anything that saw it. After locating her hat, Clementine decided to return to Richmond. She needed a drink.

R

Javí almost ploughed Clementine over, coming to an abrupt halt along with the rest of the volunteers.

"Everything okay?" Asked Clementine, sweat covering her face.

"There was an explosion." Said Javí, making Clementine close her eyes.

"Right, yeah," Muttered Clementine, "turns out Delta moved their camp there, flooded the group with the fuel to keep people away, I guess. Jason and Marlene are dead, the Delta camp's been destroyed, Lilly and Abel are also dead and I need a drink."

Javí stared at Clementine, before looking behind her. Clementine followed his gaze and frowned, before looking back at him, "Can you see kids in there?"

Javí nodded, prompting Clementine to pivot around and attempt to pull the door open, "I think it's locked."

"You hit your head, didn't you?" Asked Kate, as Javí pushed the door open.

"Probably."

Javí gently coaxed the children out, before Louis, Ruby and Eleanor caught up with them.

"Oh, thank god." Said Louis, embracing Clementine.

"I'm fine," Clementine told him, "But we're still fucked for fuel."

"Swear." Said a little voice, behind her.

Clementine turned and looked at a little girl with dark red hair.

"What?"

"You used a swear word."

"Oh, okay, I'm sorry…what's your name?"

"Melanie."

"Right," Said Clementine, "I'm sorry for swearing Melanie."

"Okay. Is the bad lady gone?"

"You mean Lilly?"

Melanie nodded, "Yeah, she's gone. She, uh, had a bit of an accident."

"Okay."

Clementine and Louis wordlessly watched as Eleanor gently guided Melanie back to the gaggle of children they'd found.

"I'm glad the expansion was built." Said Mike, looking over the children, as they were slowly guided back towards New Richmond.

R

"And, we're…riding a pony, riding a pony, riding a pony and jump!" Louis bounced Mariana in his arms, "Riding a pony, riding a pony, riding a pony and stop!"

Mari giggled, as Lee scribbled on a piece of paper, AJ was on the other side of the room, showing some of the newer students how to load a gun.

"Sometimes, the bullet won't fire, so," AJ pulled catch back, ejecting the bullet, "we clear the chamber and hope the next one isn't like the last."

AJ then pun the gun down on the table, "Don't point it at anyone you're not willing to harm, the last thing anyone wants is an accident."

Clementine fiddled with a pocket watch, it was supposed to be an anniversary gift to Gabe, now, she didn't know what to do with it.

"What's that?" Asked Melanie, getting Clementine's attention.

"It's a watch, it helps us know what time it is." Answered Clementine, as Louis and Mari wandered over.

"Oh, is that one of those wind-ups watched?" Asked Louis, looking down at it.

Clementine shifted to the side, allowing Melanie to climb up and for Louis to sit down. It'd been six months since the gas explosion, seven since Carley was killed and ten since Gabe died. Clementine found herself wondering where the time had gone, she was vaguely aware of Lee wandering over to AJ and then pulling him over to join the group of four.

"See, the big hand, that's the minute hand." Explained Clementine, pointing at it, "Now, that thin one, the one that's moving? That's the second hand, it counts as the second's pass. The short, and stubby hand, that counts the hours. There are sixty seconds to a minute and sixty minutes to the hour, so the big hand is just past the four and the little hand is on the two. Can you tell me what the time is?"

Melanie counted the little marks between the three and the four, looking down at watch, "It's twenty-two past two!"

"Well done!" Congratulated Clementine, spotting a frown on Lee's face, "What wrong, sweetie?"

"I heard Uncle Javí say, yesterday, that the time was 1743," Said Lee, confused, "but there's only twelve numbers."

"That's because there are twenty-four hours in a day, little dude," Said Louis, leaning around to see Lee, "after midday, the numbers then add onto twelve, making five forty-three seventeen forty-three."

"Oh." Said Lee, looking back down at the watch.

Becca leaned against the wall, hold a polaroid camera. She looked over the group of six, she carefully lined up the camera and took a picture. After shaking the picture, she grabbed a pen and scribbled something at the bottom.

Becca looked at them once more, before putting Sarah in her pocket and leading the children and the student out, leaving the family alone with each other.